Dori Land

I’ve said it hundreds of times just like you have “Things happen for a reason”, well I’m here to say that today was one of those days that I hope to look back on and say things happen or a reason. I feel so blessed with the people in my life and sometimes we just have to let go of our hold on our expectations surrounding what we can not control. Life is about the lessons we learn daily and applying them to every aspect of our lives. 4/4/19

You know that kind of day that gets you down…….you are reaching for ways to get out of your funk….nothing like a sweet sister to invite you for a walk on the beach. How absolutely fortunate we were to see the actual natural feeding time of the dolphins at Wiggins Pass State park which was spectacular, the way the 3 of them circled their catch as they propelled their bodies through the surf at speeds that you would never believe of the graceful swimmers. We saw beautiful shells, birds, driftwood, tree’s strewn with shells like Christmas decorations near the shore, the sound of the wind through the leaves, the laughter of children playing, pelicans flying overhead and the hope of a magnificent sunset to come.

The special part of our afternoon was that I was invited to go with our 2 nieces and what a treat they are.

I’m here to tell you that even you have even forgotten how my day started. 4/3/19

When was the last time you used a sauna? Both of our grown kids have saunas. Our daughter has an infrared sauna which heats your body up from the inside out and our son has a traditional sauna that heats your body up from the outside in. Whichever sauna you try I can tell you they have amazing health benefits. When you are like me and barely can work up a sweat from walking or riding your bike it feels so amazing to actually sweat it out, and to feel your skin afterwards thanking you for it.

Oh my…..is all I can say at first while my brain thaws out from its ice fog. Try concentrating while your body is immersed in 37 degrees for a minute 45 seconds or so my son said I endured. I have tried cryogenics before and really wanted to give this a go one time at least. It’s really amazing as you lay there and try to remember what you did for the day as your son tries to help you take your mind off of whatever you were thinking. It’s way cool to know that whatever our age we can still experience new things. Make tomorrow a day to remember.

For the last few days and for the next week or so, I have been and will be going through pantries, closets, drawers, bins etc….I couldn’t fit one more blouse in my closet and noticed that I keep wearing the same things over & over again. Would you believe yesterday I eliminated 115 tops, P. J’s and beach cover ups. How in the world did I accumulate so much. I know I’m a great shopper and go to places like consignment shops and use to even love to shop at yard sales. Where am I going to go where I need all of these cloths. I haven’t even tackled my pants, skirts, shorts, capri’s plus additional items I haven’t even found in my closet yet. I can’t tell you how great it felt this morning to wake up and for me to actually feel like I had so many new items to wear that were hiding amongst the way to many squished items in my closet. I’m first asking my family and friends to go through everything to see what they would like and thankfully I know that I’m bringing joy to a lot of individuals that are thrilled with their new things and donating the rest of everything. I have been so good over the last so many years not bringing anything into the house unless it’s a needed item or I know that I absolutely love it and know where it will fit. It feels so great to be reducing what I have and having more room for the things I own to breathe and to share with others. Here’s to everyone knowing the joy of what I’m feeling right now.

I’ve been so blessed with friendships during my lifetime. Lots of my friends would ask how I had so many different friends. I told whoever would ask that I have different friends for different activities. For example…some of my friends and I would cook together, go to the movies, shopping at the mall, play tennis, crafting together and so on. I didn’t feel the need to have one friend for all occasions. That is why I believe I have so many friends. I feel so thankful to all of my friends through the years. Some have moved away or we have drifted apart due to situations or distance. I try not to be hard on myself if a friendship changes. We all come into each other’s lives for so many reasons. One thing I can say about friendships is that they are one of our most important blessings in life.

I love to wake up to a day which is like a blank slate. A day to create ever so gently into a day which brings me joy and that I know will also recharge this battery of mine to be ready for a new week. What to do…..sleep in late…look into my fridge and decide that maybe today would be a great day to make a soup, roast some delicious vegetables, take a walk, call a friend, look through my photos to share…oh so many options. What will you do today?

How blessed we are to have such an amazing family. Mom is in from Las Vegas, my sister is in from Kentucky and our Granddaughter spent the day with us and she is a bundle of joy at her almost 4 years old. We did accomplish cleaning out the toy closet and our 3 year old Granddaughter played her 83 year old Great Grandma GiGi Mankala. Then we had a really nice afternoon at my brothers house with his whole family. Isn’t that what life is about….sharing those special moments with the people we love. Each day is an opportunity for all of to find meaning and joy. Here is to another beautiful day tomorrow.

Today was awesome. When I woke up I was rearing to go.

How wonderful to feel the energy to get out while it’s just daylight for a 6 mile bike ride. I just started exercising again this week as I’m on a mission to make healthy choices. My choices today will most definitely effect my future. Why was I in denial for so very long? I’m so happy that I’m now awake in so many ways. It’s unbelievable to me how we all wake up to our own reality when we are ready. What was the stimulus? I’m not going to dwell on that….I’m going to make a difference in my life and therefore impact the people around me.

A road trip is what I need with my besties. When we spoke about it, we asked each other….where do we go? It doesn’t really matter where we go, or if we go anywhere….we realized we could even stay at one of our homes, hang out by the pool, appetizers and margaritas, sharing stories of our lives by day, dinner and dessert by the fire pit at night, sharing the moonlight and stars above. Meditation, sauna, water aerobics, beading, painting, shared recipes, laughter, joy, time for reflection of how important we each are to each other and feeling like we could solve the problems of the world from our shared knowledge and compassion. The road trip was into each other’s lives, a drive through each other’s hearts showing the purpose of friendship in our everyday.