On this rainy Friday...

As described below, this is what happens when severe storms blow through Charlotte!

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That's right; it's raining! And it rained, poured, thundered, and lightninged (is that even a word???) during most of the day and into the night on Tuesday. The wind howled, tree branches fell, and there was a tornado watch for most of the night. We are thrilled about the rain - so are the trees, flowers, and fields in our area (at least the ones that have survived our recent bouts of severe weather). Rivers, streams, wells and reservoirs are being replenished and renewed - as is my belief that this drought will not last forever. We are still a long way from being out of the water crisis, but every drop helps. Thanks be to God.

On this rainy Friday, I am grateful for:

* yoga for strength and flexibility
* following exercise with hot, buttered toast and scrambled eggs with garlic sea salt and fresh parmesan (no, I'm not concerned in the least with the offsetting effect of the latter against the former!)
* hot, sweet coffee to wash it down
* my cozy robe and slippers
* Daniel's much improved health
* Steve's ongoing recovery from a deep chest cold of his own
* the fact that Kristiana and I have managed to stay healthy
* ice water
* the recent discovery of Robert Benson's books (Thank you, Bonnie.)
* the freedom to homeschool here in NC - some states are pretty strict about it (Thank you, Jill)
* all the ways in which I am learning (slowly) to control my temper and to ask forgiveness for when I lose it
* the increasing ability to accept my life for what it is and to accept me for who I am, temper, impatience, critical, competitive nature and all
* the increasing desire to figure out other ways to respond to the circumstances of my life than losing my temper, being impatient, and critically comparing myself to others
* digital cameras and instant photographs
* the new "toy" that Steve bought me yesterday (what on earth am I going to do with a Blackberry??? Help!!!)
* the choice I made to spend this entire morning (with only brief breaks) taking care of myself (see above!) - and not paying any attention to my inner critic, Gertrude, who wanted desperately to burden me with guilt and shame for doing so!




* Did I mention that it's raining here in Charlotte? Maya is quite confused about the strange stuff that gets her wet and cold when we take her out for her walks. Poor little, shivering, shaking thing...