MISTY'S MORNINGS

My mother turned 70 the day after my birthday a few weeks ago.  Part of her milestone birthday is to totally repaint the interior of her home and to purge as many unnecessary items as possible along the way.  Mind you, her home is the same home in which I was raised from age one and in all those years it has never, ever been painted or re-decorated. After my Dad died suddenly when I was two and a half, she turned her attention to working and keeping our family together.  How many people could say that over nearly 40 years their mother spent not one dime to fancy up their perpetually 1970s home and instead self-lessly spent every available cent on her daughters' educations and futures?  Not that our home was unattractive. Quite the contrary.  My mom has the knack for making everything feel clean, tidy, lovely and cozy.  In all my years I was never ashamed to bring friends over to hang out in our home and Mom never mentioned her desire for upgrades or n...

Still life is the theme this week over at  52 Photos Project .  My post should be called "still alive" since I have been MIA since the end of September! Actually, that is quite the appropriate title after the milestone birthday I celebrated last week.  I turned 40 and I am still alive! Now, I am truly not upset or depressed that I am officially a member of the 40s club. Rather, this whole process of turning 40 has magically unlocked tons of memories I had long forgotten (or blocked) from my past and the beauty is that because those events are now so long ago, I find I can look at my younger self with more tenderness and understanding .  The guilt and shame for past mistakes has finally lifted.  I can look back and see how many amazing people have influenced my life, how many blessings have resulted from my hard work and the graces given me by God.  What a birthday gift that has been.   (There is more to be said about this but I am still mining.)...