Happy Sunday-Monday, Journeyer,

I hope today’s post finds you well and warm, and if not, that it finds you mending…

Yesterday morning I had an overwhelming urge to sweep my floors and to catch up on the laundry.

For those of you who’ve been around for a while, you know that I’m not usually one to whistle while I work to take care of those household cleaning chores. Though I like a clean house, I can’t say as I particularly like the cleaning part.

Considering that I still had a long checklist of things I needed to complete before my Wednesday departure for the North Carolina Social Worker’s Fall conference, cleaning should have been the last thing on my mind.

But there I was, plodding around in my pjs with my broom and a dustpan. Though I wasn’t singing a tune with each little swish of that broom, I was pondering this post and reflecting on those fleeting moments of joy and peace that fed my happy organ last week.

My four days of unpaid leave were absolutely invaluable in helping me finish the work I needed to do for my presentation at the upcoming conference. I am grateful to my employers for granting that leave and oh so satisfied with what I’ve accomplished.

I had the luxury of spending a few hours over a delicious lunch with two longtime girlfriends. Though I saw both of them at one of the Halloween parties Warren and I attended, it’s been far too long since we’ve been able to just sit and visit. Girlfriends sure do spike our spirit meter, don’t they?

I am thankful for the timing of my phone call to the oral surgeon. That bad tooth I had turned out to have two cracks in it and had to be pulled. Originally they said they couldn’t get me in until December 10th! But as luck would have it, they had just received a cancellation for last Wednesday. No more mouth pain!

In other news, I’m grateful to some major coincidence that reminded both Warren and I that we can connect visually through Facetime. You see, Hubby is gone again for the past eleven days and though we talk on the phone every day, there’s just something about being in person that a phone can’t provide.

I had just disconnected my cell from my computer so I could go print off some forms for the conference. Evidently I tossed it onto the chair’s cushion beside me, because when I stood up, I head that unmistakable beep of the Facetime connection, and when I looked down, my phone was connecting with Warren.

No matter how it happened, I’m glad it did, because it is so much nicer being able to see the sparkle in someone’s eyes and the glorious smile on their face when you’re talking to them.

I am also happy to report that my Patches not only continues to flourish in her new environment, she is a cuddler, which makes those nights when Hubby is gone a little lonely when Warren is away.

We still have a ways to go before she is fully comfortable and trusting, but what a fabulous start she’s off to. As Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” We’re stepping along at a pretty good clip on the path with this new pet.

Having a new dog in the home reminds me a little bit of having toddlers around. Every day is something new and exciting and mundane and frustrating and funny, all at the same time. There are additional messes to clean up after and new skills to learn, for all of us.

Speaking of those messes (pet dander, pet fur, and toys) brings me back to yesterday’s cleaning spurt. As I thought about the week’s events, I realized that I’ve been in a nesting sort of mode.

Checking off lists. Cleaning. Laundry. Waiting. Fearing. Wondering. Excitement filling my veins. Preparing for the birth of something that is so exciting and equally unknown that I can hardly stand the wait.

This Five Facets of Healing work has been a labor of love, one with a gestational period that even outlasts an elephant! Nonetheless, I am like an expectant mother, hoping I will measure up, trusting that I have the ability to learn what I need to learn on the job, and looking forward to sharing this new life with the rest of the world.

And I can’t tell you how stoked I am to be presenting her to this group of professionals. My workshop is not only full to capacity, it will be filled with people who can take this body of work back to the people who need it, Journeyer. The Five Facets of Healing is about to go viral! Okay, so many not VIRAL, but viral. My happy meter is spilling over at the moment…

So you see, I spent last week nesting…and now it’s time to go pack that suitcase and place it by the door! Please send a little love toward Asheville, Journeyer, and a whole lot more to Paris… Love and light to our Parisian neighbors, Journeyer…

What about you, Journeyer? What moment(s) fed your happy this week? Won’t you share? Come on…don’t keep it all to yourself! The world needs your joy, be it big, small, or seemingly indifferent. Don’t take the power of happy for granted! And a BIG hank you in advance for sharing.

Until we meet again, yours in hope, healing, and happiness,