Here's What I Know 

 It's that time of year again.  The time when everyone and their dog (literally), dress up to have their holiday picture snapped, retouched, and arranged to set their best face forward.
  
  We here in our home have never quite got it together to send out that glossy sheet.  In fact in the fourteen years of wedded bliss and otherwise, we have only had a family picture done once, and even then, though intentions were good, the picture was never sent or blown up to be displayed proudly on our wall.  
  I am great at a lot of things, but when it comes to that sort of thing I am not, so don't wait for that envelope to change hands, or for our best face forward to arrive in the mail.

  Everywhere I've gone this week, Christmas seems to be the topic of conversation.  It's crazy, if I step out onto my front entrance and look left, I can even see a home that is lit for the festivities.  Its attempt is sketchy at best, but lit nonetheless-it's a little much.
Now let me premise that I love the holidays, but for now, it is too soon to take seriously, and to be honest, if I let my mind drift that far into the future, I may just explode.

  Life is just too busy to be preoccupied that far down the line.

  Here's my case and point......
  I went out with my oldest and dearest friend last night.  I love her, I cherish our friendship, and because she likely knows me better than anyone else on the planet, she is able to nurture my spirit like no other living being.  I hope I am in some small way also able to refresh and encourage her. (Cheers, girl, you have my heart!)
  Anyway, we sandwiched the visit in, like a timed race, and I shake my head at this and am embarrassed to admit that, though she only lives 5 miles door to door, we haven't so much as spoken since the start of July.  
  That is just Insane to me.  It also reminds me I need to take better care of the spots in my life that are important to me. 
  And truthfully, like the family picture, I have lofty intentions, somewhere in the shuffle of busyness, those necessary and oh so important spots get lost.  
  They get lost until I feel the explosion on the horizon.  
  When the explosion has passed, and I am reminded of how it was of my own making, how I fed the flame until I was no longer able to contain it, I shake my head and try to sit and reevaluate.
  Evaluating yourself is hard.  And I don't know about you, but I do know that I am my own harshest critic.
  
  Here's what I know....

1~grace is offered to all, we need only accept it and allow it to fill our lives
2~the best friends are those who are always there, but not necessarily always seen
3~when we rush and flit chaotically from one thing to the next, the nuggets of importance are lost in the shuffle
4~saying no isn't a bad thing
5~you only get once chance to do many things, so do them justice by doing well
6~you have to laugh and laugh often to get through the worst 
7~forgiving yourself can be hard, letting go harder, and learning to move on unencumbered often painful...there's that grace thing!
8~there isn't enough time.  But what you do with the time is telling
9~when we take things or people for granted, are we worthy of that gift?
10~everyone's dream is important 

  It may be a lot for a Friday and even more to start the weekend off.  So why not start here.....
  What are your dreams, and what are you doing to achieve them?

Happy Friday!