Blessed Weekend...I'm one blessed woman.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.

unknown

Well Monday has arrived and we have four more days until we hit the weekend again.  I personally can't wait!!!!

I am finally learning what one is supposed to do on their day off---rest---relax--have fun--be--even do nothing.

It has taken me more than forty years to learn this and I'm so glad now to have learned a bit of the art of relaxation.

I look around,

listen to all those close to me,

tell their tale of their weekend,

and

i remember beging in their place of hustle and bustle..always

trying fill up every minute with something,

never being okay doing nothing or taking the time to 

walk in the sunshine, feel the crunch of autumn leaves under foot,

feel the breeze blow through their hair that they most often have forgotten to let down.

This weekend was a good one....

Big Daddy and i went to bed early on Friday night.

Off color son took his first road trip with people his age driving...

I was a bit nervous but they made it home from their amusment park aventure all in one piece,

though one of the drivers was pulled over,

and recieved a rather substantial ticket--can't say that I'm sorry that off color son didn't learn a valuable lesson by being in the car....

he says he's not gonna speed.....time will tell...he takes his driving test on Wednesday---mail me some valium---

Off color daughter and I went to an apple orchard in a town not far from here.

The weather was fabulously warm with a cool breeze.

We walked among the various apple trees, played under the pears,

picked a bag of apples and tasted a really fabulous raisin oatmeal cookie.   We walked and laughed and took turns using my new camera.   She didn't much like my get down low camera stance but she didn't act like she was too embarrassed. 

Autumn colors splashed against the light blue palate of the sky,

horses galloped in fields,

pumpkins lay strown through out a parched and dying field

and all the while,

all I could think was about how wonderful it was to be there

taking in all the beauty and laughing with the off color daughter...she is really funny and can be as off color as anyone, but I'm beginning to see a piece of her soft sensitive side underneath her exterior....she has the best laugh and I love the twinkle in her eyes.  On Sunday we all took a walk together with the three dogs and then Big Daddy cooked a family nacho dinner while off color daughter and I went to the library.  Off color daughter could not find her library card, so she wanted to use mine.   I told her I'd just wait in the car----she looked at me and said, "how much are your fees?".    I laughed--for those of you who have read most of my posts--you may have read about the time I got sent to a collection agency over my library fees.....

This time, I only owed $1.35--so we checked out about 30 books between the two of us.

We sat around in the evening...off color son talked about his weekend and football picks.  The one thing he did do was

an imitation of me--and he did an explicit demonstration of my new "picture taking pose".

He got down really low, bent his knees, stuck his butt out in the air and pretended to take a picture of a leaf on the ground.

The entire off-color family thought it was really funny....

I personally think my new picture taking squat is sexy hot...I think

off color son was just embarrassed because the teen on the bike was looking at my sexy hot butt in my biker exercise shorts....

Life in the off-color family

is different--

"we're not like all the others"

we laugh and joke and walk and talk

sometime argue even...

but

truth is

there is no other family

I'd rather be a part of....

The off color family---

they rock...

they are originally off color....

and

for all of it

rolled up in one off color home...

My heart is filled to the brim

with love and passion and joy...

for

I am blessed...

blessed indeed.

four more days until the weekend....

Happy Monday

and

hugs to all of you...