spring

Thursday Three

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

This week’s three comes to you from my dark little house as it thunders and lightnings (?) outside. Don’t worry, my power is still on…I just somehow feel like a power outage is less frightening if the lights are already off. I know, I’m weird. My sleep was so rudely interrupted last night by much thunder and lightning, so I rather appreciate the dark at the moment anyway.

1. Rainy days will come. Is it just me or do we forget the rain that comes with spring? As soon as the sun is shining, the birds start singing and a flower pops up from the ground I am so eager to declare, “spring is here!” It’s as if happiness can start again with the fresh season. But then there’s the rain and startling thunderstorms that remind me that growth takes both sunny days and rainy ones (why there has to be thunder, I’ll never really know). Thunderstorms late at night feel especially ominous, and I’m not sure if it’s just my memories of bailing out hundreds of gallons of water in our basement or because it feels like the sky is falling therefore things won’t go quite as “planned.” We can’t control the weather, just like we can’t control so many things in our life. That’s a hard pill to swallow (and I am the worst at swallowing pills…takes at least three gulps of water).

If you were able to follow all of the times I went back and forth between literal and metaphorical just now, I commend you. The point is, we have good days among a season of bad ones and bad days in a season of good. We are given no guarantees as to what life will bring.

2. Sometimes you have an awesome day or moment and no pictures to show for it. I had a couple of good days and moments this week: time with lovely friends, long walks in the city, an impromptu doughnut run and tennis with the hubby. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.

3. Easter brings a lot of emotion. There are so many cute kids in dress clothes (sometimes even in bonnets!) hunting for eggs and baskets. The churches are full and people eat ham. But without all that, Easter might feel like just another day. Except it’s not. It’s not about pastel colors or brunch or sugar-covered marshmallows. Easter is about redemption. That’s what brings me joy.

Easter with Friends | Moving Peaces

 

Thursday Three

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

Well, we’ve made it to another Thursday. Did you hear that? YOU MADE IT!! Congrats on getting through another week! I think we need to have that mentality a little more in life. I was reading a book recently that was a memoir of sorts and the couple said they got in the habit of saying “I woke up” in the mornings just to remind themselves of the wonder and awe in that statement. So when I stopped by a new local business today and the owner said they’d been open for two weeks I couldn’t help but reply, “You made it two weeks! Congrats!” 

1. Spring has sprung! This week just feels more alive now that people are spending time outside, we got to take a bike ride and the sun shines on past supper time. Halleluiah. Like most people, winter is not my favorite regardless of how much (or how little) cold and snow we get–the long dark days are enough for me to dislike it. I think it’s safe to say, spring is finally here!

My favorite flowers - Oregon this time last year.
My favorite flowers in Oregon this time last year.

2. Quality time is better than quantity…but when possible, both are nice. Time is an important thing to me, and I love getting time with the people in my life. Our trip away meant we had plenty of time together, just the two of us. Upon our return we’ve been trying to see everyone and catch up, which has been awesome. We had missed out on some of the quantity and quality with friends while away, but we also quickly realized we were cramming our time so full that we weren’t seeing enough of each other already. Sounds silly after a trip with just us, but we quickly realized that we needed to continue to set time aside for each other.

3. Taking care of your health should always remain a priority. Health isn’t a given unfortunately, but you do have the opportunity to take care of yourself as much as you can. So use that opportunity. Invest in your health–physically and mentally. Maybe it’s time for that checkup or teeth cleaning…or maybe it’s just finding time to go for a walk or addressing some mental health needs. In some ways I feel like a fairly healthy person but in other ways I’ve had a run of different health mysteries and mishaps over the years that required my attention. It’s not always my favorite topic or way to spend my time/resources, but it is so important to our well-being. While the financial cost is often high, the quality of life cost is even higher if you don’t tend to it. So take care of yourself and the people around as best as you can.

Thursday Three – Almost Cancelled

Samantha Gratton

I love writing/blogging but today, I don’t really feel like it. This morning I would have told you I felt somehow that we might be on the verge of something big, but I didn’t know what. By the end of the day I feel a bit more defeated and disappointed. This has been a long and tiring week. After a night of lackluster networking and not enough sleep, the last thing I want to do is reflect on what the past week looked like. Sigh. But the fact of the matter was that it wasn’t all bad. There’s always some good and some sort of progress. So, tonight’s three is just going to be three things I managed to accomplish this past week. We can ignore the failures and frustrations this time.  

1. Read the book Divergent in its entirety in one night. Am I a teenager? No, but people tell me I look like one. Might as well get away with a little young adult lit while I’m at it. So, I avoided all the things I should have been doing and finished it in one shot.

2. Cleaned the house and hosted a brunch. Every few months, the staff wives at our church get together. Being one of them, I decided to open up our little home for some eggs and coffee. What are staff wives? They are the wives of the men who work at church, also known as ministry wives. We have a weird (and unpaid) job at church so it’s good to get together from time to time.

3. Wrote half a paper and gave a presentation. Maybe this one doesn’t deserve full credit, but I did have to give a presentation. The second half of that paper and one more class remains before the end of the semester. As much as I’ve enjoyed learning more about nonprofits, I’m ready for time away from homework and another night of flexibility during the week.

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That’s all I’ve got for now. Happy Spring.