Lughnasadh

Saturday, August 1st, was Lughnasadh, also known as Lammas. I don't know if the people at my church did this on purpose or not but today was a Food Pantry Offering day. It felt so good to trot in there with two boxes of food to donate. I've certainly taken my fair share of help when my family needed it, including food, and it was a great feeling to be in a position to give back and have a turn to help those less fortunate. According to my day planner's notes on celebrating the Grain Harvest, "It's very important to share what we have, produce from our garden or dry goods for your local food pantry."

Today was a great day. First I gave back to my community. :-) Then I met with the other Sunday School teachers to talk about and plan for the upcoming school year as well as to figure out how to get our Children's Choir up and running again. Then I went to the Pancake Breakfast at the Community House and stuffed myself on chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, fresh fruit, and orange juice. After that I decided to wash my truck since all those unfortunate bugs had been running into it at 90 miles an hour. That's right folks, I haven't washed it yet after my long road trip. And, believe me, you can hit a lot of insects in six thousand miles. So I came home, changed into a little black bikini, tied on a hot pink sarong, and went outside to play Cool Hand Luke. I don't have any male neighbors so really I was just entertaining myself. I had to buy a large carwash sponge anyway for my puppet-making workshop with Suzanne Down, to use as a needle felting base, so I had one on hand. Why pay for a carwash when I can get the maximum use out of my $1.90? I also have a bucket. Free. And I have dish detergent right there by the kitchen sink. Also free. It was a lot of fun to hang out in the driveway and scrub away. Then it rained so I came back inside.

On the way home from the pancake breakfast I stopped and bought myself a HUGE bouquet of flowers and I've decided to clean my room. I always take care of everyone else first so why not me for a little while? I can't even see the floor of my bedroom for the boxes of unpacked books and the piles of laundry that I never put away. It's just plain silly that I should wake up each morning and the first thing I see be complete chaos. How can I be at my best for my children? So I am putting fresh sheets on the bed, taking out all the junk, cleaning my room until it sparkles and shines, and putting a big vase of flowers in it. Worth every penny of the twenty bucks I spent. And I consider it a fair trade -- a carwash for a bouquet of flowers. The flowers last longer and add more beauty to my day and scrubbing my car gets me outside, gives me some sunshine and fresh air, and even a little exercise.