Love of Family, Love of Friends, Love...just because I can.

I open my heart...take a look inside...Can you see the love... feel the depth of love?...the life, of my love?
I would be honored to share with you my life of love. The type of love which has been both given, and received. The depth of love, which can be seen with a hand shake, and a smile, or a simple deed for one in need. A true desire to give freely of myself, just because I can, with no expectation of receiving in return. The life of my love, as seen through my children. The love of my life, my God, my family, my friends...My wonderful husband.

Just because I can......

The love that runs through my veins is such that can be over whelming in joy, happiness, and inner peace.
Joy, because as I love, the love is then returned. Perhaps in the smallest of ways...a kiss on the cheek from my 22 year old son, or from my 25 year old daughter. An unexpected hug from a friend, sister, or brother. The stroke of my mothers hand on the cheek of my face, while she plays with my hair, and smiles at me with her beautiful, bright, shining eyes. Wow, pure love! Awesome love!

Happiness? Oh my! How can I express the happiness I feel when I see my children doing well for themselves. Taking all that was freely given from the hearts of their daddy and I, into their now, adult lives, and paying it forward. Happy? You betcha! I'm happy to be able to catch frogs with my nephew when he visits our home during the summer. I'm happy to puddle jump after a nice spring, or summer rain. I find joy in putting my hand out to a stranger, while asking if there is anything more I can do to lift them up. Am I always this happy? No...I have my down times as well as my up times.

The death of my wonderful sister, and best friend, Loraleigh, sent me reeling into a deep depression. To this day the pain of loosing her at such a young, 51 years old, still cuts like a knife to my stomach. I feel love, when I feel her around me. I feel love, as well as inner peace, knowing one day I will see her again. Inner peace, in knowing she is no longer suffering from her own personal, and physical pain. I love knowing she has left a mark in my heart that I will always carry. A love that I can therefore, pay forward to others in the same loving, caring way as Loraleigh, showed her loved to me. My sweet, wonderful, beautiful, sissy........My friend.

The joy of helping others is but one aspect of love, one example to share with you, which was taught to me. As a small child I loved talking with the elders in our community. The wealth of information they offered in their story telling, kept me in an "awed", state of hypnosis. Listening intently to every detail of their stories, prepared me to be a good friend to those that God has put into my life. "Life in the now", friends, and as I feel sure I will be around for a while longer, my "future life', friends. The joy of lending an ear to a friend who just needs to get something off their chest and who feels safe in leaning on me. What an awesome honor, and privilege. What a blessing!

I honestly believe those that come into our lives are meant to be there, at that precise moment, for a specific reason. When they leave us, we (myself and my friend) walk away with something new. Many times these things that we walk away with are good, and sometimes they are not so good. Either way, one or the other will walk away with something that was needed at that time in our lives. Keep in mind when I speak of friends, this covers a very broad area....acquaintances such as those that are in need for a moment. Life long friends that are near and dear to me to this day, and then those that come into my life that just fit in a way that is to say, "Hey, were we separated at birth or what?"

Aristotle put the definition of friendship in an awesome way, in saying... "Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit".


My heart is open...take a good look inside...can you see the love that is... "just because I can"?