Good morning

I slept a good 7 hours last night and felt good enough to get up early. It looks as though the internet fairies got to work last night and now I can be online. Morning has always been my favorite time of day, especially in the summer when it is the only time of day that is cool and quiet. I have easily fallen into morning ritual, something I haven't done in a while because of the unpredictable school/internship schedule. Since being in Junction, the boys and I get up around 5:30. I have coffee, they eat breakfast. We take a nice walk in the neighborhood, and then I go for a walk/jog. Come home, eat breakfast, listen to the news, and get ready for the day. Ritual is so comforting in times of change-it brings stability and predictability as the change settles in and becomes the new normal.

The house faces West and so every morning I get an amazing view of the sunrise. Lately, the moon has been hanging around a little later than normal. A part of the morning walk includes a stroll through the hospice care center's garden, with or without the boys. I wanted to share this little piece of beauty so you can see how lucky I am to have such beauty with which I can face my day. I used to have my neighbor's gardens to look at as the boys and I set off for our morning walk...this is the next best thing!

The interior of the hospice is just as lovely as the exterior. It is styled in the old bungalow-mission style with lots of dark wood and stained glass windows. Each of the 13 patient rooms are huge with their own balconies. The chaplain I shadowed the other day told me this story. They had an old cowboy on service and he was at the care center, close to dying and his family couldn't care for him anymore. One of his last wishes was to have his horse come to the care center so he could say goodbye. He was on the lower level so he had access to the grass. Well, they brought the horse, unloaded him in the parking lot, and brought him to the man's patio! Yes, I shed a little tear, too, when I heard that story.

On another note, Mom and Dad come Friday! Yay! I can't wait to show them the house and the hospice. I still have exploring to do so I am hoping we can do that together. I haven't been to the part of town with the mall, Petsmart, and Sprouts so I need to venture that way. One nice thing about shadowing and riding along with folks is that I get to see parts of the area I haven't seen before.