The Summer Solstice Makes Me Happy

Today is the longest day of the year. I love it when it's light out for so long. The sun didn't say good night until about 9:35 p.m. It's a perk of being on the western edge of the time zone.

I was outside cutting flowers at 9:15 p.m., then thought I'd better get inside. Picked a lot of flower arrangements. Roses, honeysuckle, daisies, lavender, petunias, and my lemon thyme is blooming little purple flowers, too.

My house smells delicious!

The scene above looks north and west along the Tyrrhenian Sea coast from Santa Severa, Italy. Appearing in the well-timed sequence, the small figure of the photographer himself is illuminated against the wall of the town's medieval castle. It's the picture on my blog at the very bottom today.

Happy Summer Solstice!

Seeking Meaning in My Life Every Day

By Susan Knight

One of my favorite quotes by that well-known unknown author is this:

What I do today is important because I am paying a day of my life for it.
What I accomplish must be worthwhile because the price is high.

That quote is an exhortation against laziness and having a purpose-filled life.

Each morning when I pray, I ask my Heavenly Father, "Please let me do some good today. Please help me to be cheerful so I might bring joy to someone's life."

Every night as I pray, I examine my conscience and ask myself, "Did I do enough today?" or "Did I do any good today?" I seem to always come up short--according to my expectations.

It's a heavy burden to lay on myself. But that's how I feel about my turn on this earth.

When one hits fifty-ish, one starts examining one's life. The urge to have laid up a legacy resonates in one's soul. Trust me. I'm at the highest end of fifty-ish, so I know.

"Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad, or made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed."

The words to that hymn pretty much sum up how I feel.

I want my life to have a purpose. My life comes at a great cost. I don't want to blend into the woodwork every day. I want my life to mean something.

As I finish up here, a song is playing on my blog: "Oh Very Young" by Cat Stevens.

Serendipity!

Oh very young, what will you leave us this time?
You're only dancing on this earth for a short while.
And though your dreams may toss and turn you now . . .
They will vanish away . . .
. . . And though you want them to last forever, you know they never will.
You know they never will . . .

I take it as a sign to not be so melancholy about my life and keep dreaming anyway.
Keep hoping. Keep praying. Keep at it.

S.m.i.l.e.

All of the posts on Facebook about Father's Day are making me sad.
I wish I had someone to honor in my life about being a good father.
I mean, I've forgiven my father. Who knows why he acted the way he did? And he died young, before I had the courage to ask him where his anger came from.
Then there's the father of my children.
I want them to keep thinking he's a good father, so what they don't know won't hurt them.
Save face--look good. It's been the motto of my life, since I was a little girl.
Husband and father. The two people in one's life that should be honored.
It just makes me sad.
I'll get over it. . . tomorrow.