Another camping picture... I remember taking this picture because I was in awe of how it grew in this spot, despite everything. Despite the fact that it had to send it's roots way out so they would have something to grab ahold of. This tree was probably 100 feet tall.

Very often, nature echoes my thoughts about life. Grow where you are planted is a pretty popular phrase. That phrase has it's pros and cons as far as I am concerned. Yes, make the best of any situation and enrich those around you with your presence. But if you are in a relationship that's impossible, go plant yourself elsewhere... but that's a tangent.

When we went camping, and were packing up to go home, I was asked why I was picking up garbage that was not ours. Some campers prior to us had left a couple of cans in a bush. My response was "because we always want to leave things nicer than when we found them." It's the same in life. People around you should be better off for having met you. Situations should improve. Things should be left a little cleaner in any sense of that word.

When I have dinner at someone's home, I love to do the dishes, if they will let me. I want to be a good guest and leave them with a good impression. I learned that from my husband's grandmother, who insisted on washing Thanksgiving dishes one year... and I was so grateful.

I am inately a fixer. So... any relationship in my life, I try to make things better. If anyone I know is having a problem, I try to help troubleshoot. No relationship advice, though. That's a big no-no. Anyway, I can't keep a thought in my head this morning...

I gain inspiration from a lot of different things around me. I learn lessons from trees, from falling leaves, from thunderstorms, from a bag of garbage. As long as I am willing to listen, I learn.... and it makes each day worth living.