Dearest July,

Thank you for being gentler than June.

Thank you for the rest and for the deep, deep peace felt with my loves. Thank you for the creative re-awakening, for how vivid colours felt to my soul, for artwork completed and blog posts written. Thank you for fresh market veggies and the herbs in my garden. Thank you for the cottage and the lake, for weekend afternoons spent exploring country roads, for chillin' in the back yard and baseball games on TV. Thank you for our drive-in theatre date and for the infinity of stars I saw when I stretched my head out the window of the truck that night.

Thank you for my feathered messengers: osprey, mallard, loon, kingfisher, warbler, cardinal, chickadee, nuthatch, goldfinch, hummingbird, grouse, blue jay, crow, turkey vulture and hawk. They bring me joy.

Thank you for your insights, quick recoveries and for continued belief in possibility.

I am grateful.

Love,

Stephanie

~~~

Dear August,

I welcome you. What might you have in store for me? What doors might you open? What actions might I take to meet you halfway in the unfolding of it all?

I am listening.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

~~~

Cottage vacations are the best.

My loves chillin' on the deck post-dinner sometime earlier this week. I've lost track of time. Cottages do that.

At the cottage, things are fluid. Schedules are flexible and open.

Today there’s no need to be anywhere other than here in the screened in porch, warm air kissing my left shoulder, the musical note chime above me adding to the sound of the wind and the warblers.

My loves – one Golden Retriever and one golden-haired boy – lie in silence across from me. The former sprawled on the floor, content with the company of her humans; the latter sprawled on the sinking plaid couch, content with the company of his Kindle.

And just for now, I sit here content with my world in this moment.

Praise the cottage vacation, yes, may it rest and lift our weary souls.

Praise the cottage vacation.

Thank You July, Welcome August

Praise the Cottage Vacation