Do you juggle?

It gets tiring to keep all of my balls up in the air, so I let my "art/work" ball fall to the ground for a while this spring.  I was secretly hoping no one would notice, but you did.  Thanks to the gentle admonition from several friends and readers to "get going!", I'm ready to get back at it again.   

While I've been gone I happily discovered that my daughter is a budding track star.  I knew she was fast, but I didn't realize she was fast enough to win races and set a record.  Awesome!

I've also been busy with the usual home and garden things (I expanded my vegetable and herb gardens), and visiting and helping my parents as much as I can, as well as trying to help a friend who is going through a hard time.  I'm glad I can be available to them.

And, thanks to my husband, I now have another ball to keep in the air - fitness, of all things.  In March, the company he works for sponsored a 12 week "Body for Life" program involving very healthy eating, and 6 days a week of serious exercise, and we signed up. Getting up at 5 am for cardio or weight lifting was a grind!  But we struggled through, and I am so thankful to feel strong and fit once again.  I haven't been in shape since my college days - and I cringe to tell you how long ago that was.

The most important "ball" in my life is my faith, and thankfully as I occasionally drop one or two of my other balls, that one has stayed with me.  I might have mentioned earlier this year that I am memorizing "chunks" of scripture - for the incredible spiritual benefits, and also as exercise to keep my mind as fit as possible as I age (Alzheimer's is common in my family).  So far I've got the first 11 verses of 2 Peter 1 under my belt, I'm almost done with Psalm 139, and am still struggling with Isaiah 53.  I'm finding memorization takes a lot of work when one is in their mid forties, but what a sense of blessing/accomplishment it is when I finally get it. 

Back to work!