patriotism

my plans of a routine have not panned out quite like i had hoped! no, i've been a bit more lackadaisical these days. on the upside, i am doing things that i enjoy and that is always a welcomed treasure. if you may, times been afforded so that i can do the things that i enjoy and i'm truly appreciative.

life for the moment is calm and serene. no major fires to douse and no major drama to report. its lovely and so very welcomed.

today's or i should say tonight's blog comes from a new place of introspection. it started with a pot of beans i made earlier. i know, what does a bot of beans have to do with anything? well these are frijoles a la charra. some of you might be thinking, what's there to making a pot of beans? throw in some ingredients and let them boil...oh but its not that easy. some would even say its a bit of an art.

i'd like to think so anway.

no, my beans require putting in certain ingredients at just the right time. so i began my pot of beans sometime around 5pm. i imagine they wont be ready to eat until morning. sure they may be ready to eat now but will taste better tomorrow!

mmm so most of the country is preparing for cook-outs and barbeques. my family is like most. we've planned a bit of a feast though not to any degree of previous 4ths. no, this one is a bit more laid back and quite relaxed. its strange because any of you who know me, know that being relaxed is usually not associated with my name. i'm usually going a hundred and ten miles in all directions. but no...this summer is different. i've slowed things down, purposefully - i might add.

maybe its from spending a month half-way across the globe, maybe its from realizing that time is fleeting. moments are whizzing past us without recognition of where they are going. i've just really realized that life is changing. each day that passes it changes and i've always know that...but these last few months i have here before moving...seem a bit more precious to me.

call it aging, call it whatever. i just want to enjoy my time and enjoy being so close to family.

which is the topic of my blog tonight.

july 4th.

so many great things about it and also so many tragic things about it. i know i've blogged about how my mom's dad died on 4th of july when she was only 19. for the longest time we never celebrated the 4th. i never knew him but only know the stories my mom has told us. he served during the Korean conflict and now in my mother's possession is the flag presented to my grandmother at his funeral.

it's not encased in anything, which i never understood why. but i think it has to do with my grandmother not knowing where to find a case for it. my mom was inquiring about it. i think that i should buy one for her. i'm not sure how she feels about that flag all these years though i know she proudly supports our armed forces. i have to think that she would be proud to display his flag.

i'm not really sure what tomorrow will bring. especially since i returned to the land of cell phones and txt messages. hard to believe that i went almost 7 weeks without it. not that i missed it. even after i had the service restored, i left it at home for several hours. i have a feeling i'll be looking for it over the next few weeks!

so just when you thought my travels were done...nope. still have several more trips before the summer ends. I'll spend a week in Galveston with my parents on a mission trip and probably another week there on vacation with the extended fam (the irony). alot of changes happening for our extended fam. there will be three cousins living in lubbock come aug. so our fam vacay is the last bit of hoo-rah before we we move. should be fun. these are the same crazy people i eat dinner and lunch with on a regular basis. going to miss them so much but let's not think about that just yet!

ok so in addition to those two trips, i'm also trying to get in trips to dallas, austin, houston, and san antonio to see good friends that i havent seen in a while. just seems like i should get in a visit now while i have the chance because what's the likeli-hood of taht happening once i move further north? and its not like people LOVE visiting lubbock. i've already gotten a "why are you moving there?" from numerous folks.

i am really looking forward to Texas Tech football and the madness that ensues! the tailgating and crazy fans! oh i just love it!

alright...so happy 4th to everyone. be safe and remember to have a bucket of water around when dealing with fireworks because as we so poignantly learned one year you have to be careful cause "you dont want to shoot your other eye out!"