Between a Rock and a Cherry Pitt

Sometimes you just find yourself up to your elbows in cherry juice.  Literally and figuratively. Maybe it's the 24 cups of cherries I've pitted this week, maybe it just reality.  Sometimes life is the pitts. Sometimes it delicious beyond belief.

Let me say how blessed I am.  Thanks to a wonderful Mother's Day gift I own cherry trees, but they are young and haven't produced yet.  Still by the grace God, and good friends I'm putting cherries in the freezer.  When my trees are producing I'll be sharing them too.

Same friend connected me with a truck load load of landscaping rock.  Now, I love rocks.  Especially free rocks.  The bigger the better.  I know, doesn't take much to please me.  My kids will tell you boulders and rocks are always a good gift.  To bad hauling them out to me isn't so easy.  A bottle of wine or even a small tree is much less labor intensive.

Life is like that and some of the best things are labor intensive.  Moving rocks, pitting cherries, faith and relationships fall under that category.  Everyone's life is full of pitts and sharp edges.  It may look picture perfect, but I believe we all struggle some of the time.  While that is disheartening to know, it is comforting to accept.  We are not alone, we struggle, we persevere.  We do it by keeping the faith, by being open to change.  We do it because one can only hold a boulder for so long.  And letting go is sweet relief.  

May....maybe....maybe not

We need to clone me. At least for the month of May. I'm sure the thought of that scares the bejeebers out of my kids and my husband.  Maybe two of me would not be enough. Maybe I need to understand one is enough and I can only do so much.

I might not own it often but life has been hard of late.  Lots of stress, challenges, worries.  I keep going, and when something hard comes I add it on and move on as best I can.  Lately I can feel the weight of it all in my neck, my shoulders and my hips.  I hurt, and still I keep going.  Owning it is the first step they say.

I've had a weekend to myself and find it hard to just relax, to mentally let go of the stress.  To breathe....  The funny part is I'm known for telling people to breathe.  Breathe...and again....  There are several of you who are probably laughing at the absurdity that I can preach it, but can't do it. Heck I laugh at that absurdity.

May is a hard month in my line of work.  Mother's Day and Memorial day are not for the meek of heart.  We had a foster dog who ate my husband's hearing aids (owning it, still waiting to be able to laugh about it).  We're struggled through marital issues.  Oh come on now, everyone in committed relationships raise their hand.  We all do from time to time.  We waited, we worried...we lost our way for a while, and I/we prayed.

In between I tried to get the garden planted, we struggled to get the lawn mowed, and we had company.  Thank God for the company, we needed the distraction! We haven't slept well, and we may have been a wee bit cranky.

Yup, I'm putting this out there.  Years ago when I first started blogging it was for two reasons.  One was the voices in my head, if I had to listen to them so should you. And, two was I figured if I struggled with something I was likely not alone. Alone doesn't have to be an uncomfortable place.  It can be a place of peace and comfort. My struggles may be different than yours, but it helps to know we are not alone.

May is behind me and I'm concentrating on breathing again. Maybe not as deeply as I'd like. Maybe you are ready to breathe again too. Keep after it. Things are on the mend, and it's all good.