This One's for You Steve.

"My goal is to someday be featured on pixnprose."
So.
You goal has been realized - your name is in the title even.

Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Spontaneous date with Karm and our sons on Saturday night in Vancouver. LOVED that we saw "Whistleblower" which gave us alot to talk about on our drive back to Langley. I adore evenings that are rich with conversation about real issues. So satisfying.

2. Family dinner on Sunday night on my dad and mom's deck. Thankful for my sis and her guy for arriving early to help prepare everything and man the BBQ. Thankful for the way Jule tenderly looks for ways to spend time with our dad. Thankful for the way they stayed to help with clean up. Thankful that mom and dad desire to have us all over and anticipate our time spent together.

I know it's an old truth, but it was again so very apparent over the weekend: what you get out of interactions with people is directly proportionate with what you put in. Bring your A game to the party and you WILL have a good time. I am thankful that I have a life full of people who make the effort. I am blessed by knowing them.


3. I'm also thankful for an absolutely fantastically fun evening at the PNE on Tuesday night being thoroughly entertained by Donny Osmond. Oh my goodness. He was so good. Seriously. I'm not just saying that because I used to have his poster in my bedroom. And the part that made it over the top? The joy in the stands. Five of us sat with thousands of other middle-aged women who had crushes on the best "Joseph" in the Technicolor Dream Coat musical extravaganza ever - and we all just relaxed and smiled and were one. We were united in our memories and appreciation for this performer.

I love that, at our age, we can poke fun at our nerdiness, (and Donny poked alot of fun at himself and his career) and be confident that it doesn't matter.

4. Lastly, I'm thankful for this evening's dinner with my coworkers. Just prior to leaving the house, I received two pieces of communication that put me in a negative mood. One where I said many bad words. Some out loud. I called my sister and said, "And now I have to go put on a happy face and be holy because I'm going to a work event." (Just to confirm, it is not a job requirement that all employees act holy or be fake about holiness. I was simply acknowledging that I needed to make an attitude adjustment because it's not fair for me to show up being self-absorbed or angry.)

And know what?
Once I got there? And started chatting? The bitchiness slipped away.
And know what else?
I was inspired.
Someone read something ( a prayer they had written) from their journal and it was something I needed to hear. It had nothing to do with me and everything to do with important things. And it made me want to pray that exact same risky vulnerable prayer. Of course it's not cool to take notes at an informal dinner, so I hoped I'd remember it. But now, hours later? It's slipped away. All except for this last request: "Surprise me, God."

So. Maybe that's enough. Maybe at the end of the day, that's what God wanted me to hear. And maybe that's what God wants me to trust Him enough to ask.

Here goes nothing,

Dear God.
Surprise me.

Amen.