I did not put the title of this blog here to boast. I put it here because it is real. I am genuine and I do not pretend to be anyone other than who I am. And today, I am down. I feel really down. Now being down does not mean one is necessarily ungrateful. Sometimes we just get down and it is a okay as long as we do not stay that way too long.
Today I am down because I am lonely here. Arizona is a beautiful state. A friend helped me to see that God moved us here to show us another facet of His heart and His ways. The last 6 months has truly been interesting. I have found out much about myself, my family and my God during our time here so far. And it has been good.
But today I am a bit down in the dumps. Maybe it is a mixture of frustration and loneliness that hits from time to time. And yes a mother of nine children can suffer from loneliness.
Today, we were fined 25 dollars from our neighborhood association because we a have a few weeds sticking out of the granite in our front yard. And being a mother of a large family has taught me not to sweat the small stuff. But this is bothering me today. It must go deeper than the fine.
If you have never been to Arizona you need to know that most yards here are made of granite rocks. Our front yard has no grass. Just a few little shrubs and cacti. Thank goodness the back yard is nice and has a big plot of green grass for the children to run and play.
A couple of weeks ago we received a letter that we would be fined if we did not eliminate the weeds. So we sprayed them, pulled them and have continued to work on the problem. They really are not that bad. But today, we were actually fined the 25 dollars. I am not bummed about the 25 dollars. I guess I am hurt and frustrated that none of the neighbors have even cared to reach out and find out about us or who we are. People are more concerned about their property values than the value of human life.
And to be honest we have done things to reach out and we are the newcomers. If I could, I would pack my bags and move back East. However, I am grateful in the midst of my irritation. Last year, my husband was unemployed and we were going to a charity to get groceries. Now he has a good job. We can go to the doctor and the dentist. We can go to the grocery store. We have each other. There are 10 people who live in the same house. We do not have the fanciest furniture and the most expensive cars. In fact we have one 15 passenger van that is paid for. I am thankful we do not have a car payment. I am thankful that we have our family. And I have friends all over in other places that I know love me and care for me. They know we are good God loving folks who are not "white trash" with weeds in their front yard. So being grateful puts it all into perspective. The 25 dollars is not a big deal.
And I could understand if the weeds were really bad. But honestly they are not. I guess I am "weedy" today. I will not pretend that all is well all the time. I am having a tough day and I just wanted to share it. Thanks for letting me be real.
Now on a more positive note, please visit my art blog by clicking on Home and Heart Art on the right to see my newest sketch! I had a great time with it! Blessings!
2 comments:
Hi Ange, I hope today finds you feeling a bit better. I am sorry you have that battle with the association. I guess we are lucky-no one has complained about the fact that our house is in bad need of a paint job- but having said that, I should now knock on wood! We had, however, received a letter once, from our town, stating that our leaves were placed curbside on the wrong day. I don't remember what the fine is for doing this, but the town is adament about this. We also can't bag the leaves, so occassionally what happens is that the leaves are on the curb, at the right time, the town is late in cleaning them up, a big wind blows through, and the leaves get scattered again. That is annoying!
We try to do our best.
Would you like to hear something funny? My husband just asked if this week is our week for pick up (the town is zoned- and yes, it is) and is it brush or leaves?! Oh yes- That gets separated too!
Good luck with the weeds. They are always sprouting here, too.
jenny
Thank you to all the kind people who read my blog and take time to comment. Thank you for your kind courtesy to do that. It means so much. Thanks for acknowledging the things precious to me. Blessings.
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