{ Rhythms }

Over the past couple of weeks, I've noticed--somewhat curiously, as though I'm making an observation completely unconnected to myself--I've noticed that some good rhythms have begun to creep up in my life. I'd call them "habits," but that's not nearly as cool a word as "rhythms." I'm already 3.5 years older than my husband...if word choice helps me feel a little more hip and less granny, I'll take it! 

What makes this seem almost accidental is that I didn't consciously set out on a course of self-improvement. With our trip to Hawai'i rapidly approaching, I've started going to the gym several times a week. Normally I die of boredom on exercise equipment. I literally feel like my mind is shriveling up and withering into a dry little terd. That, and the fact that it's so dang time-consuming, are the major reasons I've never committed much time to exercise. 

I've really been wanting to read Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, and on a whim decided to see if I possess the balance necessary to hold a book and cavort on the elliptical machine at the same time. Turns out that I do. Once I finished One Thousand Gifts, the thought of returning to the gym without a book was unthinkable. I'm now reading Sacred Influence by Gary Thomas and marveling at how quickly I'm making it through a book that has literally been sitting next to my bed since before we got married.

Finding time to read has been a huge struggle for me ever since I started to "have a life" {a.k.a. got involved in the local church and met Mike}. My life BM {Before Mike...maybe I should call it BH, Before Husband, instead?} was that of a voracious reader. I deeply miss that. Books, the beauty and wisdom they contain, are a gift, and I have sorely neglected them. It really bothers me. But where, in the daily grind and occasional chaos of Real Life, do I find time to read?

By accident, I think I've stumbled upon a potential answer: While doing something else at the same time. I trick myself into thinking I'm being productive and thus give myself permission to do something that seems self-centered and non-essential {reading}. Reading and exercise are both activities I want to do, but rarely get around to, because they're not necessary for the workings of daily life. They're at the bottom of the list. But Hawaii = bathing suit --> exercise rises MUCH higher on the to-do list --> I realize that maybe....just maybe...."frivolous" activities are good not just for the coronary arteries and the brain cells and the occasional beach vacation, but the heart and soul too.

Here are some photos I snapped today with my phone from the 8th floor of the new, 10-story hospital tower we just moved into. Aren't the vistas gorgeous?

Above you see most of the "old" hospital buildings. Don't they look insignificantly small from this perspective?

 In the photo below, I've circled a house that I simply love. There are lots of old, beautiful homes in these neighborhoods, and I love a good many of them, but this happens to be the only one you can kind of see from here. {Hint, hint, if any rich relatives whom I am not even aware exist are reading this and pondering whether or not to include me in their wills....I will use any inheritance very wisely and buy us a really beautiful Craftsman home!}