I’ve had two letters from my original mortgage …what do I call him? handler?…telling me this was a good time to refinance, even though I haven’t even been here 4 years yet. I had my car and house insurance with the same company, and had a supposed discount for that. Since I now have a car loan and needed full coverage, it got crazy.
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I was visiting with my neighbor. You know, the one who has done my dishes, mowed my lawn all summer, shoveled my walks this winter and helped whenever he could, while I was feeling awful. I feel I’ve done so little in return. Amidst our random chatting he mentioned his son again. The son he hasn’t seen for 20-25 years. His wife divorced him and moved across the country, remarried. He didn’t know where they were.

So just for the heck of it, I Googled him. Found him (or at least what we thought might be him) on Facebook. I sent him a message and got a reply right away. I gave him his dad’s phone number and he wrote back saying he just tried calling but got the answering machine. I said that would be because he was sitting here next to me. lol… So my friend hustled on home and I told his new found son to call him back. He was so afraid to have me write, thinking his son might want nothing to do with him. I think we were both shocked at the immediate reply.

Yeah, that was my awesome moment for the day. I think that goes triple for William 😉 Brought back memories of how awesome it was to finally meet my son (I had put him up for adoption) after only holding him one time in the hospital.

Events like Haiti’s earthquake bring my own little trials into perspective. I don’t consider that a good thing…for them I mean. Way to trivialize a horrendous event Anita. My heart goes out to all of those people and their poor families who are still waiting for word on their loved ones. I feel compelled to offer a meager amount of money for their aid, even though I’m actually in the hole this month. Me being in the hole will pass faster than their suffering will. Sometimes I wish I was there to help, then I realize that I can barely stand in line at the store for ten minutes so I guess my small donation to the Red Cross will have to do. I urge everyone to do the same, remember…”There, but by the grace of God, go I.” I feel so helpless, I have nothing to offer but compassion…and my prayers.

“Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.” ~Buddha

Fort Wayne Indiana is only two hours south of where I spent most of my life. I only saw an occasional cicada in all my years up there. After I moved here, while walking to the store that summer, I heard this buzzing sound that would come and go. I thought it was the electrical lines. But no, it was a tree full of cicadas. There are a lot of trees full of them, it’s really most bizarre. No 16 year cicadas here, they’re here every summer. I’ve gotten used to it and think it’s pretty cool now.

What made me bring up cicadas in December? Because I have had the worst tinnitus for the last couple of weeks and that’s just what it sounds like. I have a tree full of cicadas in my head 😉 While I don’t mind them in the trees, having them in my head is getting pretty old. I wish tinnitus was as curable as having winter come and they disappear.

I don’t know if it’s my allergies, which are still acting up in spite of the fact that we’ve had a frost (not to mention snow). Or does it have to do with my migraines? They are getting more persistant. Maybe my shunt is malfunctioning and I have increased internal cranial pressure….naw, even when I did, I didn’t have cicadas in my head. Yet another thing to learn to live with I suppose and really it’s a lot easier to take than the migraines.

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful. ~ Buddha

Hope yours is wonderful! 🙂

You can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.