Summer Days

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye”

~The Little Prince~

Hello Dear Friends…..

The summer days are slowly, and I mean SLOWLY, making their way toward autumn and as I look on the calendar and the month before me says September I always find myself doing a double take and asking “Really? It’s September already?”  So far the calendar does not answer me back but one day when I ask this question for the millionth time it just might….grins… September has always been my favorite month of the year. Maybe it is the school teacher in me that loves the smell of newly sharpened pencils and brand new text books waiting to be opened up. Maybe it is the sense of anticipation of starting something new and seeing all the eager faces of precious children wearing their new school clothes and carrying new backpacks that puts a smile on my face and a tug at my heart strings. Maybe it is the color of the sunlight that isn’t shining quite so brightly and the cooler breezes in the morning and evenings or the little leaf that is turning yellow and gently falling off the tree in the still summer wind. To be honest I am ready for autumn. I am ready for the hot weather to move along and the cooler temps to take their place! I am ready to snuggle under quilts and put pumpkins on my front porch. Oh yes it is September and I am glad……but still just a little bit surprised!

The memories that my family and I made this summer are very precious to me. The ocean with its cool breezes and salty water lapping at my feet, the sand in my shoes and the little shells and treasures that I found were priceless to me. I collected some sand and shells and other little treasures and made them into a hurricane lamp to remember the day. I love seeing it on my table and it always makes me smile. The lake that we visit often has become a favorite place for me to go, the hot air balloon that was suddenly over my house one morning, the flowers that bring me so much joy, the hummingbird that Scott was able to hold,  a trip to Disneyland and sunsets from my front porch. Memories! What a special gift they are! These memories carried me through the month of August and into September and I was so very grateful for every picture I took, for every smile that I shared, for every hand that I held and for every simple little moment I spent with people I love.

On August 5^th I started my 3^rd round of chemotherapy. It was a Friday, sunny and hot, and I wish with all my heart that I could say it went well, but to be honest it went very badly. There was just way too many medications for my body that had already gone through so much. By Monday I was really sick and by Friday I was in the hospital with a white blood cell count of .4 and a fever of 100.9. Now for a healthy person that fever is considered ok, that is, when you have a normal white blood cell count of between 5-10. I was not even half of one. To make a long story short 5 days in the hospital, 6 antibiotics and a super bug later I am home recovering. I cannot tell you how thankful I am to be home, to be recovering with my family, to be able to enjoy just simple little pleasures like new books from the library or a chance to work on a quilt or a sampler. To be able to watch a sunset from my front porch, to be able to share moments of my day with people that I love, to water my flowers and watch them bloom, to hold my kittens and to laugh! Do you know what a wonderful gift laughter is? Joy! What a wonderful blessing to be able to choose joy, to share that joy with others, to see how contagious joy is,.,how it can spread! Oh my goodness I almost forgot…..Chocolate Chip Cookies! How absolutely wonderful they taste…. Homemade, fresh from the oven! My new favorite food! Do you know when Scott and I were dating I would bake him chocolate chip cookies and mail them to him all wrapped up in a shoe box? When they would arrive at his house he would open up the box, pour himself a glass of milk and just enjoy! Oh yes another favorite memory! Here is another thing I just absolutely love! Handwritten letters and cards! Are they not the most wonderful thing to get in the mail? I read these words recently on a blog I follow and I just loved them….it is exactly how I feel…“ These days there are few things as special as a word written to you by someone who cares in their own handwriting. I believe our handwriting….no matter how good or bad…. is actually our own  little piece of art.” Emails and texts are wonderful….I use them all the time….but when someone takes the time to write to me, or to make the card or paint the card themselves  that really is a treasure to me! Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to write to me while I have been traveling this road! It means more than I can ever say!

All these simple little day to day things all come together and make up my life! Life! What a wonderful. precious gift that is! What a wonderful gift to be able to wake up and have a whole day to live, to make a difference, to be a blessing to someone. My days are not always good. Some days they are just down right bad….sighs…but what a wonderful gift to have shared that day with someone I love! What a wonderful gift hugs are, or shoulders to lean on or hands to hold. When I was in the hospital I did not realize how very sick I was or that some people do not survive what I went through. All I knew was that I was never for one minute alone! I could not have any visitors except Scott and he had to wear a gown, a mask and gloves….poor guy….but he was there….every day and every night! I have to tell you too that my Lord was there, as close as my breath, and He never left! All of those prayers that were said on my behalf He heard! And He answered! I am recovering, I will be okay and I will continue my journey. (Although my oncologist and I are going to talk and find out just what route my journey is going to take now because I promise you I will not do this again!...LOL) The view outside my hospital window was hills….small hills and in the distance mountains….. and the verse that came to mind so often? Psalm 121:1

I will lift up my eyes to the hills-

From whence comes my help?

Wow! Thanks everyone for reading my ramblings! I just wanted to touch base and let you know how I am doing and off I go! Another thing I love….writing!

I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with something that brings you joy, someone that makes you smile and something essential that you can see with your heart!

~Jenny~