Randoms for Wednesday <3
Randoms for a Wednesday
Well, hello there. It’s been a while.
We enjoyed a fun day of exploring on Monday and ended up in a small town up north to watch Graham’s high school team in their first regional game, and sadly it was the last game of the season.
Yesterday was a day of back to back places to be, including a partial shift at the store since I won’t be working on Friday. You know…class reunion and all.
So for fun, here are some randoms to interject into your feed as we hit midweek of the beginning of what will be Summer 2026.
Random #1
Tia came to Bloomington on Saturday to hang out with Rachel and three of the clan. The rabbit ears in the photo would be Caroline.
Zach and Emmett were down in St. Louis for a tournament. I took a chance and invited them all back here for dinner since Sarah was going to be spending the night here with us.
It was such a heart-filler to have them here for dinner and shenanigans.
Random #2
On Sunday, Tia helped us with weeding and planting our flower pots.
It was nice to have her help as she worked alongside us and kept us laughing.
We had a nice lunch and worked some more and then she headed off to home so she could have dinner with Jack. She is finished with her school year, but he has one more week.
Random #3
Speaking of help.
This one is going to Ecuador with his soccer team and has to raise money, so we hired him to power wash the drive way.
I am getting spoiled having family here so much, I could get used to having them all a little closer.
Random #4
On Monday Russ and I went to Springfield. Of course we had a mandatory stop at Scheel’s. We grabbed lunch and visited the Illinois State Museum, which was open on Memorial Day. Not sure how that happened, but there were a few others besides us visiting.
Russ had seen that they had a Route 66 exhibit, so that was our main goal for the stop.
It was fun to see the memorabilia that included items from various restaurants, motels and gas stations from the heyday of this famous highway across America.
One sign explained the the route existed from 1940 to 1977. So a big chunk of it was in our lifetime.
Which made one of the exhibits particularly sobering and sad.
On wall displayed how people of color and Jews had to be careful traveling the route. It detailed the places they could stay, which were few, and booklets published to help them navigate the road as safely as possible.
That is in our life time, as I said.
It is a stark reminder of the blight of racism in our country and around the world.
Random #5
We need reminders daily to be grateful for what we have and to be aware that others are struggling with things we don’t have to deal with.
At work yesterday a grandma was purchasing a cute little magnet set where you can dress and embellish a mermaid with a variety of colorful items. I asked her if she would like it gift bagged and she shared that was not necessary as she would be mailing it.
She told me her little granddaughter is in a hospital several states away. She is in a long recovery from a surgery she had a few months ago and will be there through June. The little girl is Caroline’s age.
We talked a bit and I said what I could to offer comfort and compassion. As we talked she said they were very grateful as others in this children’s hospital have multiple issues and much longer stints of hospitalization.
Her gratitude in the face of such a challenge certainly inspired me to be less of a complainer and more of a thankful soul.
As my mom always told me, it could be worse.
So true.
I know that this little one is on my heart and in my prayers today and reminding me to be grateful for all that we have been given. To not take things for granted and to trust God to hear when we pray for the needs of others is a daily habit I want to pursue.