"How Was Your Day?"

So many significant things happen every day; yet, every morning starts the same way.

A beloved pot of coffee for the comfort of familiar, its aroma and all things caffeine for energy. My windows open, my day open and me ready for the million different directions it can take me.

David and I were sitting on the patio swing last night having a glass of sweet tea when he asked, "How was your day?"

So many things happened and situations flood my memory and I'm certain I forgot details.

• My day started off in an unexpected twist of meeting a major donor where I ended up taking a fabulous tour of a meat factory before I went to work.
• I was pulled in no less than 10 different directions when I walked into the rescue mission, which means my day started off normal. Staff laughs and thinks its funny and sometimes I laugh because the high-maintenanceness of it all makes me laugh or get frazzled.
• Monday's my mom comes in and volunteers.
• Large donations come in, daily meal menus are adjusted to accommodate fresh produce before it expires.
• Staff personality conflict mediating is a daily occurrence. 
• Due to large donations, I was able to share with a significantly smaller local meal ministry extra food for their growing numbers.
• I provided warm blankets for one of my homeless dinner guests who sleeps outside.
• I searched through our medical kit for ointment and gauze for another dinner guest who is having severe skin issues.
• I whispered into an angry dinner guests ear (a very large young man), "Stop with the trash mouth right now!" To have him respectfully whisper back, "I'm sorry, Miss Dawn." Before he left I witnessed him help clean off other tables, something I have never seen him do.
• Our security volunteer was sick so I handled crowd and dining room control at the end of the month with three sittings.
• Looking outside to see how many were outside for the 2nd seating, I spotted a dinner guest I haven't seen in months intoxicated as usual, but I let him in and just watch to make sure he behaves. Teary-eyed and slurring his words, he asks to talk and wants help. His lifestyle is a hard one though he contributes to it by being an alcoholic. I feed, listen and am their go-to person for so many in this situation.
• A volunteer I haven't seen for a few weeks says hello on his way out and I learn he has been in the hospital, suicidal. We speak for a few minutes about this and he asks if he may come back and volunteer again? Absolutely. He enjoys volunteering, giving back, the work, appreciation, a good pot of coffee, good food and amazing desserts.
• 20 minutes before we close for the day a former shelter resident, now dinner guest come to dinner a 1/2 hour late. I use my mom finger and told him he knows better, sit down and don't do it again. He walks in my office before he leaves, hugs me and says, "Thanks me for always being so good to me."  Then, asks for some chocolates. This large boy instantly looks like he's 5 years old.
• Conversation with a church volunteer ends up actually being a Board member that I was not aware of. Me, glad I had that extra moment to thank her for her volunteering and answer her questions in conversation prior to learning who she was.

A normal day at the rescue mission.

Relief when I pulled in my driveway and there sat on the front porch David, Brooke and Sammy Blue.

David spent stolen moments of his day excelling in words of affirmations and flirting with me via text. He know my love language and makes my love bucket overflow.

I am always to glad to come home.

"You Are Worth It"

David is a "fix-it" kind of guy + a technology guru which = he is the king of all things technology and toys.

Problem:  

#1 - The sun is going down earlier and our evening 

bike riding has been eliminated. 

#2 - Both of us are not happy losing our summer

 momentum and passion for biking.

#3 - Both of us feel sluggish not biking, hiking, and all 

things outdoor adventure 4-5 days per week.

Excited, he presents me with my our new headlights and taillights for our bikes and 800 lumens means we can ride when it is dark. 

I ask out of curiosity how much the headlight was looking pretty fancy, $25, $50?

Nope $180.00. Each!

He only buys the best and I present my case that again, he doesn't have to spend that kind of money on me.

Very matter of fact he states, "You are worth it."

It is not about 'things', but about the way he loves me, provides well for and does all the things that he does not have to do. 

It is a 1st in my life and I am a very lucky girl.

Surrounded

Surrounded.

Hedged. Encompassed. Fenced. Bordered. To enclose on all sides.

What do you surround yourself with?

I surround myself with the things I love. My faith, my partner, my family, nature, adventure, exercise and in routine.

I live in my world built on utmost respect and grand appreciation. I fervently thank God for every perfect gift and pray a hedge of protection over all things I love.

So many run around with their hair on fire, running willy nilly in no certain direction. Filling hours but not appreciating time. Buying and shopping to fill an emptiness that can never be bought. Lost to self, having forgotten the things that make them happy.

Some, in all kindness, make comments on what a blessed life I have. I hear their longing in words unsaid.

I am blessed. Blessed beyond measure.

I do not compromise, risk, jeopardize, play with or take lightly my blessings.

I do not take for granted all the good things in my life and I know to cover all things in prayer. It is me aware of every perfect gift, thanking a holy God. Knowing blessings not respected can be eliminated forever.

Know what you love (figure it out if you have to) and bask and surround yourself in it.

Respect it. Be lost in appreciation. Thank God for it and pray a hedge of protection over it. 

To surround.

