Something in the Air

This has been one of those days so full of joy that it almost feels as though Somebody exchanged the normal components of air (Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, etc.) and replaced them with peace, joy, and contentment, creating something rarified and life-giving.

My daughter, jealous for my time and attention!, invited me to spend the day with her. (Do I recognize how flippin' amazing it is for one's 18 year-old daughter to want that? Heck yeh!)

We started out with lunch at a fun, local restaurant and sport's bar and my daughter proceeded to blow me out of the water with her wisdom. She shared that she has a list of qualities she wants in a husband and that she won't date anybody who doesn't have most of them. She shared how she knows that a relationship grown gradually from the seeds of friendship has the most potential to succeed. She told me how she is finding power in humility. AT 18!!! (By contrast, her mother, 30 years her senior, is only beginning to obtain wisdom like this.) How did she get to be such an amazing and mature young woman!

After lunch, we shopped for dorm items for college this fall and then had appointments to get haircuts. I let Kelly choose my style, a daring act of trust! She chose a cute, sexy shoulder-length style that made my eyes even brighter and showed off my shoulders. All the stylists gushed over the transformation. Kelly declared it "smokin' hot!"


And when we got home, she said, "Thanks, Mom. I had fun."

Oh baby! Me too! Me too!

As if that isn't enough, I realized with crystal-clear clarity (is that redundant?) my path forward. When I was approved for disability last year, I felt like something died inside of me. I have so much to contribute and the last thing I want(ed) to do was to sit home, drawing a government check and wasting away. I think I've made extremely good use of the ensuing time by my focused determination to lose weight and to regain my health. Well, I'm there. I'm healthy, much slimmer, much more accomplished at being independent and adventurous in my wheelchair, and am ready to embrace fresh challenges.

I recently acquired an office building that was part of the world's longest divorce deliberation. Today, I signed a property management agreement with a realtor to lease it. And here was the lightbulb flash! I can use the extra income to assist with expenses of going back to school. I've long known that I have gifts as a counselor and it's time to get the credentials to actually make a living at that! Best of all, once I obtain the letters behind my name, I'll already have the perfect space in which to set up practice, and with room for 3-4 associates if I so desire.

Should know this week if I'm being considered for a year-long internship with an organization in Washington D.C. that would begin this fall. If that doesn't materialize, I will begin taking classes instead. Either option is equally appealing, and feels like an embarrasment of riches.

And, finally, finally, finally, I have a sense of where I'm headed.

My life has never felt more on track and I couldn't have imagined a year ago that I would one day feel this positive and hopeful. This vibrant and alive. This bold and adventurous. This pretty and sexy. This grateful.