Saturday's Scribbles

Good Fourth of July weekend to you from our corner of America!  Land of the free, home of the brave~!!  We are experiencing the heat and humidity usually forecast for August as we enter into the 4th tomorrow with temperatures in the 90's for the weekend.  The crops, trees and bushes and flowers are enjoying a bit of growth after we finally got 3 inches of rain this past weekend.  I'm sure the farmers are smiling too!

Tonight we will watch the fireworks from our living room window.  We see them through the trees, but they are still beautiful and it is nice to be indoors in our comfy chairs watching!  They are so close to us and if the wind is just right we get debris in our yard, so I expect Joel will go out and check the grass after they end.  Just in case a few sparks are still around..............

Last Saturday we drove north to one of our family's  homes for the weekend.  It was debatable whether I should tackle it since the neuropathy is still giving me a tough time, but I decided....in pain there or here, what's the difference.  The difference would be family to hug on!  Joel kept going on Sunday when he traveled 70 miles farther north to celebrate at a birthday party for his brother James who turned 80.  He had a good time visiting with everyone, seeing a few more than he did the weekend before.  I stayed behind and rested, keeping our granddog company while the family headed off to a grad party.  We never get to see all the people we want to when we head to MN, and this trip was just family.  

Speaking of neuropathy, I did some research and discovered that Benadryl can help with toning down nerve pain.  I started taking it at night and for six nights in a row I slept through the night with no real burning pain and the nerve pain in general was a bit less during the day.  Very interesting.  AND the relief was great.  It makes me sleepy the next day a bit, but worth it for now as we try to figure out what triggered the high pain.  As we discuss it, I often think of it as a chess board with us trying to move the pieces into the right places.  Complicated, just like life!

Speaking of life, this past Wednesday we celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary!  So grateful for so many years together.  That evening as we were looking for something to watch on TV I came across our granddaughter's high school softball team playing a rival.  There were two games that had been recorded from the night before and we enjoyed watching 3 hours of her.... and the team, of course.  What fun for us to watch from our comfy living room and a great way to celebrate our anniversary.

I am sitting on the porch looking at our garden while I type.  Our tiger lilies are in bloom and so beautiful!  It is so quiet where we live, in fact I think only one family on our cul-de-sac even has kids at home anymore.  There is a path at the end of our block, so we often get walkers coming by.  There are 12 houses on our long cul-de-sac and most of us know each other.  I like that.  In fact, as I have mentioned before, several of the families here go to the same Lutheran church in town!  Three are pastors!  I'm still thinking we need to rename our street "Lutherhaven"!

On this 4th of July weekend it seems more important than ever to remember that our country has much to be thankful for.  So many freedoms, to worship, to live as we wish, to work, to play.  So very much to be grateful for.  So much diversity, and in that diversity we have unity as a country.  Praying your celebration of the 4th is filled with all that brings you joy~

Today I am grateful for hugging on family, watching a granddaughter play softball from my living room, tiger lilies in bloom, America, another anniversary to celebrate, walking outside, porch sitting, playing cribbage with a grandson, laughing and loving with granddaughters, a daughter and son-in-laws welcoming arms and generous hearts, our quiet street, fireworks from our living room window, and so much more.........

Enjoy your weekend!