October 11, 2023
I woke up at 7:30a.m. It felt so good to sleep in. Angel slept in too. I did my morning routine. Angel practiced her phonics while I sliced tomatoes and put them in the dehydrator. Both Angel and I love dried tomatoes. We eat them as snacks all the time.
It was a cool cloudy day and I was thoroughly enjoying the cooler fall weather. It reminded me of home in Idaho, which my heart has been aching for ever since my visit there this summer. I long for the mountains and the high desert plains. I long for the smell of pine and sagebrush. I long for fresh crystal clear ice cold streams and rivers. But enough of that. I am grateful for my wonderful home here in Texas and trust that this is where I’m supposed to be in this moment.
Angel did school until 9:30a.m. We are focusing on phonics right now. After school we headed to town. We went to story time at the library which we rarely get to do since I often work on Wednesday mornings. After the stories were read, the kids did a craft of coloring and putting together a paper house. Angel didn’t do the craft, instead she played with the toys. One of the librarians asked Angel if she wanted to join the other kids and make a house. Angel said, “no thanks, I’m not into houses”. That child says the funniest things sometimes.
After the library, I stopped to get gas. I was paying cash so I went up to the cashier and handed her $30. I walked back to the truck and was putting in the gas when the pump stopped at $3.03. I went back and waited my turn in line to talk to the cashier. When it was my turn, I told her what had happened. She told me that I needed to pay her the full $30. I felt myself getting angry. I took a deep breath and checked in with the anger. It was fear. Fear of being stolen from, fear of having money taken from me that I felt I had worked hard for. Then the Holy Spirit whispered to me….all is a gift. Oh yes, I remembered, there is nothing to fear and I always have everything I need. I took another deep breath and told the cashier that I had handed her $30 and only used $3.03 of that. She told me to hang up the gas pump and she would straighten it out. I went back to the truck and hung up the pump. There was a long line when I went back to talk to the cashier. I apologized to those in line and asked if I could step in front to finish a previous transaction. The cashier finished helping the person at the front and I asked her if she had straightened things out. She said no, she didn’t have time and called the manager over. I calmly explained to the manager what had happened. She fixed it and said there was $30 on my pump, I thanked her and I thanked those that let me go ahead in line and went back to my truck. This time the full $30 went in and I got $3.03 in gas for free. What a blessing.
Next I went to the grocery store and then to the Rockdale Reporter to deliver newspapers. Angel stayed at the reporter with Suzy up front while I did the deliveries. I took my time on my route. I didn’t have a job afterwards, which gave me freedom to go at a slower place and chat with people. When the route was over I picked up Angel and drove home. We listened to “On The Banks of Plum Creek” on the drive.
At home, I talked to Christopher a while and laid down to take a nap. As I rested, I could hear Angel scolding her new dog and crying. I got up to see what was going on. I asked Angel what she was crying about. She said that she wanted to give Chase back because he wouldn’t listen to her. I asked if she wanted me to show her how teach him. She said ok and I showed her how to use positive reinforcement. We walked around with him and practiced having him sit and lay down. He is a smart dog and learns quickly. Angel calmed down and asked if would read her a story. I told her I would like for her to read to me. She excitedly ran inside and grabbed 7 books that she can easily read. We sat outside with the dogs and she read me each story.
When she finished reading, Christopher, Angel and I took the side by side down the trail through the woods that leads to the gulley. We trimmed up the trail to get it ready for our homeschool co-op to come over and do a nature walk at our place tomorrow. It was a lot of fun cleaning up the trail and we got the it looking great. Most of our trails are blocked with downed trees from the ice storm last winter. We’ve opened up a couple of trails but just so they are barely passable. It is nice to have one well groomed trail now and I love spending time in the woods as a family.
Back at home, I took a bath and drove to play practice. Angel wanted to come so she joined me. Practice went good. I was real tired by the time it was over. We listened to “On The Banks of Plum Creek” on the drive home. At home, we went straight to bed. Angel was sleeping on the trundle bed. She couldn’t get Chase to cuddle with her like Remy used to. She started crying saying she missed Remy. I had her snuggle in bed with me and held her while she cried. Then Chase started licking her face. She gave him a hug and crawled back in bed with him. We fell asleep around 10pm listening to “On The Bank of Plum Creek”.
I am grateful to have experienced another wonderful day.
Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life.
Love,
Victoria