Enjoy The Beauty Around You

  Last Wednesday I did something I have not did in years. Two of my children and I went for a long, leisurely walk in our town. We don't live inside our town limits but we are there at least 2-3 times a week. However, on those weekly trips it's for business or grocery shopping. Those trips are focused on the task at hand. We don't take time to enjoy the beauty of our little town.

  I think I am not alone in feeling life gets too busy. I know when I was working full time, all I did was get up, go to work, get off work, come home, fix supper, spend a couple hours with my family and then do it all over the next day. There were days my son would have an after school activity and that made the day even more hectic. Also with my ankylosing spondylitis there were days where I came home literally exhausted and went straight to bed. I am fortunate my mother lives beside me so on my worst days she would fix my son supper. On some of those days when I was overwhelmed with fatigue, I didn't even have the energy to eat supper myself.

  To feel well enough to walk through our local streets was a wonderful feeling in itself. We have a beautiful town with much history. I love looking at the older homes as we walk. I can imagine how they must've looked to people in the 1800s. I imagine how the families had many children running about their yards. I imagine there was excitement when they heard the train whistle as it pulled into our local depot. Perhaps carrying a distant family member or friend visiting for a while. I remember the little stores, barber shop, and other businesses that were thriving when I was a child. I wish I had pictures of each of those places as they were in my childhood days.

  During our walk we arrived at one of the oldest cemeteries in our area. We continued our walk into the cemetery, looking at the old markers and reading the historical plaques. My son was amazed that some of the people buried there were born in the 1700s. There were even some markers that were so old the names had eroded over the years. One burial site is more of an entombment, with a grass covered mound. It has an iron gate with a locked door. Some families had their plots encircled by concrete curbs. There is an old cabin located on the cemetery property. It is beautiful with it's split rail fence and old timey gate.

  I will attach some pictures from our walk. I hope each of you will take time to enjoy your local town. Breath the fresh air, walk, and admire the beauty around you.

Hope you have a pain free day. Stay strong AS warriors!