A New Day

I'm afraid this wont make sense....

I was in the book store yesterday. Books-A-Million. 15,000 sq. ft. of information. As I strolled up and down the isles seeing 1000's of books I began to feel small. So much information on the things of life. How to be richer. How to find Mr. Right. How to have sex with Mr.Right. I noticed there weren't many books on Mrs. Right. I think because men aren't looking for Mrs. Right. They're looking for Mrs. Right Now. Men are so shallow. Well, me anyway. I mean,...not about that, but, uuhhh,...never mind. Books on how to cook. How to run a computer, a business, a sewing machine. Grow a garden, love God, run a marathon. I think I know a lot but looking at all those books, well, like I said, I felt small.

Have you ever called in sick to work when you weren't? Just needed a day off? Clear your mind? I think they're called "personal days". Seems to me a long time ago they were called weekends. For me anyway. I feel like I work too many days but I'm not complaining, I'm very thankful to my DAD for providing work. But I unwisely took one of those "personal days" yesterday and went to Books-A-Million for a few hours to.... I don't know what. To read? To think? I guess. It was just a nice quiet place to do that. I started to write a few things down, you know, things I wanted to write here, things I needed to here myself say to me. I jotted down a few things but really, not much worth while came to mind. So I left to go to work. Only I didn't get that far.

I have a great wife whom I love very much. I remember seeing her come through the line in the cafeteria at Palm Beach Atlantic College. I was the cashier, which, is one funny irony. I never passed a math class in my life as my check book will attest. But there I was each day as she came through the line. And I was smitten. My friend David Tiger and I prayed she'd like me and fall madly in love with me. I guess He USED to listen to me. 'Cause I got her. And I'm such a better, more mature man than I ever would have been without her. She is so valuable. But our marriage has not been without it's challenges. It's been tough at times and at times I'm sure we've both felt like giving up. But we don't. I don't know if I can explain it though. We just keep pushing through.

I got in my truck to drive to the house I was painting and instead drove to our church's building to fix some plumbing issue instead. Too late. They'd called the plumber.Which probably saved them money in the long run by avoiding the disaster I'd have created. I ended up talking for a few minutes to our church's Mrs. Everything for a spell. She's pretty smart and wise and can pray like nobodies business. And she laughs at me. No, she doesn't think I'm funny, she's just being nice. It gets rid of me faster if I can get a laugh. Mission accomplished kind of thing. Yeah, pretty pathetic. Ran into my friend Arty and we talked for a while. He's pretty wise too so I listened to his advise. It feels good to talk to friends. I'm glad he's mine.

Sleep is a wonderful thing for me. It's the rest but sometimes it's more. It feels like I wake up and I've taken the old day off and put on a new one. Like from dirty clothes to clean ones. It's weird and not always good, but the old mistakes, old problems are gone. Washed away. It only feels that way though. The junk is still there. There to be dealt with. But there is a lookforwardinglyness (it's my new word. Like it?) to a new day. It's brand new! Unspoiled.

My wife and I had a "discussion" last night about my day off. Not our most charming hour. But one of the better ones. Sometimes you have to break out the sledge hammer and work up a sweat tearing down walls and barriers that have "appeared".I'm a grade A brick mason when it comes to those. It's necessary work you have to do in relationships sometimes. I have a habit of not paying attention to my life and just float along in it. I would do well to get off my raft and take care of those wall while I can. Before we need a sledge hammer.

I slept well last night. I dreamed about our life together. My job. My kids. I, despite being a paycheck to paycheck kind of guy, am a rich man. The value and worth of all my experiences with my wife, good or bad, my kids, my brothers and sisters or job is far more than I would get from all those books in the book store together. I don't know it all nor do I want to.I want to know how to do the important things like loving my DAD, wife, and those around me. To know how to benefit others. There are some days I get it right. Seems like a lot I don't. And if I don't it's ok. Because in about 12 hours I'm gonna wake up and the old has passed. It's a brand new day.....