Highway to ...

Life is full of surprises. Sometimes you are sure that you are doing the right thing. Saving money, spending little on yourself. Then someone tells you that they hate you; that they feel like you do not show them enough respect. It is like being at work all over again. Someone always testing your limits. Making sure that they keep you emotionally raw and confused.

It does not take much these days to disrupt a night of sleep. Fumble for the couch and a pillow so that you don't disturb all the other people in the house. All you can really do is scratch your head in awe and watch the mayhem unroll.

Now instead of feeling rested and prepared to again descend into the rabbit hole, I am weary and bone-tired, knowing that I am going to court tomorrow with all the posturing, pretending and pusillamity. I will be OK. I will be OK.

Waiting

Waiting, originally uploaded by lucienphoto.

I really love to watch people waiting. We wait in line. We wait for others. We wait to do things. I wonder what goes on in the mind of the waiter. I was waiting for someone at the train station, watching others waiting for someone also. This one just captured me.

Pink and Green

Pink and Green, originally uploaded by lucienphoto.

If wisdom and diamonds grew on the same tree we could soon tell how much men loved wisdom. ~Lemuel K. Washburn, Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays, 1911

More Is Not Always Better

Every day I go to work. Every day I touch lives. Every day I make a difference.

I can't always be sure that this is the day that will change all this.

I do know that I can choose to give my all or simply do a half-baked job.

Do what you can with what you have.

Don't worry about some or all if you have already done your best.

Most often we will have another chance to excel.

Beatrice Meets Joe Jones

I spent part of the day reading Anne Lamott's Joe Jones. An artful and happy look into the lives of people's lives intersecting at a cafe. Part of the smile on my mother's face may have been the story itself, but I think she found real joy in hearing a voice she knows speaking to her. It was not the TV, or the radio. It was a voice that her mind knows. A voice she can resonate with through the fog of her age and illness. It is a voice that she has heard change. It is the voice of love.

Turn off the TV and open a book. Read for yourself, read to your children (or somebody's children) and read to your parents. Opening a book can open your mind. Opening a book can take you to new places. Opening a book can ease your pain, give you laughter and joy. Opening a book can enable you to experience life through the eyes of another.

Atlanta

I am visiting with my mother in Atlanta for a few days. I was here last year about the same time and my sister took me for Chinese food to a fantastic restaurant. I can't remember what I had last year for the main course, but I do recall having the Garlic Shrimp Rolls for an appetizer. The staff seem to know their clientele and greet them by name. The service is impeccable with a wonderful bar or table seating arrangement. The lighting is soft and conducive to conversation and the noise level is quite reasonable.

I ate the Curry Chicken last night. The vegetables were crisp, the spices fresh and not overwhelming. The chicken was excellent quality and the presentation wonderful. I highly recommend stopping by for a pleasant dining experience.