Counting Blessings

Today's blog has really nothing to do with the journey to AD but much more about the journey called life. Just a few days ago now we were told that my wonderful mother-in-law has stage 4 lymphoma. She was given one to three weeks to live and so now we wait with her as she finishes her life on this earth. As I reflect over the past amazing 17 years that I have been blessed to call her my mom, I have cried, laughed and experienced the entire range of emotions. I am thankful that the Lord has allowed me to be here even though it is a difficult part of the journey. I remain excited about all the adventures we are about to experience in Abu Dhabi and somehow I feel that mom will be with us in all our adventures. I hope that when I come to the end of my own journey that I will be surrounded by friends and family and know that I did my best to love everyone to the best of my ability and leave a legacy that will live on after me. I hope that those of you who still have your parents will tell them how much you love them and even if you are far away you need to take the time to let them know how special they are to you. I know that my friends will be more special and I will make sure to take the time to tell others how much they mean to me...those back home and in my daily life. Be sure to count your blessings today!

Riley's the name, procrastinating my game

Okay, so here it is May 12th and I haven't packed or sold a thing. Been too busy...yeah right! I read with envy every night the postings of my fellow adventurers having their garage/craigslist sales etc. and long to be "on the ball". I have to pack up my classroom at school as well. Allergies are terrible, mom's still in the hospital, oh the list of excuses just goes on and on!

So, after many months of drought, it's raining here in central Texas. Gonna turn over a new leaf today and get busy cleaning out! Already started in my classroom. Trash can is full and I'll get a bigger bag to fill up in a bit. Why do I have such a hard time purging when I know I need to "get r done"?

Hope you find these words encouraging if you're like me and would rather work on your blog than work on the purge! TTFN as Tigger would say!

The adventure begins...

Well, it's official! I'm off to teach in Abu Dhabi, many thousands of miles away where the sand meets the sea. So the title of the blog, "Sandy Feet".  I actually came back from a walk on the beach with my wonderful daughter-in-law and realized my feet were covered in sand...see picture...I began writing in my new journal that day.
Life is not about the destination so much as the journey and every journey begins with that first step. Nobody ever gets anywhere without taking that sometimes challenging first step and many times when you walk a long road your feet are gonna get a little dirty! But what a story that dirt can tell!
So in the next few months there will be:
tears of farewell...to people and things familiar to me
laughter at memories shared
anger (at myself) for too much procrastinating
excitement as I being another phase in this great adventure called LIFE!