This weekend I am “in a good place” emotionally.  This last month has been cathartic in terms of writing the story to my daughter and sending it off a week ago.  Enough time has gone by that if she checks her mailbox, I would expect she has received it.  I think that curiosity might have made her open it and seeing the dedication to her might have induced her to read it.  At any rate, I am at peace with trying to reach her and I leave it in God’s hands to bring forth a better future relationship with her.

Whether there is a connection to receiving the story, I don’t know but my daughter stopped by a couple of times this week while we were at work.  I could tell by unfamiliar items in the trash that she had picked up food one day and eaten it at the house.  A day or two later, something had been eaten from the pantry.  As far as I know, it has been months since she stopped by so I’m taking that as a good thing.  It is possible that she has thawed a bit.

Also, my daughter stopped by last night while we were there.  It was what I call a “Fly By”.  That means she was there less than a minute.  She had asked about something earlier in the day by text.  I had answered then asked if she wanted me to pick up anything to leave in the house for snacking since there was not much to eat in the pantry the other day.  We were on the way to get groceries so ended up picking up a few things for her.  I figured she would come by when we were asleep so the fact that she came by when she knew we were up is rather unusual. Anyway, she picked up the things we had gotten for her, said thank you and left.  My husband and I looked at each other with meaningful glances that said, “Wow.  That was quick.”

If all this is a coincidence then I will take it.  If this is a consequence of having made an “ever so small it may be” connection with her…I will take that too.  I absolutely “get it” that I cannot base my happy quotient on whether my daughter is speaking to me but sometimes it is nice just to bask in the glow of any hint of a positive change in the relationship.

On top of that, my oldest son and his fiancé set a date next summer for their wedding.  Yea!!!!! It will be so fun to see the two of them start their lives together as a married couple.

My youngest son is working enough that he is paying his bills and is feeling self-sufficient.  My second oldest son is working through his first semester back at college after his hiatus after getting his 2 year degree.  Both are clearly feeling “in a good place” and I am so happy to see that.  Yea again!!!

My oldest daughter…well, she has cut both of us off on Facebook; not that I look very often but my husband does.  My youngest son informed us recently that both he and our younger daughter got a wedding invitation some months ago through some social media means, not sure which. He deleted it but his sister clicked on it to see the picture and saw some sort of group picture that looked wedding-like.  He was vague with details so I don’t know more than that.  The older daughter could have completely fabricated the invitation or it could be “real” and she doesn’t want us to know.  I googled her name and wedding but didn’t find anything except what was on there from last year.  She was engaged to a young man last year and supposedly planning a June 2016 wedding when she was arrested last April.  We were blocked from that one too.

I ended up talking with the young man after she was incarcerated and filled him in on all that she had been doing; he of course didn’t know that she was “on the run” from a felony trial and ultimately broke off the engagement.  If this rumor ends up being true and it is the same young man…well he was warned and has only himself to blame if she wrecks him financially.  The sad part would be that the young man is a single father to a 4 or 5-year-old son.  With the lack of bonding my daughter shows in relationships, I am concerned about that little boy.  I can’t take on the load emotionally though; God will have to look after that little boy.  I do not know for sure whether a marriage has or will take place so it’s only speculation at this point.

Moving on to a better topic…a good place.  At this moment, I am at peace with all that is going on in my world.  I chose the picture of the young woman beside the water with the dogs because that looks like a “In a Good Place” moment in time when life stands still and there is only the pleasure of the sound of a babbling brook, the feel of cool water (maybe she took her shoes off and got in after the picture was taken) and the fun of frolicking with the dogs.

Here is another “In a Good Place” picture.  It makes me feel like I could sit all day in a lounge-chair on that sand, read a book and gaze out onto the beautifully pristine white sand and azure blue water.

I am going to bottle up my “good place” feeling and carry it into the upcoming week of work which is usually like hurtling through rapids, holding on for dear life.  Best wishes to all who read this.  May you also take your “in a good place” moments into your week.