The Story of Today

Today has been a great day.
A very long day.
A very busy day.
But a great day.

We took my amazing daughter to her Weight Watchers group. (She is the bravest person I know.)
She elbowed her way thru all the New Years' Resolutioners and took her place among the regulars.
One day she's gonna be a leader there and inspire countless others to be courageous and take their own lives by storm. Have I mentioned her bravery?

While she got inspired to stay motivated, Steve and I went to Einstein Bagels for breakfast and a great conversation. We set a few goals for this year for our family and for ourselves.
This man I am married to is a nut. He drives me crazy sometimes. (I'm sure I do the same to him.)
But this generous, kind, sports-loving man makes me laugh - not quite as much as my son does, but he's a close second. And he makes me want to be a better person.

Before collecting Kristiana, we went to Earthfare where I loaded up on kombucha. Other than water, this is the thing I drink most these days. Tasty and healthy. And, thanks be to God and store management, it was on sale today. After picking Kristiana up, we dropped off a load of clothing at Good Will. Then we went to Harris Teeter for groceries.

We came home, unpacked the groceries, and I did two loads of laundry.
Kristiana and I did some decluttering in our bathrooms and then I did some in the kitchen.

An hour or so later, Kristiana and I walked to Trader Joe's for more groceries. (Heading into healing therapy week, I've gotta make sure we are well stocked. Plus I love, love, love going to the supermarket.) When we were approaching the checkout, I called Steve - who then drove to the store with our cloth bags and brought us and the food home. On the way home, we stopped at the library - where I picked up a book on simplifying my life. Haha - funny joke. But a girl can dream, right?

Finally, I began to settle in for a slow afternoon and evening. I read several weeks' worth of entries in this amazing woman's blog about her kanswer journey... Steve went outside with Daniel to replace a few exterior light bulbs. When Steve put the ladder back into the crawl space under our house, he smelled (natural) gas. He called me on my cell phone (cuz we are a 21st century couple) and asked me to go outside to see if I smelled it. I did.

Oh no!

I came back inside and called the gas company. Once the operator took my home address and cell phone number, she recited of a long list of warnings.

"Don't turn on or off any appliances.
Don't turn on or off any telephones, cell phones or land lines.
(I wondered about the safety of hanging up after listening to her dire warnings.)
Don't cook anything.
Don't smoke.
Don't let anyone start or turn off a car engine.
Don't...
Don't...
Don't...
And evacuate the premises."

CRAP!!!

Two nights before my third session of healing therapy, do I need to be worried about my house sitting on an active gas leak? Absolutely NOT!!!

So I called my neighbor, Robin. She is truly a fabulous neighbor and one of the most hospitable people I know. She said, "Come on over." So the four of us and our dog went next door. She and her husband insisted that we stay for dinner - which we did.

A technician from Piedmont Natural Gas came, wandered through our house with his detection instruments, and found no leak. Thanks be to God!

(Note to self: remember that gas leaks evoke dinner invitations from generous neighbors.)

We are back at home now. Kristiana and I made a batch of vegan chocolate chip cookies. I will fold the last load of clothes now that it has finished its sojourn in the dryer. We will get the guest room set up for my dear friend, Kim, who is flying down from Connecticut to take me to my healing therapy on Monday (Yes, I have amazing friends!), and then I will eat two warm cookies.

That is the story of today.
Can you hear the sound of my deep sigh as this day winds down?
I'm going to sleep very well tonight. Very well.
I hope you do as well.