Today was a Good Day!!

So, today was a good day! It started out shabby, but went from there. Make yourself comfy, this will be a little long.. .. ..

First, I woke up late. Again. As this pregnancy progresses (31 weeks tomorrow!!!) I find myself more and more fatigued. This little sweetie is definitely growing like a weed and gaining strength. I must say, most people look at this as the uncomfortable, dreaded last few weeks of pregnancy. I am loving it! I love seeing the sudden burst of growth, the amazing amount of movement that will rock my whole abdomen, the shift of the hips - signaling the impending delivery of a new life into the world. I love every bit of it.. .. .. but it does make a body exhausted! So, I snoozed the alarm and woke up a little late.

I have a bad habit of getting frantic and rushing around like a tornado. I get the kids in a flurry and push them to hurry up and I'm not always as nice as I should be. On Sunday at Church our Pastor talked about our first love and remembering to stay true to that. To stay true to our family and friends and cherish them. Make your living for them, not making a living. So, I stopped and said a quick prayer, asking for patience and peace and a gentle tone with the kids. Things went more smoothly than I could have hoped and we left the house only 3 minutes later than I wanted!! And we were all in a good mood and geared up for the day.

I knew that I was still on track to be a few minutes late for work. I again prayed for patience and the ability to just take the morning in stride. Here's the cool part.. .. .. I dropped the kids at daycare and made my way down the road to turn onto the main road and head to the freeway. Inevitably every day I get stopped at the red turn light as I'm trying to get from the relatively quiet road to the bustling road. I anticipate this and know it's a given. I am over a quarter mile away and see that the turn light is green. YEP, NEVER going to make that light. I get closer and it's still green. Mind you, there is NO other traffic my direction but me. The opposite light is filling fast with cars. I keep going, still green...still green...I make the turn, and after I'm all the way through it turns yellow. Now, this may sound silly to some, but I knew better. I knew that in the six months I have been driving that way this has NEVER happened. I knew it was a gentle nudge telling me I AM NOT alone and "someone" is on my side. Talk about a good way to start the day!!!

I got to work and my heart was heavy from the conversation the night before (read down two blog entries and you'll understand). I had to let it out. My best friend in the whole world, Nikki, read it over and walked me through it. She dissected it, brought it into perspective, and made me giggle and laugh the whole thing off. Nikki has been the most amazing, wonderful person to have touched my life. I don't think even SHE knows how much she has helped healed my soul and saved me from myself. She is one of those true friends who knows what to say, when to say it, and when to just send her love in full force and say nothing at all. By far today - and every day - she is a blessing at the top of my list!!! (LOVE YOU NIKKI!!)

My next bit of good in the day was getting an email from my childhood friend Kyla. Kyla and I were part of a group in Jr. High that was inseparable, dynamic, and the core of my Jr. High experience. We all experienced our fair share of joy, tears, laughter, and sadness. Due to the AF base closing many of us were separated right after Jr. High. Kyla and I had reconnected last year, then off again (my fault, I own it and apologize) and have since reconnected again. Kyla has also stayed in contact with my Jr. High Soul Sister, Jennie. Jennie and I were ALWAYS together. Her mother was the mother I never had. Her brother was another little brother to me. Her dad would call from the war and I was included in the conversation as one of the kids. Her family was - and always has been and will be - a huge part of my life and heart. Unfortunately, I am TERRIBLE about staying in touch and lost touch shortly after she moved. Something I have ALWAYS regretted. Well, that's a long story to get to the good news. Today Kyla told me that both she AND Jennie will be in California at the end of October!!!!!!!! We are making plans to all get together for the day!!! When I read the email, I cried. My heart swelled up thinking of it and how wonderful it will be to see two of my dearest most beloved friends again. I cannot wait to make a final plan and to see them. AND TO NEVER LOSE TOUCH AGAIN!!!!! Part of my new plan in life.. .. .. making sure those that matter most KNOW IT!!! So that was good times #3 for the day.

Then I pick up the boys and we head home. Jonah and I have been talking about doing a chore chart, though we've never completed it. But I asked him, "What do you think about starting our nightly chores tonight?" He said, "Okay, sounds good Mom". The idea is that we can do a few things each night during the week as part of our routine, then the weekends we can relax and enjoy each others company. So we get home and we divide up what to do. Jo got vacuum duty, just for the tile floors. Which, in our house, is a lot. On his own initiative he added the bathrooms. (So proud of him). Logan had to clean up his room, as a hurricane had hit yesterday. And I had to put away laundry that was done but hadn't quite made it to closets, drawers, and cabinets. We all set off to work and in an hours time we'd all finished our chores. We congratulated each other, thanked each other, and all just felt good about working together as a team. Tomorrow Jo and I will get on the computer and "map out" our chores, assigning tasks to each day. It felt so good to all work together and accomplish a goal together. And seeing the boys participation and enthusiasm was such a boost. Great moment #4.. .. ..

Finally, the last great moments of the day. The "me" time. My friend Mary and I went on our walk together. We're trying to get into a routine, though right now it's more "can you go tonight?". We walk for about 45 minutes, chatting away, and completing a 2 mile heart-to-heart. I always feel refreshed spiritually and physically. I LOVE our walks! After I got the boys in bed I sat down and read. I MISSED reading. I didn't realize how much until I started getting into it again. I read up to the designated page (book club, ya know) and then I caught up on a little DVR. Sitting there, I looked around and thought, "Life is good". Really, I have things I could worry about. I have stresses I could focus on. But when it all boils down to it at the end of the day, life is good.

I feel so blessed today. Blessed that I'm never alone, that I have great friends who NEVER leave my side, great friends who are resurfacing, two AMAZING awesome little boys (don't tell Jo I called him little though), and a great person in myself who, even at the end of the night - sitting there all alone, is great company to be around and someone I love and enjoy.

Like I said, today was a good day and life IS good.. .. ..