One More Day...

I'm reading this book by Mitch Albom. Part of me only picked it up because of the name "MITCH". I fumbled through the book, to see if anything caught my eye, nothing did. I skimmed the description of the book, & thought "Ehh, I'll read a little, see if it's interesting." I picked it up at 8pm (on my 30 min. break at work) & picked it up again 2 more times on my 10 min breaks & am now on Page 73. So far this book has taken me to 2 different distant memories. I thought about these 2 memories as I continued to fall in love with this book. I'll begin with the first memory that isn't too detailed...

1)In Tempe, Arizona, my brother Bobby, cousin Patrick & I would toss baseballs, tennis balls, basketballs etc. onto the roof of our nana's house . We used to spread out in the yard & scream with glee at the fact that we NEVER knew where the ball would land. We would mark our boundaries & yell at each other, "DON'T CROSS THE LINE-THIS IS MY SIDE!" We kept count to see how many times the ball would decide who was worthy of catching it as it fell from the heavens into our tiny hands. This would last for what seemed like FOREVER until my nana would say, "Come & eat lunch!" or "Stop throwing that ball on the roof!". Either way, many afternoons of fun took place by our little game- which is mentioned in this book.

2)I was about 6 or 7 years old. It was October & my school, Nevitt Elementary, was having its Halloween parade. I was so excited. I remember telling my mom, "I need a really great costume Mommy-I can't wait to walk around with it on!" She smiled and I remember her telling me, "I will make you the BEST costume-how about a butterfly?".  I was ecstatic. "YES- A pretty one!" She worked on it for days. I remember my nana helping her (my nana was an upholster & had ALL the supplies necessary). The big day finally came. My mom was so excited as she showed me the costume that she put so much effort into. I looked at it & remember telling her I hated it, "That's NOT like the one in the stores! I'm NOT wearing that-it's ugly!". My mom cried & I felt horrible. I put it on & wore it to the parade, but I'll never forget that look on my moms face. I remember looking at her across the dining room table & for the first time understanding I was capable of hurting others by "mean words". 

The great thing about memories is they make me appreciate events that have taken place in my life & to thank GOD for the blessings he's given me...Which also reminds me,

I met a lady tonight that is a counselor/social worker & she said to me, "No matter what I see or deal with, GOD reminds me -'You do this for me, you serve these people for me, you take happiness in that'-he's already written my name in the good book, what more can I be thankful for or worry about?" 

So since this is a blog about a book/memories/blessings- This picture was taken in Ireland in 2004, a distant memory that I hold dear to my heart & a GREAT blessing.