Monthly Archives:

August 2010

A New Journey

Hope In The Light

Watching this storm from my balcony I found myself drawn to the brightness peeking through the clouds, reminding me that even in the middle of the biggest storms in our lives, often times when we can’t yet see the rainbow, we can still find hope in the light.

Stormy Sky

“Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm” (unknown)

A New Journey Day Five

Cricket Walker

A New Journey

I Got Nuffin

A Little Wilted....

I wandered around outside for a while trying to come up with ideas for today’s New Journey post. Did I mention how hot it is? I was trying to come up with something new and exciting, and maybe even a little bit witty, but guess what?

I got nuffin! Big fat zero, zilch, nada. NUFFIN!

It’s hot dang it! Even the swimming pools are deserted. The birds are hiding and the squirrels have built their own air conditioning somewhere or have taken off for cooler climates anywhere but here. The only thing I found moving was the mosquitoes. If there is even one mosquito in a 25 mile radius of me, it will find me and bite me.

Did I mention it is hot?

egg

Although it is certainly hot enough in Texas to fry this Cricket’s brain, apparently it is not quite hot enough to fry an egg on the pavement.

Yeah, don’t ask.

I was having a weird day and someone on Facebook triple dog dared me, so I had to see if it was possible. It isn’t…

I think I am gonna crawl in the icebox for a while.

A New Journey Day Four

Cricket Walker

A New Journey

No Ordinary Moments

Newborn Foot

With my eyes focused on nothing more than the pure magic of this precious baby’s foot, I thought about a quote from the book, Way of the Peaceful Warrior

“There are no ordinary moments.” Dan Millman

When we stop everything we are doing, if only for a moment to see the wonder of the world all around us, all of the sudden the stuff we thought really mattered, just doesn’t seem quite as important.

Newborn Baby

“Faith means living with uncertainty – feeling your way through life, letting your heart guide you like a lantern in the dark” Dan Millman

The touch of a mother and her child

A New Journey Day Three

Cricket Walker

A New Journey

What Was I Thinking?

Cricket Walker

They say that if you wait for the perfect time to start anything, you will never start, but why oh why did I choose now to begin a new journey? Did I not realize that it is two days before school starts and the kid needs supplies? Clothes? Did I forget it is tax free weekend here in Texas and a gazillion people are going to be shopping at the last minute just like us? That the lines would be 17 miles long? Was there some part of triple digit temperatures that made me think my timing was wonderful? Am I nuts? What on earth was I thinking?

While taking a break with the kid in Borders, it suddenly dawned on me that I did not have to go through this. I could hand her my debit card and go find my favorite little Greek café, sip on ice cold sweet tea and nibble on Baklava. *drools*

Debit Card Burning A Hole In Her Pocket
Ya see my debit card already burning a hole in her pocket?

The reality was that when I got there I guzzled a few glasses of the tea in about 3 seconds flat and inhaled the gooey sweet and sinfully delicious (should be illegal) Greek dessert. I was however able to restrain myself and did not lick the plate. 🙂

Just keeping it real is all.

The kid finally showed back up with a bag big enough to be part of a Santa suit, along with my debit card hot enough to sizzle. Did I mention I am not a fan of crowds and shopping? This kind of shopping (hanging out in an air conditioned café while the kid has all the fun) kind of works for me though. *smirks*

A New Journey Day Two

Cricket Walker

A New Journey

A New Journey Day One

Cricket Walker

A few years back, the kid and I embarked on a 30 day photo journey challenge to take just one picture a day. We were a bit lost, trying to find our way back to a time when life made sense to us.

Although the results of that challenge were incredible from a personal standpoint and we found a tremendous amount of healing, we never quite found our way back to where we had once been.

Sometimes it felt as if that place was simply gone.

Over the last couple of years, I often wondered if we would ever find our way all the way back, or if we were searching for something that no longer existed, or perhaps it had all been an illusion and never existed at all.

Eventually, I finally accepted that sometimes it just is what it is, ya know?

Several months back I began to feel a deep aching within me, a need for something I couldn’t recognize, an anxiousness for something, anything, to fill that empty spot where something was simply missing, something I desperately needed.

Before I write I find my mind filled with words and thoughts that simply come together when it is time. But now, I found that the words and thoughts were cluttered and disjointed, not really fitting together at all. I began to wonder if I would ever write again.

Watching the storm moving in,
Tears close to slipping from my eyes
Looking back through my life
Contemplating mistakes of the past
Things I should have done differently
Even knowing I did the best I knew how
It weighs heavily on my heart

Lifting my face to the future
Wondering if I have learned life’s lessons
Or if I am destined to repeat them again

Quieting whispers of my restless soul
Urging me to wander and explore
Knowing it is not yet time
But one day soon…

I began dreaming my dreams and sharing them with others to make them real, but it only increased the craving within me . . .

And then I watched my newest granddaughter Bentlei Michele Keith come into the world.

Bentlei Michele

She had a bit of a rough start and she seemed to find the whole birthing thing just a bit too undignified for her and wasn’t afraid to tell ya about it. I spent the first several minutes of her life just watching her, touching her, as she stared into my eyes with total wonder, or perhaps she was just begging God that the crazy old lady in her face wasn’t her mama. (grin)

I don’t think there is a more life changing event than watching the miracle of life, welcoming a new child into your world.

With tears in my eyes, I realized that true healing is not found in going back, but in moving forward to a new journey. Now I don’t know about you, but I am not all that patient. Since my dream of the “future” is still three years away, I have to find a way to stop going through the motions of life and start living again, not someday, but right now, in this very moment.

Beauty In The World Around Me

Yup! Beginning right now, it is time for a new journey, time to explore the wonder of the world that I am blessed with today. And maybe, just maybe, to explore who I am inside.

A New Journey Day One

Cricket Walker

Cricket's Thoughts

Dear Rachel

Texas Sunset For Rachel

Dear Rachel,

As I watched this stunningly beautiful Texas sunset tonight, you were in my thoughts. When the breeze touched my face, I wondered if you could feel my thoughts drifting to you, if you could feel the strength of my prayers across the miles.

During those moments when you are certain you are all alone during this challenging time in your life, close your eyes for a moment, feel the breeze on your cheeks, that is where you will find me, pulling for you all the way.

You are loved….
Cricket Walker

[fancy_box]Not yet 25 years old, Rachel is fighting cancer for the third time in her life. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy and preparing for a bone marrow transplant. She needs your support, and she needs your prayers.

Take a moment to visit got-marrow.org. If you are able, consider donating a few bucks to help with expenses, but above all, please take the time to leave your words of encouragement for Rachel.[/fancy_box]

Rest in peace in the arms of an angel my beautiful friend…
August 4, 1986 – December 7, 2010