Sadness...and Carrying On

They say that you always remember where you were and what you were doing when you hear about life changing events and for me, I know that to be true...and now I can add Friday to that list.  My first thought was of a quote I had just read:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world."

-Mister Rogers

Gotta love Mister Rogers.  

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I am choosing three things that I can do.

I am choosing to pray.  I am choosing to mourn.  I am choosing joy.

Life, as it tends to do, carried on this weekend.  We lunched at Le Creperie and even split a split of (really bad, but it's the thought that counts) champagne.  We watched our youngest play basketball.  We cleaned up our backyard and caught up on laundry and helped a son register for classes and ate pot roast that cooked long and slow during the afternoon.

We did the normal things people do.  There was a sadness about all of it, a heaviness, but we kept plugging along.

 The weather has been cold and dreary for the most part...and just when it seems too much, the clouds parted and the sun peeked through.  Not enough to take the chill away, but enough to make the daytimes seem a little more cheerful.

On Sunday that guy that I like so much sang in a concert and after, my favorite moment of the whole weekend...we watched Midnight In Paris and ate cheese and drank wine.  We texted and emailed and scheduled a dinner party on the only free night we have between now and Christmas because suddenly all I want to do is be with people I love and spend time with them in our little house on our little street.

  I want to hug people and feed people and laugh and cry and pray with people.

Tomorrow begins a new week and I am ready...there's some shopping to be done and some gifts to be delivered and some goodies to be baked and some friends to love upon.  Just regular things that I am going to try and accomplish with a joyful heart rather than an 'I have to do this' attitude.  

I'm going to make that simple thought my everyday thought.  I'm going to choose joy for the limited time I have on this earth.

And FYI...the cheap seats at Segerstrom are really high up (but are super comfy) and not too high to go unnoticed by Santa.  Kinda fun.

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