Dear Reader:

Don’t we all deserve an “exhale” day sometimes? Yesterday was mine. It was all about me and I left any guilt twinges (for doing “nothing”) far behind. Don’t we sometimes try doing so much “good for everything” that we end up being “good for nothing?”

I see the nods out there….I think this “condition” applies to women more than men though it is certainly not gender-bound by any means. We all get in a rut where we are running around trying to do things we think are expected of us plus things we feel need to be done and finally things we really want to do for someone.

Yesterday was the perfect day to do “nothing.” I have several medical appointments coming up, along with my regular doctor and my oncologist… topped with more CT scans and lab work so I decided to take a deep breath and slowly exhale. To stay in the moment all day yesterday. Let the future unfold as it may.

I woke up a little before eight…threw on my robe and trotted out to the garden with two old milk carton gallons of water to throw on my newest pintas. (Yes…I finally found a pink and purple pinta at Lowes!) We have actually gone almost two days without rain…(but lots of high temps and humidity) so I figured the new plants could use a little extra soaking to get them acclimated in the garden.

Walking in the morning through the garden, when the breezes are still cool, is such a delight! There is no better way to start the day! I then came in, checked on the blog, answered some emails and texts, drank my big glass of water, took a long, luscious shower, ending with several applications of lotion to make me feel silky and clean.

I watched a couple of my favorite early morning television shows…ate some yogurt and fruit and read several chapters of a novel I am really into now. I then decided to go get a fresh salad at Publix and add some left-over veggies I had cut up in the fridge.

While watching Joanna Gaines (Fixer-Upper) during lunch, decorate a renovated house on HGTV…I noticed a large wooden sign  she was hanging on a bedroom wall that said simply EXHALE. Immediately I wrote the word down. That was the God Wink…the title of the blog post today.

It would be a post reminding us all to simply pause and exhale some days. It is important to take care of ourselves, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If we over-extend (over and over again) both our bodies and our spirits we all pay the price and pass our grumpiness on to others who don’t deserve it.

Later this afternoon I am going to take a nap…finish up the big salad for supper, walk in the garden in the evening and thank God for a day in which “nothingness” included a lot of important “somethings” …like talking to Him.

We have to remember that is is okay to have a little “me” down time….Make room for a “Be Good to Me Day” occasionally.

So until tomorrow….Getting off the carousel, before we spin dizzily out of control, is a life experience well learned.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

After just talking about “crayola” gardens….this Kelly Rae Roberts painting popped up and I had to smile…another “crayola” artwork!

My new friends in my neighborhood/garden: pintas