Fourth of July

Celebrations abounded within my family and friendship circles this weekend like a box of fireworks!
One daughter and family went to north Texas camping ( and came home a 'little' early due to this early summer Texas heat!) and the other daughter and her family headed to the south for a celebration at a Texas beach!!! But both enjoyed fun, food, and fireworks!!! Even Bella (remember the yellow lab that really is a doggie-person!!) and I went for a ride to see the city's fireworks from a distant! Just beautiful!
It takes a holiday for us to get together with family and friends and that's good.. and it's bad. The good? At least they are on the calendar to remind us to plan these events. But the bad? They don't come around enough for some of us who really enjoy this family pageantry! So we should make up our own holidays just for family and friends to come together! How about a "Third Friday of the Month"? Or how about "Celebration of BBQ To be Enjoyed Inside In The Air-Conditioning" (keep in mind we are going through 100 plus degree days in Texas already!!)? We could really get crazy here but the idea is the "get together"!!
My brother who lives in Utah brought his 20 yr.old daughter (who goes to college in Puget Sound, WA) in last weekend so Lauren could meet her Texas clan. Both my daughters and their families were here and Lauren had the chance to meet cousins she had only known through emails! It was a wonderfully wacky, wild three day weekend with food, BBQ, board games (boy! this family is competitive!!), ice skating, and Rick even drove her around the old hometown and all the sights!!!! We are hoping she WILL come visit again!

All of this has just brought to light like one of those BIG fireworks......it's so nice to have family and friends that love the companionship that these relationships are there for!

Bright light!!!!!

I have come out of the "Rabbit Hole" I have been living in for three years and I see bright lights ahead of me!!! The long-term relationship ( or let's say the EXTREMELY long marriage) is over and this baby boomer has dried her tears and taken on her new adulthood.

Filling my life now will be fun!! I have daughters and son in laws that I love dearly. I have those absolutely PERFECT grandchildren that I know abound in other people's lives, too!! And close at hand is my beloved labrador who has been my listening post and always agreed with me no matter the "drama-and-trauma" I was going through!! Those big brown eyes just said, "It's okay, Mom. But we do seem to be sliding a little further down in this Rabbit Hole!! No problem, though, you just say when and I will start digging!!"

Well, Bella, start digging!!!!! We are going to make new life experiences!!!!! Bright Lights!!!!!!