Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Merry 11-11-11!

WOW! What a day!

The Gallery Pics are my Mom, sister and me making dressing yesterday... step-by-step! Unfortunately, since we freeze the dressing in lovely Ziplock bags, the beautiful end product won't be photographed until Thanksgiving.

It's kind of like a culinary cliffhanger.

I'm going to be lazy today (blog-wise) because I have a lot to do (house-wise). I'm re-posting a post I wrote November 11, 2008! That's right. I believed it then... and I really believe it now.

TODAY!

I went for a walk yesterday afternoon, and I took pics of some of my favorite things in the whole world. No, not Mikie and the kids... trees. Beautiful, colorful, autumnal trees. In the next few days there will be a rainstorm, or an incredibly blustery day, and all of the leaves will be on the ground. The trees will be bare... people will blow and bag and mulch all the leaves... the yards will be full of gray, leafless trees and very non-green lawns and fall will be over. The shortest season of the four. I know technically winter doesn't start until sometime in December, but let's face it... it's winter weeks before the actual "Official Winter Date." (I'm a little depressed if you couldn't already tell.)

I've enjoyed 47 falls. That's really not that many, is it? Compared to the 47 summers I've ENDURED, it's not many at all.

As I took the above pictures yesterday, instead of it making me happy, it made me sad. I didn't live in the moment. I looked ahead to the future when all the beauty around me would be gone, and I forgot to enjoy "my today." The only November 11, 2008 I'll ever have. I talk to the kids about it all the time, and look what I did. Shame on me! I guess living day by day is one of the hardest lessons I've ever had to learn... and I'm still learning it. I've met people who live in the moment... who are spontaneous... who will try anything once and think about what they've done later. I don't care for them very much. They make me uncomfortable.

I had a friend when I was a younger adult who would call me on a Saturday morning and say, "Let's do something. Do you want to see a movie in an hour or so?"

"Today?" I would ask incredulously. "I've kind of had my Saturday planned for five months now. I can't just go to a movie in an hour or so? What movie were you talking about?"

"Oh, I don't know. We can just pick one when we get there," she replied.

"What do you mean we'll just pick one when we get there? What if there isn't a movie showing we want to see, or what if we miss the starting time and have to wait for the next show, or what if I want to see one you've already seen twice before? You can't just show up at a movie theater and pick any ol' movie." By this time, I was having a hard time breathing.

"Well, we can do something else. Do you want to go hiking at Oak Mountain for a couple of hours?"

"What?!? Now you want to go hiking... an outside activity that needs major preparation on my part." Now my head had started hurting, too.

"Just throw on some old jeans and a pair of tennis shoes. It'll be fun," she declared.

"Have you lost your mind? Do you even know who you're talking to? Have you ever even met me?" I had broken out in severe flop sweat.

"Well, what did you have going on today?" she finally asked.

"I was going out to eat at 5:22 in the food court at the mall with some friends, and then we were going to shop for 2 hours and 12 minutes. Would you like to do that?" I asked weakly.

"That sounds fun. I love meeting new people. But would you mind if we ate at 5:30 instead of 5:22? I like round numbers."

What a weirdo!

I have a friend in the year 2008 that I call three or four months ahead of time to see if she and her family can come over to cook out... weather permitting, of course. She laughs at me, writes the date and time down and for some strange reason, they are usually available for the date we pick! This works for me.

But I know deep down, I'm missing something. TODAY! I'm missing TODAY!

I took Roxie and my niece and nephew to see Kung Fu Panda not too long ago, and there was something very wise in that little animated film. One of the characters said, "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift... that is why it is called the Present." I think I'm going to have this tattooed somewhere. Not where anyone can see it, of course. But I think I really need the daily reminder. (Or maybe I could just cross-stitch it on a pillow!)

Weekend Happenings

I am looking forward to a lovely weekend. Lovely, I say!

Friday

Mikie and I have a date tonight! Yes! And we're going to a wonderful restaurant... Lovoy's. (We have a Gift Certificate! Food tastes so much better when bought with a Gift Certificate, don't you think?)

Austin and Josh are hanging out this afternoon and tonight.

Roxie is spending the night at Grandmother's.

Saturday

Saturday is going to be nice, too. I am going with two friends to Another Broken Egg to play catch-up.

Josh is starting his job as a Christmas Lumberjack at the Christmas Tree Farm. (He is very excited.)

Austin is sleeping late.

Mikie is doing stuff around the house.

I am sure Roxie will want to do some Saturday afternoon shopping and driving... and I'm going to be happy to oblige.

And Saturday night, we're all attending the Gardendale High School play.

Sunday

Sunday will be church attendance, a Faulkner Five lunch and maybe, just maybe, NAPS!

I'm telling you. It's going to be a great weekend.

I hope you and yours enjoy the next three days. Make wonderful memories. Spend time in the moment. (That's what I ALWAYS have to tell myself.)

Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday morning!

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda