Fingerprints

Some people leave fingerprints on our hearts. They have touched us in such a way that they have left a lasting and positive impact on our lives. I’m going to cherish their fingerprints on my heart today.

Today's Vitamin G was inspired by something similar I said about a year ago. When I think about this from time to time, there is always someone who immediate comes to mind. His name is Jerry B. He passed away some time ago. But his impact on my life keeps him alive in my heart. I never quite knew what he saw in me back in the 90s. He was a mentor and a friend. Someone who always put the truth in trust. When we met, he was my boss. Yet, he didn't treat me like an employee. I was a member of his team. He led by example. That sort of boss. More of a leader than a ruler. He corrected me when I needed that but also inspired when that was what was needed. I just now realized that my current boss, Ross H., reminds me of Jerry in a lot of ways.

I've had several people I can think of that left a lasting and positive impact on my life. Some have passed away and some are still alive. Of those who are alive, not all of them remain a part of my life today. But that doesn't change their impact. I get to carry these wonderful souls with me through fond and cherished memories. Of those who do remain in my life today, I make an effort to let them know how much I appreciate them. They reciprocate. It's an important bond.

I'm glad I was reminded about that inspiring thought yesterday. When I tie it back to my feelings of loneliness earlier this year, I realize I shouldn't feel those emotions. It's okay to feel that way. I'm just saying the feelings aren't rooted in reality or truth. I'm not truly alone. God is with me always. But God has also provided me technology to remain close to the people I love.

Over the past 10 days, I've spoken with Malachi, I think 8 of those days. He needed some talk time with his dad...hehehe But truth be told, his dad needed talk time with him too..LOL Also, last night's call with mom and dad was much longer than we typically talk. Most of the conversation was random. But it was a Blessing. Mom is having surgery tomorrow. It should go smoothly. But it is major replacement surgery. So, there is still a great deal of risk involved. God has her in His hands. I'm just glad we were able to talk for so long last night. I'm not concerned about losing my parents. But I'm going to cherish each and every phone call I can make with them. To be clear, my lack of concern is only because I know where we are all headed...hehehe God's Kingdom is the destination. It can still be scary to lose parents. Not being concerned doesn't mean I'm not a little scared sometimes. I'm a lot scared sometimes too. I'm glad for that, actually. It keeps me making those phone calls...hehehe

Also, I have had the opportunity to do FaceTime with Dan the past few Thursdays. He lives just far enough away that it takes planning to meet up...hehehe It's a little over a 2 hour drive...basically further away than Disney. But with FaceTime, we are able to hang out for a few hours without the small burden of 4-5 hours of drive time (total there and back). I've called him this, and if one believes in such a thing, I'd classify him as my best friend. He's my Proverbs 18:24b friend who is closer than a brother. But considering that I have had a few friends over the year I called my best friend, I think I'm going to drop that title...hehehe

Speaking of FaceTime, or Google Meet, Chérie and I have regular video calls too. It was wonderful getting to spend time together in person a few weeks ago. But Google Meet and FaceTime aren't any less meaningful. Being more than 2k miles apart, I'm so grateful God provides us the technology to remain connected. On our call yesterday, we were even able to do our devotional face to face. We did that in LA at the Walt Disney Concert Hall for the first time. It is going to be nice doing that on the days of our video calls now too.

I got a text from my neighbor, Olga, from across the breezeway this morning. She asked if I could come over. As I wasn't in a meeting, I dropped by. Last night there was a lightning strike in our complex that set off our fire alarm. Apparently it also caused her living room circuit breaker to trip...hehehe She was having difficulty opening her breaker box. This was the first time one of her breakers had tripped since she moved in. So it was probably the first time the box door was being opened since it was installed...hehehe I jarred it loose and now she is able to open it herself. I reset the breaker for her living room and said, and God said, 'Let there be light'...LOL She was grateful and she also thanked me for making her feel better about not being able to open the breaker box door. I explained that it was a little jammed since it hadn't been opened before...hehehe She asked if she could give me a hug...and...you guessed it...I gladly accepted the hug...LOL I like warm hugs...hehehe

Fun fact: Olga was born the same year as my grandmother and she shares a birthday with Malachi...hehehe Both are a fun little connection between us.

