June 14--Spread Love and Kindness

A prayer for today from Mary Davis:

Thank you for this precious day. May I use it well. May I have a keen eye for joy and beauty, and the delights of small things. May I spread love and kindness generously, laugh easily, and feel the ever-present peace of your light with every breath and with every step. Amen.

    I'm taking a break from the blog. It may be a day, a week or forever. 

    Thank you for reading!

        Leta

Lilies, my favorite beauties in my garden

June 13--Goodbye for Now

The best name I could ever be called is "Grammie."  --Leta Miller

    This Grammie is in multi-directional tears, sad to see my son and grandsons head back to MN, and so joyfully happy for a super-fantastic visit. Much healing occurred. 

        Leta

More from our Zoo fun

June 12--Zoo Fun

There is no right answer and no one path.  --Mary Davis

    Yesterday we went to the Sedgwick County Zoo, a world-class zoo in Wichita, Kansas. It is truly an amazing zoo for a city our size. Our foremost mission was to see the baby elephants, of which there are now three at our zoo, which is truly outstanding. We headed to that area first and to our delight, two were out roaming with their mothers. We next meandered to the gorilla exhibit with an air-conditioned indoor viewing area where we took a break to rest and give our 9-month-old grandson a bottle. We sat by the windows long enough that a couple gorillas came over to investigate and one of them (below) elected to entertain us. I walked over two miles using the stroller for stability, and that was my longest walk since I came home from my big trip. Progress!

    Life is good with grandkids in the house!

        Leta

Squealing adorable!!!!!!!

June 11--Some Days Are Like That

Needing to have things perfect is the surest way to immobilize yourself with frustration.  --Wayne Dyer

    Yesterday my frustration with my body, my clumsy limping walk, ongoing aches and pains, and slow healing literally overflowed, and I had a day of copious soul-rinsing. I also had the complete joy of baby-sitting my 9-month-old grandson. Although that time did not go according to his usual schedule, I had the great joy of holding and rocking him for over an hour. This was, of course, in the same rocker where I spent many hours rocking his dad--big tears of joy on that one! 

    Sometimes tears simply cannot be stopped and they must be given their freedom. 

        Leta

June 10--Sunshine in a Flower

Beauty is whatever gives joy.  --Edna St. Vincent Millay

    Two years ago in the fall, when visiting Colorado, I gathered some spent wild sunflowers from the roadside and eventually sprinkled the seeds in a section of my garden. Last spring some of the seeds sprouted, enough to replenish the plot for this spring. Now in the second year in my garden, they are going gang-busters. Our recent wind and rain storms have beaten them up. I shall have to figure out a way to bring them back to standing nicely. One precocious plant bloomed earlier than the rest; it is pictured below. 

    Sunflowers make me happy. Oh, is that why I ended up living in the Sunflower State?!?!

        Leta

June 9--Beyond Joy!!

There are no words to describe the happiness in holding your baby’s baby. 
--Unknown, from Google

    This one made me cry. Because this week, I am getting to do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    And I'm going to go do more of it now!

        Leta

June 8--Humility

HOPE, which stands for How Our Power/Presence Expresses. 
--Raymont Anderson

    I am lately pondering the concept of humility. Being a few months shy of 70, and in the midst of a lengthy physical recovery, the word "elderly" is too often in my mind. Yuck! The old people around me are elderly, I'm not! Wait, yes, I am. While I am determined to live my intention to "stay healthy and active," it's not as easy as it used to be. And using a cane, which I have been doing in an attempt to keep my gait more normal, is a practice which screams "elderly." There's a fine balance between staying positive and hopeful, yet accepting that I'm not going to live forever, and I'm not above all the illnesses and injuries that take people out. 

    One day at a time, keep moving, do the next right thing...

        Leta

Chihuly glass beauty,
Adelaide Botanical Garden, Australia