Thanks for the words!

My friend James would be surprised at how often I think of his blog profile.  I was so awed the first time I read it that all I could do was just sit and stare at the words. He is a poet, among many other things, and has a way of putting into words what many of us feel but can’t even express to ourselves. I’ve pondered those words now so often that they feel like my own.  I can recite them verbatim.  I know they’re not though, but I thank him for them.

He describes dreaming his future as a young man – what he might become, a writer, an opera singer, a father of six or seven…and he wonders how he got where he is today, thirty years later - that it wasn’t among his dreams or plans or even expectations.  And then he says my favorite line “…I shifted right, then left, then right again, and I landed exactly where I wish I had dreamed I would be today.”

I’ve thought about those words so often since – today again, which is the reason I’m blogging about them. I know that these are not just words to James. He means them. He is describing his contentment with where life has led him - that he couldn't have dreamed it better.

How many of us can say we are where we dreamed we would be, let alone, that it’s even better? Aren’t most of us forever chasing dreams, one right after another - so much so that we don’t even recognize when we’re in a good place?

James’ words came back to me just this morning as I sat drinking coffee and looking through my latest Southern Living Magazine. As I read an article on the North Carolina coasts, I found myself dreaming of living on the coast and having my coffee each morning as I walk on the beach.

That’s when his words hit me again…

What is my dream anyway?  One minute I’m dreaming about living on the coast, the next I want to live in the country and have a garden and chickens, and then I’m wishing I lived in a big city, close to fine restaurants and the theater.  And yes, I’ve even dreamed of living in the mountains in a beautiful log cabin near a brook.

How fickle am I? It’s no wonder I have a hard time saying I’m where I dreamed I would be. But in reality, I can’t say otherwise.  I’m blessed. I have good health. I have a good job. I am fortunate to live everyday with the man who owns my heart. I love my home, adore my children and have the best friends in the world.

While I probably could have said it better, I surely couldn’t have dreamed it better.

Thanks, James, for the words…

Milking a goat - not so easy!

Well I learned first-hand last week that milking a goat is not as easy as it looks. As a matter of fact, it took me three different attempts over three days to get even the smallest squirt of milk.  Even then I missed the pail. 

Karen makes it look so simple; I just assumed it was easy. Even the goat let me know on my second day of trying that I was not doing so well. She must have thought I was just groping her because she kicked at me and refused to let me continue.  Karen then let me try on a different goat the third day - smaller teats. Boy was I taken by surprised when that one squirt of milk happened!

I'm sure that's why I missed the pail.