Hedged. Encompassed. Fenced. Bordered. To enclose on all sides.

"X-Treme" Zipline Tour

Imagine how my mind filled with excitement when David asked, "How quickly can you take a vacation day?"

Those are magical words like fairy dust sprinkling through the air with the promise of anticipation, fun and all things exciting. Fireworks go off in my mind and I cannot wait to hear his thoughts are on what he wants us to do.

Already, I am 110% all in!

Spontaneity happens to be one of my bzillion love languages.

Friday was a perfect day to slip away together for a play day. Sunny and 79 degrees in Hocking Hills we set out in the morning happy being together, excited to do the "X-Treme" Zipline Tour!

It is a 2-1/2 hour zipline tour through Hocking Hills National Park soaring high above trees, into a cave, over a river, our afternoon was an adventure.

David's ION Air Pro 3 capturing video and pictures every 2 seconds.

After our tour we enjoyed a delicious dinner of ribs and brisket at the Lodge by Old Man's Cave to re-fuel for our next adventure, hiking.

Old Man's Cave was breathtaking and beautiful!

We were in awe and there was no one picture that could capture the beauty of the grand scale of all of it. Like kids at Christmas, we were going in every direction anxious to see what was around the next corner.

We went to Cedar Falls and our day ended at Ash Cave.

Standing in the sand, listening to another couple conversation carried by the acoustics inside the cave, he pulled me in his arms and kissed me.

I need a button that stops time.

I want time to stop, the world to slip away and this moment to last much longer than a memory imprinted in my mind.

Get Back on the Bike!

Much like the old adage, "Get back on the horse that threw you," and get back into the habit, I had to get back on the bike!

My body and muscles actually ache not using them in the capacity I had been doing (riding 3-5x per week) and it has been 1-1/2 weeks since I had been on my bike due to the sun going down earlier and my body fighting the same cold symptoms many are suffering with.

Ahhhhh, Wednesday, my early day off!  Sunny and very low 70's I had two options when I walked in my door feeling tired and sluggish (because that's what happens when you do no form of exercise):

• Mow my grass
• Ride my bike

I felt like me again slipping into athletic clothing and as I swing my leg around and sit on the bike something in my brain shifts and I embrace the magnificent.

Muscles that work together and the power that moves us by choice.

Muscles that begin to feel in use begin to create more energy and released in my body is stress.

After a short 8.2 mile ride down by the beautiful lake waters that makes me feel as if I am on a vacation, I felt like me again.

Speaking of embracing magnificent, Mr. Magnificent walks through the door and lets me know he ordered us lights for our bikes so while the sun continues to go down earlier, we don't lose our momentum, our routine, our habit, exercise and our athletic together lifestyle.

In Ohio seasons will continue to change. We simply have to be willing to have the determination and energy to adjust and change routines with the seasons.

80's to 60's

Ohio temperatures have gone from the warm and balmy 80's directly into the cool and brisk 60's and the shock of the temperature drop is felt in my mind, too. 

I LOVE autumn! I love the sunshine, the cooler temperatures, the romance of bundling up/snuggling up, sipping hot apple cider, hiking the autumns changing colors and the crescendo of the upcoming holiday season.

Many summers I have embraced autumn because I was exhausted from summer.

Not this summer. I am in my groove. 

I love to feel the bake of the sun on my skin, slipping into sandals and running out the door, sunshine until 9 p.m., open windows and fresh air, early morning bike rides in the cool of the day before the sun begins to bake, riding on the towpath and stopping for a cold ice cream cone.

I love that I have lost 20 lbs and my momentum, my metabolism and my body continues to change because of intense activity. 

I've always been a four seasons kind of girl. 

The breathtaking beauty of a snowstorm with a fire in the fireplace snuggled close together, the awaking of life in springtime, the warm embrace of summer fun and bright vivid beauty of autumn.

As much as I have ALWAYS loved and embraced each season, I am ready to relocate to a warmer climate all-inclusive with milder temperatures and year round outdoor activity. 

I don't want to lose momentum. I don't want to bundle up in piles of clothes and I don't want to sit idle and become a couch potato because its dark out at 5 p.m.

The calendar days are flipping faster than I prefer and the temperature is dropping far too rapidly for my liking.

Life shifts. I am ready for more year round summer fun and less frozen tundra. 

Well Said!

The Executive Director of the rescue mission requested my Meal Ministry report to present to the Board.

Offering new topics for every report, I am not one to restate previously said topics. Monthly financials has statistically proven I have reduced the "cost per meal" by $.12 beating the previous years growing average; in addition, the numbers of dinner guests has drastically increased (1300 meals more on average per month).

Competitive-nature'd me could not be more excited!

I meet with our Accountant monthly to review, glow and do happy dances over continued outcomes.

My email to the Executive Director:

I have an addition to the Meal Ministries Board Report, that may sound braggadocious, but it shows great progress!  

...

