The sunflowers are back!! One of my very favorite things that happens around here in July and continues into August. The farmer who lives across the fields by Our Treehouse plants them every year around the end of May. His name is Kyle and he deliberately plants them in front of my home because he knows I love them, and he mows the weeds down in front of them with his tractor so I have a great view. About two weeks ago I noticed their green buds had appeared on their thick, green stalks. I knew, I simply knew, that I could absolutely expect the sunflowers to open their bright yellow blossoms in the next few days. And one week ago a few of them did open up their happy faces, reaching for the sunlight and facing the east.

So I got to thinking about that feeling of expectation, that good things are coming my way. The expectations that make you smile and you just can’t wait, like Christmas morning as a child, or that very first kiss you know will happen on that very special date. It’s like that feeling settles in your belly and simmers, slow and easy. Because you know you can count on this event coming true in your life it feels absolutely yummy, and maybe you want that feeling to last for a while yet at the same time you’ve got your hands out ready to grab it up as quick as you can.

My dear friends Ketlin and Kim are at the beach this week with two other friends for some girl time. I applaud them for getting away and taking some time for self-care. Half the fun of vacation for me is looking forward to it before it actually arrives on the calendar and it’s time to go. I allow those expectations to softly flutter around my life, waiting and planning, imaging what I will see and do, knowing I have good times ahead of me. I have learned to keep my expectations low if they involve other people, because we can all have different personalities, different likes and dislikes. But I always plan on the simple things that I do on my trip to bring me a quiet joy, like a new place to take a prayer walk, or watch the sunset, or sit and sip on my cappuccino, or read a book that I just know I will thoroughly enjoy.

The sunflowers have lived up to my expectations! There are thousands of them now and still more to bloom. I tell them how beautiful they are when I am out on my prayer walks. They are like old friends, faithful and true. They make me smile.

c   Love, Joan