Comforts

 I sat under the big elm tree in our yard for awhile late this afternoon, and although the temperature was over 90 degrees, I felt pretty comfortable.  Locusts sang, dragonflies swooped, and the late afternoon sunlight transformed ordinary scenes  into backlit beauty.  

I needed a day of rest today and was granted grace to accept the need and partake of the peace of a day alone, without noise of TV or the distraction of projects.  It was a good decision, because this afternoon I'm feeling rejuvenated and ready for the rest of the week.  Grateful. 

Perspective

I've had a summer cold for nine...count them, NINE days.  I ran a fever.  I was miserable.  I huddled in bed too sick to read or watch TV and just prayed to feel better soon...and I do.  I really do.  It is a blessing to have a sickness that is of short duration.  Due to my journey with my mother through her Alzheimer's,  I know enough about chronic diseases to recognize that I am blessed.

I walked around the yard this morning and snapped the images below with my old iPhone 5.  Nothing like a brief illness to help one see the world with fresh eyes.

Perspective is important.  In the middle of even a brief illness, it seems as though we'll never feel better again.  We have to remind ourselves "This too shall pass."  My mom used to say that all the time.

It's good to feel better.

This photo is taken in a direct line with those below--I just walked straight ahead to get the closeups (no, I didn't trip over those pots of flowers).  

All details of the same scene--left,: light filtering through the red leaf plum formed rainbow rays; middle: plum leaf detail; right:  closeup of a spider web; this is one of those photos that can be viewed two ways; the strands can look either concave or convex.