Respectfully submitted,
Dawn

Executive Directors email reply:

It could have been thought periphrasis by some or even tendentious but never braggadocious. In fact, I dare say you would have been pusillanimous not to put it forth.

Well said and in my mind I have a new found respect for his wit and grammar usage, even if I have to refer to dictionary.com for translation.

In Competitive Fashion

Happy to report, I beat my summer distance yesterday when David and I rode the towpath 35.8 miles!!

Sunny, low 70's, the towpath was the fullest I have ever seen with walkers and other bike riders and we stopped 1/2 way to partake in ice cream at a quaint corner with stands of ice cream, corn on the cob/fresh lemonade/sweet tea, a fresh produce market, and a live music  ...

It was perfect.

David heard the train and suggested we put the bikes on the train and ride it back, because it is something I have always wanted to do. I let him know that we had gone so far, that I wanted to beat my own summer record of 30 miles.

It was the last 8 miles when my pace began to slow.  

I heard things like, "Keep up!  I thought I lost you. Come on grandma. Do I need to slow down?" when I assured him I prefer more words of affirmations such as, "Wow, you are doing really well! You can do it!"

Getting close to the parking lot, a woman walking her dogs on his side gave me the advantage and I found a burst of energy and blew passed him giving him a glimpse that I was still in the game to beat him.  He was on to me and passed me before I knew it.  

Listen, he is really fast!

We (he) decided to check out the towpath on the other side of the parking lot where we were parked. We had reached our goal, but technically he had extended it.

David stopped ahead, by a family of riders, waiting for me. The family encouraged me, that I can do it!  I assured them I was at 34 miles at this point and gained new found admiration when they claimed, "Oh, we are only at 15 miles."  

We turn around.

The finish line is the parking lot.

We spar a couple of times in my catching him off guard passing him in my I-have-no-energy-left slow pace.

Then it happens.

Less than a quarter of a mile to the goal.

His sweatshirt falls off the back of his bike rack and he didn't know it.

Inspiration burst in my mind. I felt as if I was running a marathon and the only person in front of me fell on the ground in a leg cramp. 

Laughter filled my brain and I excitedly let him know the last moment he was in front of me he needs to go back and get his sweatshirt.

[I wish I had the moments in his brain to share here.]

He slows down, makes a quick decision to go back and get it.

Adrenalin is found someplace in me I didn't know I even had and I took my one very chance in the world at beating him and rode faster than I ever have in my life!!

I pedaled as fast as I could looking back a couple times to see when he was going to blow passed me.

I'm pretty sure I was smiling in winning success, quite possibly laughing out loud across the finish line, but I was certain to be off the bike and posing in winner poses when he came in view in the ride of shame into the parking lot. 

SUCCESS!  I WON!  

It will never ever happen again and he has most likely made this mental decision to prevent any of my future wins.

But, today I WON!  

 

Morning Coffee with God

My one Saturday off a month and it is going to rain today, but the sun is out for one more hour. Make the most of it!

I put on a morning pot of coffee, slipped into a bike riding outfit, filled my "Princess of our King" coffee mug and set out for a morning bike ride and coffee on the dock of the lake.

Many times I have presented my desire to God that someday I want to have coffee in the morning with Him because it is my favorite time of the day and I love coffee.

Happy to slip away while my girls are sleeping, I pass walkers and runners embracing the early morning.

I wanted to be here.

Sometimes I just sit still. No pleas, special requests, suggestions or recommendations presented to God, but just sitting still admiring the beauty and quiet of the morning.

I see something in the water ...

and I smile. It's for me.  God is such a gentleman.

Never have I seen a flower along these shores and I appreciate that the color complements both my coffee travel mug and the splash of pink in my riding outfit. Some may say coincidence, but not me.

Not sure how long I sat there, because I didn't want the moment of the morning to end. My mind wondering what it would be like if God did indeed join me on the dock. I'm guessing a 1/2 hour passed.

I heard in my mind out of no where, "It's over."

What is over?!?!

"It's over."

A memory came to me ... many moons ago, when Mariah was little her dad and I was in an ugly court custody battle and while I had every justification of solid documentation as to why he should not get shared parenting, she was being given the opportunity to say what she wanted.

I knew the seriousness of the question, she was a child and could not comprehend it.  So, I brought her down to this very dock on the lake and we had our feet dangling in the water as I was doing my absolute best to communicate to her this decision.

It didn't surprise me that should would say she wanted shared parenting. She has always been a girl-on-the-go and bouncing back and forth having a good time everywhere was what she liked.

Fast forward to last night ... it is over.  Her dad has passed away and last night we moved all her things from her dad's house home.

I don't believe in coincidence; rather, all things happen for a significant reason.

While I was having morning coffee with God, He reminded me it was over. All of it. The struggles and years of fighting with their dads.

What a moment of realization.

I sat there a while longer and reflecting back over all of it and then I thought of my girls at home most likely just waking up. Happy, healthy, strong and mine, both at home with me and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

I loved my morning coffee today, but I was more than ready to bike home and make breakfast for my girls.