SOFT

Having been sick last week and having had trouble sleeping, my soft blankets and pillows felt particularly comfortable to me.  I love down blankets and pillows.  I love the softness of micro fleece anything.  Larry has given me a brown lap blanket and a white robe that are so soft and comfortable.  They make me happy when I wrap up in them to go to sleep. 

I started thinking about other things that are soft and how grateful I am for them.  I love soft water.  It is always a treat to shower with soft water.  Our water is hard so I always appreciate the opportunity to use soft water.  Mom has soft water and it is one of the reasons (of many) that I love going there.

My grandpa Botkin grew lots of flowers in his garden.  I remember how I would stroke the petals of the roses in his garden.  They were soft and had the most beautiful smell.  Roses always make me think of my grandma and grandpa.  There were always bouquets with roses in them in their house.  I would try to stroke the petals carefully so they wouldn't break off the flower.  They always seemed to be softer than other flowers.

Soft ice cream is a fun treat.  I love ice cream period.  But now and then the soft ice cream is nice to have.  Perhaps that is one reason I like frozen yogurt so much.  Right now I am really liking the yogurt from Aspen Leaf.  Larry treats me to one every now and then.   I always get vanilla.  It's my favorite.  Sometimes I put sprinkles of chopped Heath bars on top.   Larry likes to go on Tuesday because it is double punch day.  I think he gets a free one when his card is full.  And I can't forget the goodness of soft chewy cookies.  I like the crunchy kind, too, but mostly if I can dip them into a glass of cold milk.  That is pretty much the only way to eat Oreo cookies and really enjoy them.  Milk just goes so well with cookies, but the chewy ones can stand on their own.

I love the soft glow of firelight.  It is mesmerizing and hypnotic.  I really could sit and watch a flame from the firelight or a candle until it has died.  They are best in the dark, of course.  A soft fireplace fire in the winter is so comforting.  It is one of my happy thoughts.  And it is best when there is a soft snowfall outside.  I love watching big snowflakes fall from the sky and make a soft white blanket on everything outside.  I love the sound of a soft rainfall.  It makes a superb background noise for falling asleep (wrapped in my soft cozy blankets).

Pretty much anything soft is good.  Soft butter, soft avocado, etc.  There are many things I have not mentioned because I would be here all day writing a list.  But I do want to make mention of soft features and words.  Soft eyes are kind eyes.  Love and compassion emanate from them.  Soft features are inviting.  Evil does not live in softness.  Soft words are also kind and used with a soft voice are soothing and healing.  I would like to be known as a soft person.  I have much to change to reach my goal.  And in my world, soft rules!

Sleep

This week I got hit with a bug.  It began on Tuesday and by that night I wasn't feeling very well.  Wednesday was worse.  I felt achy and fevered.  I took pain reliever for it but it didn't seem to do much for me.  That night I could not get comfortable no matter what I did.  My body ached and it was a fairly restless night.  Last night was a different story.  I took some flu medicine along with the ibuprofen and slept really well (in comparison to Wednesday night).  I woke up this morning, still sick, but feeling so happy to have had a good night's sleep.  I was grateful that I had no obligations to get me up and going early.  I could stay in bed as long as I wanted, so I didn't get up until after eight!

I love how sleep is so rejuvenating to the body and the spirit.  There never seems to be enough time in the day to accomplish all I would like to get done, and I look forward to a time when I won't need to sleep, but having a mortal body makes sleep necessary.  There are many health articles about the need for sleep and the effects that lack of sleep has on the body.  I certainly notice a difference on the nights I work.  I get up three to five times a night with Afton.  She is usually up for about twenty minutes at a time.  It makes the nights a little rough.  Then I am sluggish the following day.  I sure look forward to the rest of the week when I don't get up with her.

Now my challenge is going to bed at a proper time.  Why is that so hard?  It shouldn't be.  The focus should be on the enjoyment of sleep.  Even thinking about sleeping makes me happy.  Sleep is magical.  :)

Confessions and Sight

I hardly know where to start.  In fact, I've tried several times to start writing again, but always "chicken out".  I confess that I have a wee bit of a problem.  I hate to make mistakes and always want everything to be perfect.  I had a hard time in school turning in work that was less than perfect and it caused a great deal of stress and anxiety.  My grades reflected my imperfections and it was a hard fact to face.  I am not clever.  I don't write well.  My thoughts are unorganized.  And I'm very boring.  That said, I am going to forget trying to write about my journey in genealogy (which has almost come to a standstill) and focus on things that touch my heart.  I want to express more gratitude for my blessings and things that bring me joy. 

I don't want to just make a gratitude list.  That is too general.  My whole life has been too general.  I don't notice detail or specifics.  It is hard for me to see beyond the surface of anything.  Memorizing facts and information was easy for me.  I could easily answer multiple choice questions and fill-in-the-blank, but froze on the essay questions.  Don't ask me thought provoking questions.  That requires too much brain activity.  That's painful.  It is time...way beyond time... to start noticing what is beyond the surface.

Now my blog is just going to be me trying to express what I see and feel and try to start seeing what I have missed all these years.  And I will start with being able to see.  I had an eye exam on Monday.  It is the first one in years and nothing has been in focus. (Here is a good place to wax philosophical).  It so happens that both my distance and close vision need a big adjustment.  New glasses are on order and will be here this month.  I so look forward to being able to see clearly again.  The good news to me is that my eyes are healthy.  I work for a lady that has macular degeneration and is unable to do just about anything.  Noticing what life is like for her now has helped me more than ever to appreciate the gift of sight.  I love that my eyes can see.  They are marvelous organs.