I finally made it to the grocery on Saturday...hehehe I didn't get much. But I got enough to make food at home all week. It has been nice being back in the kitchen. And now I'm cooking real meat again...LOL I'm sticking to chicken for now. I want to limit my beef consumption and pork has never really been something I eat often. I do like it, though. Chicken is the healthiest of the meats anyway. So I'm glad to be eating that now. I also got shrimp. But I had that with my previous diet. I'm so happy to not be on any diet now. I'm simply eating whole foods and healthy ingredients. If I have to cheat sometimes, that's okay too. If I have to eat out sometime, I'm not going to worry about the ingredients so much. I'll just make the best selection based on what they have available. I don't plan to eat out much, though. When I travel, I'll need to eat out some. If I can get one of those extended stay places, I'll be able to do some cooking while traveling too. I'm not really going to worry about it much, though. I'm really happy with where I am with mental, spiritual, and physical health. My physical health still has a little bit of work left. But I'm very encouraged with where I am now.

Ooh! Allergy update: I've gone 8 days without medication with zero issues. Yay!!!

I've been looking around for places to check out later this year. I'm on a sort of mission to find where God would like me to move next. I'm drenching this in prayer. But also looking into some of my interests. One of my thoughts while doing this is I wonder if my ideal place doesn't actually exist anymore...hehehe It's more likely that I just don't know how to look for what I'm looking for...LOL So far, my search terms have yielded places that sound good by description and then quickly show themselves to not be what I thought they were. Of course, I'd have to actually go to these places to know for sure.

I've previously written about how I am unsettled. I decided I didn't like that term. It has a negative connotation in my mind. It sounds like I'm unhappy or lost or something. I was talking with Chérie about it yesterday and she found the term for how I feel: unplanted. That's perfect because I simply just do not have roots planted anywhere. I'm excited about finding where I'll get planted. As I explained to her yesterday, although I love to travel, my actual goal is to find where I can take root and not want to leave. A place where I truly feel at home and only want to leave to go see people who cannot come to me. My love of travel has always been more of a sense of escape from my reality. Well, I don't want to feel like I need to escape anymore. That's not how I feel even where I am today. When I traveled to California, I didn't feel like it was an escape and I was also not sad when the trip was over. I finally have an attitude that keeps me grateful for where I live.

The personal growth I've experience these last few years is encouraging. I'm shedding the personal traits I've never liked about myself and embracing those personal traits that I do like...the ones that people seem to love about me too. I don't know if anyone else goes through not liking themselves. I'm not talking about low self esteem. I'm talking about looking in the mirror and not loving the person I saw...not physically...but who was on the inside. When I have conversations about what I use to be like, people are surprised and can't imagine I was ever the person I've described. Perhaps the problem is that I'm describing someone from a perspective that is fogged up by my own blindness. I've been too hard on myself most of my life. Maybe I was never as bad as I thought I was? Yeah, probably not...hehehe

Social media hasn't been much fun lately...hehehe I'm still posting what I normally do. And I'm starting to post different things on different platforms in different contexts. But some of the people I follow on places like Twitter are posting about politics and such more so than normal. Of course, it's an election year...hehehe I'm just scrolling on passed it all. That doesn't leave much that I can consume that is of interest to me. Instagram has been pleasant. People I follow there aren't posting politics. Strangely, I'm having a similar experience with Facebook. I see some politics on FB. But from only a few family members. Twitter and Threads is full of the politics, though...LOL I'm thinking about paying attention to those posts long enough to see if I want to stop following some people. I'm not friends with all of them anyway. I followed a lot of people just because I saw a few posts of theirs that were interesting. Then later, find out most of what they post isn't that interesting to me after all. I need to do better about looking at their feeds before I follow...hehehe I'm getting better about that, though.

I'm not making much progress on any of personal projects. I can't decide why I feel so stuck sometimes...hehehe I start to make progress and then I have to stop due to time being up for the day. Then I have to get back up to speed another day. My day to day routine is really balanced right now and feels fantastic. I'm wondering if I can find a way to apply that to the fine details about what I do in that routine. I'm not sure if that makes any sense...hehehe It's like I have found a balance for the big picture stuff in every day. But then I struggle to do the little things like projects. The things that I like to do but may not be the things that make a big impact. For example, I have some paintings I'd like to work on. And I have a writing project I'm trying to kick off. Plus an active Bible project that is making very slow progress. I have plenty of time to do it all. All things I really want to do but can't seem to focus on like I would want. But that's okay. I'll find my rhythm. I've been able to find a rhythm with my schedule. I'll find the balance.

Random thought: The Dodgers swept the Red Sox over the weekend. I was able to watch all of the games in the series. So I've decided to get a teekit...hehehe If I end up going to SoCal in September, I'll wait until that trip to get something. Otherwise I'll order something online. As of today, I'm leaning toward a trip in mid-September.

3 weeks into the month today...it has been such a great month. My heart is so happy.