I’ve been griping about our Honda Odyssey minivan lately: the lousy transmissions, the poor gas mileage, and the difficulty parking it, among others. I’ve been suggesting to Kelly that we could get by with something smaller and more environmentally friendly but she’s reluctant to part with it. She says we need it for trips but I contend we can rent a minivan for trips if we need one. I challenged her to drive it for a month and see if she still felt that way and Kelly took me up on it.

Yesterday the minivan’s value proved itself in an unexpected way when I got to play hero. On the way home from the kids’ pool party, Travis and I drove past my local bus stop. Standing there by the side of the road was a couple and five elementary school age kids. Clouds were gathering, thunder rumbled in the distance, and the first few drops of rain were beginning to fall. The father desperately waved at me as I drove by, trying to get a ride. I couldn’t stop for him then because I was driving our smaller Honda CR-V and only had one empty seat to share.

I quickly dropped Travis off at home, hopped into the Odyssey, and returned to pick up the stranded family. Two kids had to share one bucket seat but everyone got safely delivered to the local motel where they were staying! I was glad I could help and glad we still had a vehicle that was big enough to come through for some strangers in a pinch.

Last night I went to bed with some weighty questions on my mind, like how people could gleefully embrace discrimination the way they did yesterday. It seriously bummed me out. As I fell asleep I pondered what kind of world I was living in, and whether it made sense to hitch a ride with the next passing spaceship if there were no intelligent life left on Earth.

The Universe must have been listening because when my eyes popped open today I felt fantastic. I had an inspired morning, full of laughter and joking. It was just what I needed.

I don’t recall any particular dream or message from overnight, but I did get the reassurance I needed. I just need to keep doing what I’m doing and everything will work out. Message received.

My neighbor knocked on the door a few weeks ago and gave me some very disturbing news. She had come to tell me she would be out of town because one of her relatives was sick. She said one of her in-laws (I forget the exact relation) was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or the human form of Mad Cow Disease.

She said this man had visited her in Raleigh for June’s Race For The Cure and complained about losing the feeling in his arm. Very soon afterward, he lost the ability to move his entire side. Doctors initially thought he had had a stroke but my neighbor’s daughter is a veterinarian and wasn’t convinced with that diagnosis. She urged that he get a second opinion and as such they found a doctor who willing to consider the CJD diagnosis.

According to the news reports, only one in a million Americans will succumb to this devastating disease each year. It’s a shame my neighbor’s relative appears to be one of them, and it all happened so terrifyingly fast.

I wasn’t aware that this disease was still afflicting Americans as I hadn’t heard much news about it. Looks like I was wrong.

It makes me glad to see a lot more dragonflies flying around my yard. I’m not sure what has brought them to our little abode but I’m happy they’re around. In addition to other insects, Dragonflies eat mosquitoes, of which my yard has plenty. I hope these dragonflies get fat and happy on all the ‘skeeter snacks they pluck from my yard.

I could scarcely believe my eyes this morning when I stepped on the scale and registered 170 pounds even. It’s what I consider my ideal weight and about thirteen pounds below my highest weight.

I’d been noticing that my waist has been slowly slimming down, so much so that I’m able to wear pants I last wore ten years ago! My waist has dropped about two inches over the past year. The other times I’ve dropped down to this weight didn’t include the smaller waist so I’m hopeful this is a more permanent change.
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