Monday Morning This and That

Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity.
We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand. . . and
melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late.

Marie Beynon Ray

As Monday rolls around, I find myself eagerly  forward to whatever this week shall bring. Hopefully, I will finally receive some good news.  On Friday I went to the healing mass and was touched on the by a relic from St. Alphonsus, noted for his healing works.  He is also credited with writing the masterpiece, "The Glories of Mary". When the priest opened the service by saying, "Welcome to Mary's Church", I knew I had come home.  On Saturday I listened to the weather and headed out in the morning to beat the rain.  I made it to the first store and as I was leaving, the rain began to fall.  I had an umbrella with me, but in all honesty, it was fun walking in the rain so I left it in my purse.  Sunday morning I went to Church and then came home to rest up for the coming week.  It is so wonderful to be free....

...Speaking of freedom, my turtles have also been set free. Over the weekend  I received an email and above photo from a colleague who had offered to take them when I retired only they weren't sure they were going to let them go.  They brought such joy to the clients.  But, last night I received an email from this colleague.  They had made the decision to let them go, and my little reptile babies are in 7th heaven having the run of the house. I am so happy for them.  At work, they were in a cramped tank.  Now they are in a place where they can spread their wings, so to speak.  

All right, this waiting for my test results is getting the best of me, and I have become a wee bit angry.  I know they must have been completed and sent to the doctor last week, so why am I still waiting to hear?  I have to question if it is because I no long have my good insurance and now have been pushed aside.  I do hope I am wrong, but I believe that, in the case of a test as important as a biopsy, someone should take the time to notify the patient of the results.  It's time to make some calls and climb the ladder to the higher ups if necessary. I should have done so last week, but because of fear I pushed it aside and pretended once again it wasn't there.  That is so wrong of me.  Early treatment is the key to survival.  

After leaving church yesterday, I made a stop at the shop across the street.  I bought some wonderfully scented fairy and rose incense and spotted the above Chinese Five Pepper plant.  It was only $4.99 and so attractive, I couldn't resist.  Another name for this plant is the Christmas Pepper.

Today I am off the the center for a day of bingo, dance lessons, current events and lunch.  I find myself looking forward to it.  On Friday I met a woman and during the course of our discussion, mentioned my retirement and where I had worked.  She replied that she knew the agency quite well; in fact, she had often done volunteer work for the organization.  It  certainly is a small world.

Do we need to make a special effort to enjoy the beauty of the blue sky?
Do we have to practice to be able to enjoy it? No, we just enjoy it.
Each second, each minute of our lives can be like this.
Wherever we are, any time, we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine,
the presence of each other, even the sensation of our breathing.
We don't need to go to China to enjoy the blue sky.
We don't have to travel into the future to enjoy our breathing.
We can be in touch with these things right now.

Thich Nhat Hanh