Almost Heaven

Well, I am about to embark on a cross country trip. My Mom and I are hopping in her little red Mitzubishi Expo and heading for West Virginia. I haven't been back there in 17 years and this is the first time I have ever helped to drive that far. In the past I have hopped from airport to airport.

My Mom and I are going to get my brother who has spent the last 2 years serving as a missionary for the LDS Church. I have a vested interest in this trip beyond the fact that I have not seen my brother in 24 months. I did the same thing my brother has been doing in this same area. I know people he knows. I know the roads that he knows.

Look for this entry to continue in about two weeks.

Approaching 40

So, I went to the eye doctor today. I was in need of an update for my eye glass prescription. I have been to the eye doctor many times in my life. I have worn glasses since I was a teen-ager.

After the initial exam he looks at my information and sees that I am just about to turn 40. What does this mean?? It means he had to check to see if I needed bi-focals.

Thankfully, I escaped that deminse...for now.

Living Life

My husband was voicing his thoughts the other evening while we were coming home from a date. The general notion was that when people get out there and just do things it makes a huge difference in their lives. As he was telling me these thoughts we heard Tim McGraw's "Live like you were dying." When the song ended I changed the station to hear "I Hope You Dance" by LeeAnn Womack.

I think there are a few who would agree.

---

Live Like You Were Dying

He said I was in my early 40's,
With a lot of life before me,
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
I spent most of the next days, lookin' at the x-rays,
Talkin' 'bout the options and talkin' 'bout sweet time.
Asked him when it sank in, that this might really be the real end.
How's it hit ya, when you get that kind of news.
an what ya do.
And he says,

[Chorus]

I went sky divin',
I went rocky mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I've been denying,
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'.

He said I was finally the husband,
That most the time I wasn't.
And I became a friend a friend would like to have.
And all the sudden goin' fishing,
Wasn't such an imposition.
And I went three times that year I lost my dad.
Well I finally read the good book,
And I took a good long hard look at what I'd do
If I could do it all again.
And then.

[Chorus]

Like tomorrow was a gift and you've got eternity
To think about what you do with it,
What could you do with it, what can
I do with with it, what would I do with it.

[Chorus]

---

I Hope You Dance

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along,
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone.)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

Dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance..
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone)

More...Home on the Range

I wrote in an earlier post about a cow being found in our front yard. Well, that is not the only 4-legged creature we have had the pleasure of meeting in our yard.

We regularly see a small herd of deer roaming through our neighborhood and wandering in the field behind our house. They had already eaten all my bean plants and some of my squash plants. Then we planted some fruit trees in our yard.

The next morning more than half of the leaves on those trees had been neatly eaten away. I can put up with a cow in my yard. I can put up with a mouse or two that finds its way into my pantry. But I have just about had it with these deer.