Homesick..

It doesn't happen a lot, but today I'm a bit homesick.  I wear a navy jersy-knit dress, gray leggings, navy and pink floral wellie boots, and a moustached print scarf. It's 2:30 pm and I'm trying to stay warm and dry from the rain pouring down outside and the 54º (12ºC)  weather. It's July. It should be warmer.

There's a heat wave in Arizona where my home base is now. They're getting 115-120º (46º-48ºC) and would call me crazy for wanting to be in it.  But I want to smell the sun on my skin, and feel the dry hot breeze across my face.

Picture from Tammy Kleck

I want tortilla chips accompanied by bowl of my friend Jen's fresh guacamole and salsa. I want to drink Boba tea with Danielle. I want to sit pool side while my nephews beg me to swim with them. I want to see all the babies born to my friends while I've been in Northern Ireland. I want to be a bbq with the friends of my small group. I want pizza and pepsi with my mom, and coffee at a diner with my dad. There are so many other events I wish I could do today.

There are red white and blue flags flying here, but they're the wrong ones. I want to see the one to the right.


Tomorrow I'll be fine I'm sure, but today good ol' Uncle Sam is calling.

Generosity – Part 3

Generosity and identity – those are key terms for me in this past year. I understand more fully that they aren't interchangeable, but you can't be generous without knowing a sense of your identity.

I’m still taken by Jeff Shinebarger's book, More or Less: Choosing to Live a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity that I wrote on in part one. In his book, there is a chapter titled 'More Than Enough,' that touches on the topic of identity and generosity. It has fuelled part of this post.

It seems like we have an innate struggle to see ourselves in a positive light. It is always said we are our own worst critics. We fear our incapability. We dismiss our opinions. We are quick to point out our flaws. We put out the idea to others and to ourselves that we aren’t worthy.