My past month:

  • lost a week of preparations due to two separate trips to the state fair.
  • moved our oldest to college.
  • lost a friend to college
  • another person who’s been in the family circle for years has been given a terminal cancer diagnosis.
  • a favorite pet is fading fast.
  • an acquaintance has filed for divorce.

Oh, and school started too.

I wrote about this earlier, but there’s been a lot, A LOT, of change that happened. So it’s been all about finding the joy in the little things that have been around me.

  • fresh cucumbers. Haven’t had plants grow like this in a long time! I’m learning about how to save the seeds for this variety to see if I can get them to grow next year. Cucumbers cross pollinate, so I’m being a bit more careful with what I plant.
  • fresh tomatoes. My tomato plants have started this slow march across my garden, and at this point, there’s not much left that I can do! 🙂 We’ve made one batch of salsa all ready, and will probably have tomatoes for another batch, plus marinara sauce too.
  • student laughter: as the school year starts, I love the sound of student laughter. It’s hard not to smile when it happens. It needs to happen more.
  • youngest daughter’s smile: she misses her sister like crazy, but she’s also been smiling more lately.
  • my wife’s smile: she’s not in class, she’s not stressed with busy work and papers, and it’s nice to see her smiling more too.

Overwhelmed? Just find those little things. As things start to calm down (I hope), they make all the difference in the world. They have for me.