Let It Be Known...

If there are little, rubber boots anywhere in my vicinity, I must photograph them.

It's a disease.

Open (and my word)

Yes, I am open (but that's not my word this year).

I am open to new beginnings...an empty canvas...a fresh start.

This "new" year is starting off slowly, but it seems to be moving at just the right pace.

No cart-before-the-horse-thing. No jumping ahead, and falling all over myself in the process. Just slow and steady...

My word last year was LOVE. I'm not sure if I picked it, or if it picked me, but it was definitely the right word to focus on...and to be honest, I didn't really focus on it. I just kind of let it follow me around like a shadow, and, occasionally, I would consider it.

My "high noon" moment was sometime around the early part of summer, when I read The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.

The wisdom in the words of that book seemed to hit me in just the right place at the right time.  It gave me clarity.  No more mysterious, dark slant following me around...just full sun....and a clear understanding of the word LOVE.

Needless to say, last year's word was good to me. So, this year, I feel like the pressure is on.

There have been a lot of contenders floating around in my head since the start of 2013...words I struggle with, and truly want to understand and incorporate into my life...like COMMITMENT, PRACTICE, HONOR, and PEACE, but the one word that keeps nagging at me is the word "HERE".

I've spent far too much time thinking about "THERE". THERE is where I want to be, but I know that THERE is just a shadow, and HERE is the full sun.

So, HERE, HERE, HERE! That's my word this year...and I'm sticking to it.

I am open and I'm here.

This Old House

I love this song, by Phillip Phillips...

It fits perfectly with the vibe of our day...just driving around, windows down, going nowhere in particular.

When I saw this old house, I stopped right in the middle of the road, hoping no traffic would show up in either direction for just a few minutes.

It looked almost surreal, like a drawing or a painting...a dream...(not my dream home, but I would take it).

I'd take any place that I could settle into, and call my own...any place to call home. My heart aches for home (and my daughter would love that purple door), but I'm trying to remember not hold on too tightly to dreams...trying not to get too attached to what I wish I had, or what's too far off.

Longing is painful.

Now, is this moment, then my foot on the gas, hand out the window to feel the breeze, enjoying the music, and the company of my kids...back to that place that isn't home, but is a roof over our heads...grateful for that...and for now.

Grateful for what is real, and not just a dream, like this old house.

I Feel Like There Should Be Captions...

Eh...