Now What?

Well, today is the last day of my forties. It's been an interesting decade to say the least. The boys have all moved into adulthood and Hollis and I are still ridiculously crazy about each other. We are healthy, have great family and friends, jobs at which we feel successful and a church we adore. Nothing is perfect but I don't believe it's supposed to be so that doesn't really stress me out. I guess I am ambivalent about my fifties. I always say that you never know when you wake up in the morning what God has in store for you. Trite, maybe but so true. I love the surprises - mostly. I hope to see the boys grow into their potential and find what they want out of life. They sure are great guys (I won't pretend to be the least bit objective on the topic).

Shelley and I took our Coastal Shop Hop trip on Friday and Saturday.  We hit 6 quilt shops we'd never been to in 5 cities and found some pretty scenery and delicious food along the way.  It turns out 5 of the shops have an organized Shop Hop in February.  We are planning our return now. . .

I had a lovely birthday party Sunday evening. Lots of friends from life, church and work took the time to come eat with us and enjoy some time together. Morgan and Desiree put together a great Candy Bar and my mom lovingly baked 70 cupcakes and brought goodies for us to all top our own. It was great. Curtis worked his butt off in the South Texas heat and his life-long buddy Jordan ran burgers back and forth to all our guests. My sweet niece Katelyn came from Baton Rouge to celebrate with me and there were a couple of surprise guests at the party that really made my day. I felt very loved! That collection of people is what my life is about. Connections! It's all about the connections!

The rough patch of the weekend was pretty darned rough. We had to make the decision to put down a sweet, smart dog we have had since 1998 on Monday morning (she's the one on the step in the photo). She was injured beyond hope and it nearly broke my heart to tell the vet to do what had to be done. She died in my arms without any pain and Clayton (my rock for this event) carried her back to the Suburban and buried her up by the tank where she loved to play, when we got home. I miss her terribly. Her daughter, Cricket looks all over for her every time we come home. I was so blessed to have had her in my life. There will never be another one like her. No original thoughts here but my heart sure has been heavy over my Rhea pup. We all must value the time we have with those we love. It can end at any time!

So on to my fifties! I'm not scared! I'll keep on loving and believing in those around me and they will keep on loving me back. It'll be great - you'll see. . .