Dear Reader:

I think I will always remember the summer of 2018 as the “dappling summer.” It is a summer where we mark our shadows and hunt for tree shadows on sidewalks and walkways to escape the fierce direct rays of the sun. I pray for clouds to gather each afternoon to block the sun’s rays and then pray harder for summer rain storms to cool the parched earth.

Going into Publix the other day… I spotted a little boy (about three or four) walking next to his tall father… while holding hands in the parking lot. Every now and then the son would falter and knock against his dad’s legs. I saw the father stop and rather angrily ask the little boy why he kept bumping into him…the child replied, “Because I am trying to walk in your shadows to stay cool.” 

Yesterday Gin-g took me home with her to show me her beautifully serene, peaceful garden in the back yard. It was early in the afternoon so the shadows were sparse….but suddenly the dappling sun hit this beautiful potted arrangement of Gin-g’s and accelerated its beauty with a contrast of shadows and light.

Everything in the yard was so lovely…I found myself jumping from tree shadows to tree shadows to take different photo sections of the garden.

I have never been so happy for cloud coverage as I have this summer. I honestly can not stay out long in the direct sun…I feel like I am melting from inside out….like a salted slug.

Still staying indoors makes me feel even more sluggish. Perhaps that is why these fun games like “Some days I amaze myself, other days…” is tickling my funnies so much!

I absolutely loved reading your unique responses to the opening clause…Now laugh with me at your own responses, as well as, other readers. Don’t worry about deadlines on this fun game…any time something pops in your head…send it on to me. It is going to be a long hot summer!

“SOME DAYS I AMAZE MYSELF, OTHER DAYS I…”

JO DUFFORD: “Some days I amaze myself, but other days I find myself beginning to worry when my car won’t start, and then I realize my car really shouldn’t respond to my daughter’s car keys!”

CAROL SEAVEY: “Some days I amaze myself, other days I look for my cell phone while talking on it.”

PATTY KNIGHT: “Some days I amaze myself, other days I have to call my lost cellphone using a land line!”

CAROL POOLE: “Some days I amaze myself, other days I remember that the appointment I tried so hard to be on time for is actually next Tuesday!” ( My first clue was when there were no cars in the parking lot.)

MEV SHIEDER: “Some days I amaze myself, other days…I discover the coffee pot in the refrigerator… after searching for it for a refill!”

JODY GREEN: “Some days I amaze myself, other days I discover where the towels went…the trash cupboard next to the washing machine.”

AMBIKA: “Some days I amaze myself, Other days I mostly forget what I wanted to say to the person sitting in front of me (I give a silly blank stare at that person).. 😀😀

ISAIAH 46 MINISTRIES: “Some days I amaze myself, Other days I send myself an email to remember what I plan to do at work or home.”

BEVERLY PARKINSON: “Some days I amaze myself, Other days I always amaze myself when I lock myself out of the house.” (There is a reason for keeping an extra key …out side.)

Thank all of you who participated and if per chance, somehow, I missed your response… please send it to me again…I love reading them!!!

Another fun thing to do is take the inanimate object you are searching for and let it do the talking…give its side of the story. For example…take me and my “lost” sunglasses (which have been sitting on my head the whole time I have thrown pillows and cushions around looking for them.)

The other day I did go back in the bathroom to re-check and happened to glance at the mirror…and there they were…on top of my head…where they had been the entire time. So humiliating!

I started thinking the sunglasses (if they could talk) would probably be saying….

“What is WRONG with that lady? How can I be lost when I am exactly where she placed me (on her head)…never moving an inch the whole time? Me lost…I think not…it is that cra-cra lady that has lost her marbles!” 

So until tomorrow…I must remind myself that we are all made of light…Divine Light. The shadows made from this light are simply there to nudge our memories… remembering that the shadows in our lives can never win out over light…because if light is gone…so are the shadows. We must learn to live in both worlds…they compliment each other.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh