Another beautiful day on planet Earth. In honor of oldest sister-in-law I declare today’s sky Feltman Brothers’ blue. If you raised a child in a small Southern town you know the color.

There are a few clouds floating around this morning and they all look like oyster shells. God just touched his bright white pastel to his sky canvas and hurriedly scribbled a circle blurring the edges. He sketched the clouds light enough to see through to blue sky. I watched them turn to wisps and disappear as they slowly floated by.

I believe the heat is affecting the birds. I can see a few finches on their favorite feeder, the downy woodpeckers on the suet baskets, big wood thrush on the bird bath, and several bright red male cardinals flitting around with their fawn colored mates.

So many beautiful colored blooms in my yard this morning. Only God with his myriad colored palette could paint so wondrously with watercolors.

Mother Nature is trying to push me off the porch with her 90 degrees temperature and her 106 Realfeel temperature. Guess Realfeel is similar to heat index temps but the breeze is keeping the porch pleasant. The wind chimes are playing a short noted lullaby in the cool breeze.

I had a busy morning watering all my flowers and vegetables. Putting clean water in the bird baths. I repotted my calibrachoa (million bells) from their baskets into the cement urns. They’re just not doing well this summer. My old wheelbarrow is full of million bells and they are thriving. Maybe the urn ones will do better now that they’re out of their baskets and their roots can breathe and stretch out. I was unknowingly standing in an ant bed while washing away the potting soil mess with the hose pipe. My foot was covered in ants but the hose washed most of them off before they sunk their little pointy teeth in my foot. They are such vicious little creatures. Got a good drink of water out of the hose pipe, too, and I’m still alive.

Miss Penelope had a bath, then a sun bath to dry off, and is soundly sleeping in her playpen. She’ll be ready to head to the air conditioning when she wakes. She’ll whine around till I take her inside.

Oldest sister-in-law called me this morning. We have a daily conversation. She is truly a mother of pearl. When I first moved back home her daily phone calls were rays of sunshine through the storm clouds of my grief. She called every morning cheerfully consoling me and encouraging me back to life one phone call at a time. She has a deep, heart felt love and devotion for her family and grandchildren. Her inner beauty is reflected in her many acts of kindness for strangers, family, and friends. She’s steadfast and patient. She was the first family I called when Rosalyn died. She stayed home with Stew when he decided not to attend Rosie’s funeral. She graciously sat in the yard with him, a little boy grieved, and watched the funeral procession drive by our home to our family cemetery.

She’s fun to go shopping with and likes to make the day exciting by bumping shelves with her shopping cart. She once knocked down a six foot tall display of coloring books. Her daughter and I heard her yell, “I’m all right,” as we hurriedly left the Dollar Tree, acting like we didn’t know her. She’s a nurturing “NeNe,” and her grandchildren adore her. Youngest sister-in-law is a beautiful jewel, too. “My sisters-in-law are like my sisters, gifted to me by my brothers.” I love them both very much and appreciate their love and understanding.

Sometimes we don’t think to thank family members for all they do for us. We just take for granted they know we are appreciative and thankful for their help. Thank you means a lot to me and I try to say it often and heartfelt. When was the last time you thanked someone for a mundane task? Wonder how many thanks yous all the school teachers in my family have heard through out their years of teaching? Bet I could count them on one hand. I worked in day care for ten years and only one time did a parent tell me thank you. I still remember what she said and the sincere tone of her voice. “Thank you, Mrs. Lane,” she said, “for taking care of my baby. I don’t worry about him because I know he’s being well taken care of.” I’ll never forget her or her beautiful little boy. A simple thank you is very powerful.

“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.” — Randy Pausch