The Good Life

Today is Black Friday. When I hear that term, I think of something evil....black indicating something dark which in turn conjurs up evil. And in fact it does. The retailers drawing us out of our warm beds so that they can make a buck and claim the prize for making the most money. It also can lend itself to injuries as we saw last year when a woman died in Wal-Mart after being trampled.

It was quiet and as many days start with the same question, the husband surprised me with a different one. How about we go to Truffles and Torte for a waffle? Sounds good to me. Except once there, we learned the waffles are only on Saturday. Bummer....had to settle for an omelet.

Upon our return home with Mitzee in tow, I took her into the back yard to do her business. We were walking the property and just enjoying the weather and being out when I see Martin coming with the ball to play fetch with Mitzee.

As I start to make my way to the "ball throwing area" under the arbor...thoughts of how good my life is come to the forefront. Walking the yard, a dog running happily towards Martin, Martin taking the time to play with Mitzee.

I know these things seem small and yet they are huge.

As a little girl growing up I never really had security. Therefore, to be walking around a yard that I deem beautiful and peaceful is humbling. I never thought I'd own a house and not one as beautiful as this.

Mitzee running with excitement and glee towards Martin is always wonderful to watch. How excited she gets when she hears the garage door go up, when you ask her to go find Daddy, and when he's been gone for several days, you can't hold her down to get to him. There is pure joy and love on both sides and the healing power she has had on both of us is amazing. It's truly amazing how God could create one thing that could love UNCONDITIONALLY and it came in a fur ball..but a cute one.

Martin taking the time to join us in the back yard and play speaks to him prioritizing Mitzee and I as being first in his life. And we are.

So as I walk towards my husband of 13 years, all the memories flood over me and I'm caught up in how much we've gone through, how much we've grown together as one, and how much my love deepens for him continually. I baske in the beautiful 35 degrees with no wind and think, its a good day (on the other side is a brisk wind and a windchill---brrrrr). Then there's THAT DOG. Yep, our dog. The way she cocks her head, the noises Martin gets her to make, the way she snuggles in against you at night, the atheleticism she displays. She had given so much and asked for nothing. It's just the little and simple things that bring me the most joy...they're free....I didn't have to do anything but accept them....Isn't that awesome. And then you know that God has blessed you with all of this and wonder why me?

In high school, we all take a test that is suppose to indicate what we should do with our lives. Guess what I was suppose to be? A nun!!!

Thank God he had other ideas for me or I never would have gotten a dog out of the deal.

Good night all