As I sit here with A cup of coffee, the house is quiet.  The internet radio is playing Gospel Twang on a very low setting and I am enjoying old time music.  Al has gone to the club, which is where I should be too, but I had one of those sleepless nights and didn’t drop off to sleep until around 3 a.m..  The same thing happened two nights ago and I am wondering what is causing this.  As I look out our window from my perch in my chair it is dark and wet.  I can hear the rain pounding on the roof overhead and my heart swells with appreciation.  This has been a wet spring for Austin, Texas, and after a 7 year drought which brought on some severe water restrictions, we gardeners are in 7th heaven watching the rain pelt against the windows.

I have been reading the AARP magazine and the famous names of my youth are in here….Twiggy, Candice Bergen and Bob Dylan.  Seriously?  They are old enough to be written about in AARP?  Well, I suppose so, if I am old enough to receive this magazine.  Where in the world have all these years gone?

I enjoy this age of my life more than any other age I have been.  It is as if everything I have experienced was put in place for this time in my life.  As has been said, “Older and Wiser” which really is me now that I am older.  Note that I do not claim to be wise!  I am wiser than I once was and I am glad we don’t get report cards on that class!

What have I learned?  Well, I have learned that it really is true when they say that life goes faster than you could ever have imagined when you were young. I have learned that you can be of much better use as a listener than a talker.  I know now that our need of feeling loved and appreciated is something we all have in common. I learned that letting go is much more beneficial to all involved than holding on…and healthier.  I have found out that all the hurts and betrayals and troubles I have had to deal with in life have made me a better person, a better wife, a better Mother and a better friend.  I have learned that no one gets through life on a free pass.  We ALL have our issues and we all deal with family and friends who can exasperate us, disappoint us, and puzzle us.  We also are given family and friends who make us feel good about who we are and who we cherish.  It all falls into a pattern of good and bad and is part of a bigger picture that is meant to make us grow our character.

I feel happy today. We had dinner last night with my Cousins daughter, husband and three children and it was wonderful.  Spending time with this young couple makes us realize that contrary to what the news will have us believe, we are in good hands with our children.  They are doing a fine job in carrying the torch we have passed on to them. Heck!  I’d say they are improving things rather nicely.  

Time to sign off.  The medley “singing in the rain” is traveling through my consciousness.  The lacks in this world are very important because without them we would never learn to enjoy the abundance of anything.  After a 7 year drought, this rain is as precious to us as if it were diamonds falling out of the sky.  The plantings are reaching upward, greener and more lush than I have seen in years.  Oh yes, we all love sunshine, but without the rain we would all perish.

Thank you Lord.  Today is the day which You have made and we are definitely going to rejoice in it!

Today is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!