Today I woke up smiling. My first thoughts were “it’s Monday and I have a lot of things to do and I can choose which ones I want to do when or not do them at all.” Today I have only one obligation. My regular Monday 10 am meeting with my staff and my business partner.
After that I am free to get the garden weeded or the canning done or clean my office or finish getting the things done for White Mountain Festival or clean house or read a book or write or work on my newest quilt or one I haven’t finished yet. Guess I better make a list and prioritize it.
Top of the list? Write. I fight making lists because it ties me into doing the things on it but I make them anyway because some days like today, I would probably just go out on the deck and read or write all day. That is not a bad thing but it is not what I really need to do today. When I do that I want it to be because I chose to do that and did not have anything pressing down on me to make me feel guilty for enjoying the day. I decided a long time ago to set aside time to play and relax. When I set that time I can do anything my heart desires and feel free to do it.
So today I better make lists. I need to be on target for the White Mountain Storytelling Festival. I am excited about the festival this year. We have a fantastic line up of tellers with our feature being Odds Bodkin. It is going to be very good. There are letters to write, questions to ask, posters to post and lots more things to do. The festival is September 26-28, 2014 at Waterville Valley, NH starting with Ghost Stories at 7:30 pm Friday night. There are events going on all day Saturday and Odds Bodkin is performing twice. Some of the fantastic tellers that are joining us are Lani Peterson, Mike Lockett, Geraldine Buckley, Joey Talbert, Andy Davis, Peter Brodeur, Sharon Wood, Papa Joe Gaudet, Angela Klingler, Mike Lang, Mark Chamberlain, Shelley Hersey, Cora Ciampi Ruth Niven Simon Brooks and myself.
That is going to be the first list.
I need to get ready for our trip to Scotland and Amsterdam September 11-21, 2014. I am getting excited about that trip. My daughter and my oldest Sister are going with me to Scotland and Amsterdam. We are going to see things and be tourists and to find some of our family heritage. We are originally from the Huntly’s of the Gordon Clan. As a matter of fact I could find us way back to 1047. Now to see some of our history and some of our family stories at the places they happened.
Then it is off to Amsterdam to visit a friend. We have been friends for about 30 years or more. He was hitchhiking in America and we (my husband, daughter and myself) were visiting my sister Cora and her family in Wyoming. We were driving in the mountains and stopped to pick him up. Cora and Dave took him home to their house for dinner. The same place we were staying. We became friends then and have written to each other ever since. I have been to visit him once when my daughter and I went to London and Amsterdam 10 years ago. He has been here numerous times and stayed here in New Hampshire with us for a week once.
So that is the second list.
I need to work in my canning kitchen today. Putting up Broccoli an Cauliflower in the freezer and canning green beans and doing something with baseball bat sized zucchini. And the garden needs weeding and the beets need pulling and the greens…
Well there we have the third list
But wait.. that is really the fourth list.
I made another list today. Earlier in the quiet of the morning. Way before the sun tried to break thru the edge of night. During that space between dark and light when the earth pauses and takes a deep breath to get ready for another day. I was deep in thought and praise and you came to mind. I made a list of you all. All the of you in my family plus all those friends who came to mind as I was meditating this morning. There were many. Each one of you has a special place in my heart that no one else on the list or off can fill. Each one has a special memory and a special joy connected with your name. I am not sure where each of you are at this moment or am I sure where you are on this spiritual journey that we all are on. I am sure that you each have a special place in my heart and a special place in the heart of God.
So I made the list and I called out your names and I held each of you up to God. I asked for blessings for you and safety on your journeys. I asked for peace and prosperity for each of you. I called out your name to God and He listened.
lphillipstales 