Rainy day Sunday....

We were blessed with a gorgeous spring day yesterday. The air was soft, although cool and the sun shone most of the day. My two youngest and my hubby went to the school carnival and my oldest and I had lunch, picked up some art supplies he needed and spent the afternoon at the art museum. He already takes classes and volunteers and the Center for Visual arts and this afternoon he is joining the Teen Art Council for the Leigh Yawkey Woodson art museum. His talent and passion for art run deep, and he loves to explore any opportunity for growth. I never realized until yesterday that for a small town (60,000) that we are lucky to have exposure to the arts, and theater, not to mention the concerts in the park once summer comes. Having grown up here I tend to overlook how pretty our town is, and that we are quite fortunate to live in the heart of the Midwest. Today we awoke to overcast skies and rain. It's cold and blustery, a good day to start preparing for my Master Gardener final exam that will happen in five weeks. It's open book but I still want to prepare so I know where to find things. All in all it's been an interesting class taking me out of my comfort zone and into areas I thought didn't have much impact on my gardens but really do. Last week our class dealt with soil and I know I can feel the yawns, but it was quite interesting. I can't wait until we are able to volunteer and hopefully by September I will be a Certified Master Gardener. People always ask if I'm going to get a job in landscaping. This is funny since it's Wisconsin that is quite "seasonal" work. No I will be a resource for people who need help/advice with their gardens and it's a great way to give back to the community. Not everything one does has to be attached to money. The greatest pleasures in life often come from doing something that you feel passionate about. When I say this I think of my sponsor. A lot of people are intimidated by the person I chose to be my sponsor. She is very vocal, you know exactly where you stand and she's not afraid to hand you the truth. She spoke about how important sponsorship is to her. That she never asks any of her sponsees to do anything she herself hasn't done. Her rough exterior hides an enormous heart that would drop anything to be with you at any given time, day or night. She's one of the best hidden secrets out there. She taught me the importance of taking care of myself, how to love myself, how to let go and let God. She taught me that life is worth participating in, the sidelines aren't the place for me. One of the great things that I get to watch is when she sponsors someone new and I get to witness the change in them. She is currently sponsoring a girl who spoke at our Thursday night meeting and so many of the things she said sounded like me over a year a go. It will be interesting to watch her journey. I am always amazed at how life just keeps evolving, and that I keep growing. Some days you feel like you are in the same old rut, nothing ever changes, like you are sitting on "pause" waiting for someone to hit the "play" button and then something happens that fast forwards you. A few weeks ago on a recommendation from a friend, I submitted some poetry to our UW Marathon Campus spring writing competition. I was contacted via email by a very nice lady thanking me for my entry, and saying that she would contact me in the future if I didn't mind in regards to writing opportunities. I thought "good" and never gave it another thought. Last Monday she was in my inbox inviting me to join a writing group she has just started "1000 Words Wausau". It will consist of five community members of all ages and backgrounds, and each Sunday she will send us four words and two sentences that are to act as inspiration and we are to write a 250 word short story. After we have compiled four of these we will be meeting at the City Grill Bistro and performing a reading. I was thrilled. It's been a long time since I've written more than 55's, but I'm willing to give it a try. Once again it's that "getting me out of my comfort zone" thing that I need. I really am a creature of habit, but I'm concentrating on getting more adventurous. Other than that it was a quiet weekend until my oldest was playing with my parents ShiTsu and that got too silly, and the dog caught Alex's upper lip and he had to go to the emergency room for six stitches. What cracked me up is how a sixteen year old thinks: "I will look so tough with this scar, and don't wash the blood spots off my jeans just yet, they look so sweet." Sweet maybe but not sanitary. So two hours later he and his dad pull into the driveway as I was just pulling the yummy Swiss Steak out of the oven. We had a delicious meal (even though Al's face was numb) watched a little TV and all hit the bed early. I love that the small things in life provide so much pleasure, and that instead of turning to a drink when this incident went down, I turned to an old family recipe for comfort, and that also provided comfort to every one around me. So let the raindrops fall (at least its not snow) and let the wind blow because the sunny warm days will be back, and I will appreciate them even more........