Mid-Week Joy Report

I've had a wonderful week, with lots of going. First, I went to a Minister's Wives Retreat (Friday/Saturday)... it was fabulous! Then I went to our state offices for Board Meeting (Monday/Tuesday) - we meet twice a year, so it's kind of a big deal. Lots of great reports were given of the work going on, and some big decisions were made.

One of the things I like about "going" is eating at Chipotle and getting a treat to sip while I drive from Starbucks. Yep, I did both of those things a few times this week. It put a great big smile on my face.

I also managed to make 12 cards this week. Not too bad for a week with only 3 full days at home in addition to a few snatched minutes on the other 4 days.

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This is the 13th week of my 50 Truths Challenge... so this week I read chapter 13 of the book 50 Truths Worth Knowing and created a very VERY simple card from my thoughts on the story.

Chapter 13

It's Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been

Susan's husband left her when she was 41. She had two children, ages four and nine, and some personal health problems. She had part-time work (writing a Sunday newspaper column) and she continued to do that while searching for a full-time job that would pay the bills. A year of searching and she'd found nothing.

Various challenges continued to drain her financially and emotionally. She spoke of some of those challenges very candidly. And with each step in her story, she told herself that she was too old. Too old to start over. Too old to change her life.

Then, at 44, a friend encouraged her to consider moving to a more hospitable city and starting over. She battled with herself as to whether that was a wise decision to make or not. Then one day she received a phone call that would begin the process to her new life. Three years earlier a professor had left a memo saying that she could teach if the university ever got in a pinch for a teacher. A week later, she was teaching 90 freshmen...and she felt more energized than she had in a very long time.

A couple of years later, again at the encouragement of a friend, Susan been working on her doctoral studies, complete with a four-year fellowship that paid the rent.

Starting over in a new city, she and her two children were still broke, but I'd wasn't a miserable experience. Susan's last words in the chapter sum it up well: "I had held out for a life with a dream attached, and we were moving toward it with joy."

I wanted to depict the idea that Susan communicated well in the chapter - though she thought she was too old, she discovered that time is indeed precious. It's not something to look down on, but rather something to embrace.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp: Hampton Arts Collections from the Journey stamped with Lawn Fawn Jet Black Ink
Papers: Recollections Black and 110# Ivory Card Stock and Teresa Collins Freestyle Clocks double-sided DP
Embellishments: Brads from an unknown vendor