With A Little Help From My Friends

HELP! I need somebody! For those old enough to know the words, this Beatles song sang a familiar tune this past weekend. Teaching summer camps the past couple of months has left little time to work in the yard and the weeds had taken most of the yard hostage. Childhood friends and sisters, Sharon and Carol heard the call and came to the rescue.

My biggest problem was the pond. The pump had given out again - the third pump in the past 10 years. The pond was over run with iris that had gone wild, no blooms due to the shady area. The 5 gallon pots were too heavy to lift out of the pond by myself and the roots from the iris had embedded themselves deep into the silt and debris.

Cavalry to the rescue! The three of us spent the day clearing the pond, installing a new pump and filter, digging out old and setting in new fence posts. I had done much of the clearing of blackberries, morning glories and dandelions prior to their visit, so I can at last enjoy the last few weeks of summer in my beautiful yard.

With a little more than a quarter of an acre, it is always a challenge to keep it under control. I am forever grateful for good friends who not only know the words to the Beatles tune, but know exactly what they mean. I am having breakfast - french toast made with eggs from my chickens and topped with blueberries from my garden and humming my favorite tune. That's what a wise grandma would do.

Stuffed!

The turkey was not the only thing stuffed this Thanksgiving. My frig, my house, my yard, my inbox...all stuffed. I opted to spend this holiday connected only to my family. But tonight when I opened my email, I found a very profound message from a friend. It made me laugh and think about how fortunate we really are. May his musings stuff you with gratitude, or at least a good chuckle. 

I'm grateful to my enemies because they test the limits of my ability to love and help me learn to stretch them, like Darth Vader did for Luke Skywalker.

I'm thankful for my friends who remind me that there's a reason to bother loving in the first place. 

I'm glad to have my family, as dysfunctional as they are at least they love me no matter what.

I'm happy to live in the world I live in because it's so full of everything I like and dislike. Also, even if it does self-destruct in my lifetime, at least it'll put on a hell of a show.

I'm thankful for time because, although I can't make it go backwards, I like the future I look forward to.

I could go on, but food is ready, so I'll wrap up by writing that I'm also thankful for you, for whatever part you've played in my life, pleasant and unpleasant, happy and sad, silly and serious.