I enjoy reading, although it may take me more time to read something than the average person.  My wife tells me I'm a slow reader.  My response is that reading slowly allows the book to come to life.  She laughs and gives me an inquisitive look as if she is trying to decide if I am joking or telling the truth.  I am telling the truth.  You see, when I read a book, it is much more than just words on a page.  Reading is a chance to explore, to delve into places and situations that I would never be able to go.

 

A book opens to reveal a new world, a world different from the one in which the reader lives.  A book, whether fiction or nonfiction, comedy or tragedy, futuristic or historical, thought-provoking or dull, inspiring or trivial, uplifting or depressing, provieds the reader a glimpse into the mind of the writer.  The reader can gain insight into emotions and experiences that would otherwise go unrevealed.  A book can touch a number of emotions within you, some that may be comfortably familiar and some that are oddly unfamiliar.  From the triumph of the hero to the heartbreak of ill-fated lovers, life is captured in writing.

 

As I write this blog, have resolved to make myself a better writer.  I want people to look at my writing as more than just words in a book (or on the screen) and see the world as only I see it.  My world is different from your world, just as your world is different from your parents' world or your friends' world.  By reading what others have written, we can learn to appreciate those writers for the world they have revealed to us.

 

Look around you.  Open your eyes and open your mind...there are worlds to be discovered.

An old adage states that you don't know what you miss until it is gone.  I don't know who first said that, but I'm thinking it might have been Adam after he and Eve were forced to leave the Garden of Eden because of sin.  I know it's not recorded anywhere in the Bible, but if he didn't say it, I'm sure he thought it.

 

Why is it that we don't realize how much we enjoy/need something until it is gone?  Spring break is happening all around me this week.  Decatur city schools are out, Morgan county schools are out, Freed-Hardeman University (my alma mater) is out, and I'm sitting in my office right now at 7:52 a.m., working on a day when half of my group is out enjoying spring break with their families.  I definitely took spring break forgranted. 

 

Another thing that I never realized how much I enjoyed until too late is singing in a chorus.  I sang for four and a half years in the Sonshine Singers while I was in college.  I loved the friendship, the camraderie that was built among the members of the group.  We had fun, but at the same time we learned discipline and made beautiful music.  To this day there are certain songs that I can sing or hear that will take me back to those great days.

 

I miss Mid-South Youth Camp.  I first went to camp there when I was 7, and it was a bit daunting to me.  It was the first time I had been away from my parents for a week.  And I remember my first counselor, Schmoo.  That wasn't his real name, but that's what everyone called him.  I went to camp there almost every year until I graduated high school, and I was blessed to work there as a counselor for the first two summers I was in college.  I loved having the cabin of the youngest campers, and I tried to make them feel as good about being at camp as I did the first time I went.  Because of the camp's focus on God, I always felt so close to Him.  I miss the frienships I built with the counselors, the devotionals, and the children I hope I made an impact upon.  I even miss the sweltering heat because it really made me appreciate cooling off in the pool every day.

 

I know that I still take many things forgranted.  I often take my health forgranted.  I have used less than five sick days in the three plus years I have been working since getting out of college.  I should consider that a blessing, and I do when I stop and think about it.  I loved playing basketball in high school.  Maybe I should say I loved practicing and sitting the bench in high school.  I didn't ever get to play much.  Because of the practice, and because I'm lucky enough to work at a place that has a gym, I'm still able to play ball three times per week.  The biggest difference now is that I actually get to play, and I'm one of the better players.  I now realize how important that practice was, but not just for high school basketball.  It taught me that I'm not always going to be the best at whatever I do.  There are times that I will have to work as hard as I can just to keep pace with everyone else.  But it also taught me that I can do whatever I set my mind to do if I am determined.

 

It saddens me to say this, but I think I take my family forgranted as well.  I call my parents once or twice a week, and I call Pop and my brother about as often.  Grandmama is in the nursing home, and I now make it a point to go and spend time with her every time we visit.  But Rebecca and I only make it to visit them once every month or two.  I never call my mother-in-law or my father-in-law, and I don't often speak with my sister-in-law (Hi, SIL, I know you'll read this.), her husband, or brother-in-law.  I want everyone in my family to know that I love them and I appreciate everything that they have done and continue to do for us.

 

There are other things that I am sure that I take forgranted, but, like the saying, I doubt I'll realize it until it's gone.

 

We're rapidly approaching spring break week.  For me that means absolutely nothing.  It means I still have to go to work, but there might be a few less cars on the road as I travel.  I always enjoyed spring break.  Oh, well.  There's really no sense in looking back.  So, in present day news...

 

We are selling our house.  We met with our agent on Saturday and signed the papers.  We love our house, but we're wanting to move somewhere smaller until we have children and they are ready to start school.  Really, what we are wanting to do is save money on our house payment each month so that we can retire our debt faster.  The sooner we can get rid of our debt, the better we will feel.  So we've decided to sacrifice the house we have grown to love for the greater good of our family.

 

That being said, we spend the majority of the weekend preparing the outside of the house for selling.  It's the first impression people will get of your house, and first impressions can many times make or break a deal.  We spent about 14 hours outside this weekend spraying and pulling weeds, planting flowers, and adding mulch to our flower bed.  I've learned that I really, really don't like weeds, especially the kind with little purple flowers that stink.  We may have worn ourselves out getting the house ready, but it looks as good as it has since we moved in.

 

Keep us in mind as we start the process of selling our house.  Hopefully it won't take too long because we really want to start saving money.