Friday and wonder

It is Friday of spring break. Our last full day on break, tomorrow morning we’ll pack up, clean up, and begin the journey home. It had to end; all, good and bad, things do. It is the nature of things.

My wife and I are enjoying our break in the Florida Keys with another couple we know. He was a childhood friend of my wife, and he was in our wedding 30 years ago. We have lot in common and we’ve enjoyed our time together on vacation away from the cares and responsibilities of adulthood. We’ve had an enjoyable time together; we’ve had excellent food along with the time to enjoy it, adventure, and we have relaxed along the beach listening to the rhythm of the surf and the breeze rustle through the palm trees. It’s been fun, but tomorrow we are back to our life and how we live it. And that is good.

last night’s dinner, a grilled fish sandwich, and the last photo I took in March.

There has been a little bit of ‘normal life’ from me here on vacation, there’s been the morning devotion time, a walk to move purposefully, coffee to begin each day, and a new found challenge; the Wordle.

I’ll admit I was not an early adopter of the challenge, but I’ve become fond of it. If you haven’t tried it, give it a whirl at Wordle @ New York Times. Each day, the NY Times offers a new five-letter as a challenge, and you have six tries to get the word. This morning I tried a new starter word – STARS. I have used all sorts of starter words among them are ADIEU, MEATY, TEASE, and MOUSY. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. My blogger friend Mary at Wilderness of Words was a persistent user until she reached fifty completed puzzles, then she stopped. I wonder if she misses the daily challenge. I’ll admit I miss her daily encouragement and gentle reminder to stretch my mind, even just a little.

This morning, I correctly guessed the Wordle in three guesses or words. I consider this a fluke I have only accomplished this 6/29 times and I usually take five and sometimes six guesses to get it right. I don’t want to give today’s word away, but STARS came back with the confirmation I had two letters correct and one, the letter S was the first word in the day’s Wordle. My next guess, inspired by the direction I was facing, was a guess to check for additional vowels, ‘A’ was a miss and there were four remaining possibilities – ‘E-I-O-U.’ The last, and correct, guess was inspired by our dogs and how I miss them.

Tomorrow it’s back to life and I am ready for it.

Yesterday, I finished my fifth book of the year, The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom. I am a little ahead in this year’s reading challenge. Each year I set a goal to read twelve books. I should read more, but I haven’t the past few years. Regardless, The Stranger in the Lifeboat tells the story of a group of people who are shipwrecked and find themselves adrift when one announces he is the Lord, and He is there to save them if only all the occupants of the life raft can accept Him as the Lord.

the night sky featuring Orion, Tuesday, March 28, 2022

The book challenged me to wonder if I could accept the claim as well and I think that I might, like the shipwrecked people, have trouble with accepting someone’s bold claim.

I am going to wrestle with that idea little today and look forward to my next book, Tuesdays with Morrie: an old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson.

I’ve watched the sun rise and set. Last night we took a sunset cruise on a sailboat and watched the sun set over the ocean. I’ve watched three planets move in the morning sky – Venus, Saturn, and Mars and I’ve seen the moon move toward the morning horizon. On our way home from Key West Tuesday night, we stopped and looked up at the night sky. I had never seen so many stars. As I read my book, I wondered what the stars looked like from the lifeboat as it slowly drifted across the Atlantic Ocean. Tonight, we’ll enjoy a final dinner together until this summer when we reunite along the lake shore, and we’ll watch the sunset over the ocean for the last time this trip.

sunset from the ocean, Thursday March 31, 2022

The sun is up, the clock is ticking, and I had better finish this post, format it, and press publish. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day one final time this trip. Making the Days Count one day at a time one moment to slow down and wonder.

What is it that makes you wonder?

10 thoughts on “Friday and wonder

    1. I am so sorry I missed this… I love getting away from the BIG city and all of the lights. I often wonder what life was like before electricity? As I write, I get to head north next Friday night for a short work weekend at the lake. Looking forward to it. Stay well and Peace.

    1. How in the world did I miss this? I went to Zachary Taylor State Park and we had a good time exploring. We did the Conch Train and watched the sunset in Mallory Square. It was an excellent day trip and the weather couldn’t have been better. Sorry for the incredibly late reply!

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