The Trouble With Dust Bunnies

"Dust Bunnies"

I love having my studio in our home!... There is nothing like blogging in my PJ's with a fresh, hot cup of coffee in my favorite mug. I love curling up in a comfy corner of the couch to sketch while listening to our lab, Winnie, snoozing happily on her bed. I love brainstorming new ideas & jotting them down while fixing dinner. I love having Aha! moments when I just drop everything & follow my latest creative intuition, playing with markers & colored pencils.

But there are some things I find hard about working & creating at home... and most often my biggest hurdle to overcome is ME!

Yes, I'm one of those bed-making, do-the-dishes, work-comes-before-play kinda people. I'm the kind of person who sees the spider webs, the dog hair, and all those dust bunnies. And it's hard (really hard!) for me to ignore them & go on with my next "great" creative idea. No... first I think I must banish the dust bunnies & all of their friends from my home, and then (only then!) do I feel OK about indulging myself in a little creative playtime.

As you can probably imagine, the playful side of me can get pretty exasperated with the dutiful side of me! 

So today (once again!) I want to remind myself that life is a balancing act... and there will always be dust bunnies! Sometimes the best thing for me to do is to ignore all the dust bunnies life holds & simply let the little girl in me come out to play.

So Very Thankful!

As so many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To be honest, until recently that didn't have much meaning for me. At 57 years old, I had been blessed with good health & I was looking forward to enjoying middle age with my sweet husband, Joe. But all that suddenly changed for me...

The morning after my 'routine mammogram,' I got the phone call no woman ever wants to receive... "We want you to come back for a second screening. The radiologist found a problem on your X-ray."

So began several weeks of not knowing & waiting & trying not to think the worst. My husband & I prayed. We asked our family & friends for prayer. We believe the Lord wants us to bring our needs & our hearts before Him... and at the same time we believe, for better or for worse, God is in control.

I ended up needing to have a biopsy... and truthfully, I was afraid to go through that process almost as much as I feared learning about the test results. But the nurse & doctor who cared for me could not have been more compassionate. They listened to me & talked me through the entire procedure. I felt like I was treated as a person who mattered & not just another nameless patient... They helped put my heart at ease.

My story has a very HAPPY ending!... though now I know I could easily have received very different news.

And so today I am THANKFUL!...  Thankful for the love & support of my husband. Thankful for the prayerfulness of family & friends. Thankful for compassionate caregivers. And yes, thankful for the very good news I received... I don't take the gift of good health for granted any more.

Thank you Lord for caring for me in the midst of uncertainty & fear. Thank you for being my strength, my comfort, my rock. Thank you for your compassion & mercy on me. Please help me to remember that, no matter what I may face in this life, I can ALWAYS trust in You.