Dear June, I hope the door hits you on the way out. Hard.

My tweet from yesterday sums it up perfectly, "Looking forward to kicking June out on its butt and hopefully achieving more balance in July." June has been a mixed bag of the unexpected - some good, some bad, but all resulting in a month of chaos.


Hi, my friends. Long time no talk. A month to be exact - ouch! As the sun shone through the crack of our semi-closed bathroom door this morning, and I was contemplating whether to rise or go back to sleep, I was reminded of a quote Cheri posted on her blog several months ago:


"If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse." ~ Jim Rohn


This (motioning with Vanna White hands - speaking of, is she computerized now, too, like the puzzle letters?- to my computer) is important to me (not my computer, but all of you who live in it... that is where you live, isn't it?), so no more excuses for not writing. Enjoying the quiet that seems only to exist before seven, I'm watching the sun rise over the trees, reflecting on where I've been this month, both physically and emotionally, so that I can file it away and open myself up to all that July has to offer.


The biggest thing that happened to us this month was the loss of our Grannie. I say "our" because even though she technically belongs to my husband, I claim her as my own. Anyone who knew her did. "Spitfire" is one of the first words that comes to mind. Even into her late 80s, Grannie was the life of the party, always in the thick of the action, as is evidenced by one of my favorite pictures from our wedding.

I'm not sure what I'll miss more - hearing her break out into song without notice (we really could be related) or her infectious laugh that warmed my heart - (and I have no one in the family now to defend my driving; Grannie always understood that it's about getting where you want to go) - but I'm so grateful I got to love her and be loved by her.


When someone passes, it's hard not to think about your own mortality and that of the people you love. My group of friends has been reminded too many times of how fleeting life is, and having lost so many of our own during our young high school and college years, we quickly learned that tragedy knows no age. Those thoughts were intensified this week when one of those friends, who is only a year older than me, discovered that his brain has been harboring two blockages and a hemorrhage. He's holding his own against them so far, thank G-d - though if you have a prayer to spare, that would be much appreciated - but it's another reminder to say "I love you" to your friends and family and to enjoy all the good things life has to offer. And despite the bad days June showed us, it offered us some good ones, too.


One of those days was when, thanks to her awesome friends, I got to see my mom win an award and surprise her at the ceremony. It was an absolute blast and one of those small life moments that I'll always remember.

photo by Thomas Cook

I also got to spend time with my nieces and nephew, and no matter what is going on in my life, they make it better.

How cute is he?!

I hope that June treated you all well and that your July is even better.


(Whoa, Blogger users, how fab is the new preview feature? I'm in love.)