Spring

The birds are chirping.  Our home is in an old neighborhood where the streets wind around large clusters of mature trees, mostly oak and pine, also a liberal sprinkling of ornamentals.  It is truly glorious here when the spring flowers burst forth, azaleas and camellias bloom, and best of all the birds. Morning sun is pouring in on me and I can hear old church bells ringing from a mile and a half away, best of all the birds.  The birds are singing high and low, near and far.  I think they are recommending Spring.

I just gathered these two little branches from the front yard, one from a Redbud tree, the other from what I know only as a Tulip tree.  They are plentiful in the low canopy around here.  Also blooming is the ornamental Cherry and Dogwood ... and the wild bursts of yellow at ground level, the Forsythia bushes. Pretty spectacular.

I am excited about something ... the Mediweight Loss plan to get fabulous.  I've been saving up my money for this ever since I moved the winter coats forward in our closets.  It's kind of expensive, but I think it's going to be the nicest thing I've ever done for myself.  Tomorrow makes a week.  I am thrilled with the whole process. Perfect for me because I like to keep track of small details and monitor minutia.  You keep a detailed food/calorie journal, drink what is (even for me!) a ton of water (128 oz. + 2 bottles of electrolyte enhanced water, for me that's another 40 oz.).  I was wrong about the caffeine - they suggest you limit caffeine, but don't require it to be cut out completely.  There are also vitamins and an appetite suppressant ... and the injections (ouch) of a proprietary formula of B12+, and a B6/B1 combo which is optional, and I'm not exactly sure what the advantage of it is, I just know it stings like hell.  Says in their literature that it boosts metabolism, increases energy, enhances the function of both the immune and nervous systems ... and promotes skin growth and muscle health. It's offered for an extra ten bucks.  I'll decide after the first shot if I'm up for the big whammy.  (I had one last week.)
What else?  They did an EKG and a full blood panel on me last week.  I'll get the results of that tomorrow.  I'm glad to have done that for baseline information for my general health anyway.  It seems like it's easy to skip the over fifty tests when you are in (self-diagnosed) excellent health.

Tonight I finish up my Boy Scout Merit badge class for the aviation merit badge.  The boys are in for a huge treat ... one of my old flying buddies (himself an Eagle Scout) is going to tour them through the CJ hanger and open up the plane for them.  I love it!  What I'm seeing is a bunch of kids who have never seen an airplane of any kind up close.  It's so much fun to share their wonder and joy.

Last thing and this is ironic I think ...I have been looking for a job lately.  A little job that doesn't detract from my family commitment, something for maybe a day a week.  What I've found is everybody wants you to volunteer your time, but few are willing to pay for your time.  I've done tons of volunteer work over the years ... tons and tons ... and working with a bunch of women on stuff that doesn't really make a difference is a lot less satisfying then one might anticipate, but I digress.  Maybe I am eccentric ... I don't know, but I am okay with my own company most of the time.  Anyway ... the thing ... someone said they found their job by praying that whatever God wants them to do will just drop into their lap.  I'm not sure about that type of praying.  It's just outside my comfort zone of how to talk with God ... like I'm unwilling to beat the bushes and just wanna be spoon fed.  Anyway ... I tried it.  And ... last night an old friend called to say, "Hey, I think I have a little gig for you".  As I understand it, it's basically assisting an elderly lady with her financial business, and helping her get organized in general (my strong suit). The irony is that I have recently began to work writing a story about a woman who I think of as about my age who loses her husband and doesn't know much about finances (the story will be more interesting then that if I do it, that's just the educational thrust of the plot).  So there's that ... but this is what really makes me laugh.  This lady is the epitome of an old Southern Democrat ... I am looking forward to becoming better acquainted with her.  She stays very busy doing good things for people who need help.  A good person and a super smart person as well ... she was a close friend of my  original neighbor who I was quite fond of.
C.S. Lewis writes about how easy it is for us to appreciate people with whom we have the most common ground.  This will be an opportunity for me to stretch myself towards knowing someone that I normally would not have much time with.