Sharing Blessings

Summer in the South! Despite our dire need for rain, gardens have been productive. I have been the recipient of so many garden blessings recently! Volunteers at our hospital have shared delicious figs and oh, such flavorful tomatoes! Real tomatoes-the kind you must make a "mater sammich" with....white bread, Duke's mayo, a bit of salt and pepper and slices of tomato as high as your mouth can handle! Or bacon, lettuce and tomato on toasted white bread! Oh, my...heaven!
Others are the tiny ones, for tossed salad, making a wonderful cucumber/tomato/onion/pepper mix, or just eating like popcorn as a snack! Sooooo good!

Yesterday, my neighbors called and told me one of their friends had given them so much from their garden, and they wanted to share! They know me well enough that my "motto" is to share whatever is shared with me, so when I went over, oh, they filled my car with fresh produce! Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, okra, cantelope, watermelon....all to be enjoyed!

Some went to coworkers at the hospital, some to others in our neighborhood, and some to a friend dealing with crisis. Tomorrow, another friend is coming for a vegatable lunch here. It has been truly a "loaves and fishes" experience. The most fun, however, was to give a cantelope to a stranger in the parking lot of a local drug store! We had laughed at an experience as we walked out the door, and I asked, "Do you like cantelope?"..."Yes," she replied. So I quickly grabbed one out of the back seat of my car and took to her. She was so surprised and tickled at her "bless for the day!"

We talk about gratitude...about being thankful...about our blessings....and we have so many. But there is special joy is being able to share these blessings!

What Comes First?

Today, and yesterday, and the day before....I am struggling with WHAT COMES FIRST! I am a listmaker, and the list is long. Seems it always is. There are routine chores, special surprises, business demands, home maintenance, yard details, gifts to buy, trip plans to make, and on and on and on. Trying to pick and choose becomes the challenge. What comes first?

Oh, yes, I try to prioritize, but sometimes that becomes a problem itself. Then I switch gears from prioritizing to procrastinating. Not a good thing!

Finally, this morning I accomplished. I first chose something that would make someone happy (I hope). It was a simple thank you letter to a long-time city employee (with a copy to the mayor) for excellent assistance. This "chore" didn't take fifteen minutes, but had been on my list for about fifteen days. Ridiculous! Other items were checked off, probably because I started by doing a "thank you" rather than a mundane chore.

So, with that in mind, I am reviewing my list. I need to look at these "to dos" in a different light - from a different direction! Perhaps I will mark each with estimated time to accomplish or maybe I will put a star, or two, or three by the "must dos" for immediate attention. And I will keep in mind a trait I so admire in our department manager. Whenever I go to her with "when you have time, will you.....", she doesn't add it to her list, but DOES it! Right then! In most cases, my requests take only a few minutes while I am there to troubleshoot any concerns, and something that would take twice as long later is accomplished. Done! We are never too old to learn, are we?