They always fascinate me when I see them in the sky.
I watch the way they fly with precision.
They fly until they form a perfect, V shape.
They honk loudly as they fly overhead.

I always wonder what body of water they are flying towards.
I can think of a few ponds that are close by.
I know that a lake nearby is a possibility.
It is the honking sound that can be deafening as they fly above me.

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I am not a traveler.
I like being home.
There is no place that I have a burning desire to visit.
Everything I love most is right here.

I could say that my lack of desire to travel has to do with contentment.
Perhaps.
I could say that I do not like to travel because my back protests after sitting too long.
I could say that I do not like to travel because I get tired on long car rides.

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I was driving on a road that I take all the time.
It is a beautiful, tree lined road with many curves.
There is usually no traffic.
Anytime I happen to be behind a car, we keep moving.

This day was different.
This day, traveling on the road started out just like it had many times before.
Up ahead, I saw a line of cars.
Up ahead, I saw a flashing orange light that you sometimes see on top of a truck.

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I carry reusable bags into the grocery store.
For years, I chose both paper and plastic when someone was kind enough to bag for me.
Each type of bag was reused in trash cans or as book covers when my children were young.
I always had a supply of bags on hand.

At the suggestion of a friend in the grocery store one day, I bought a few of the reusable bags.
I now have about ten bags in my car at all times.
There have been a few times when I walked into the store without them.
They actually hold more groceries and can be packed more efficiently.

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You get it handed to you after you place your order.
It is square and fits in the palm of your hand.
It has little lights around each side.
It will alert you when your food is ready.

No matter how many times I am handed one of these buzzers, I am still surprised.
I know that it will light up eventually.
I know that it will make a loud sound as well.
I am never prepared.

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My husband is very handy.
He has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and an MBA as well.
The further along he went in his career, he did less engineering and more management.
If truth be told, he thinks fondly of the days as a test engineer.

Just give me a project, let me complete it, then give me another one, was what I heard him say.
That desire for projects became woodworking as a hobby.
He was always good fixing things, building things, and making things.
He purchased woodworking equipment for a shop in the unfinished part of our basement.

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We all get them from time to time.
People call them by different names.
Some people call them promptings.
I call them nudges.

To be perfectly clear, they are spiritual nudges.
The nudges are whispers to your heart.
The nudges are quiet and almost not discernible.
However, the nudges are there.

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How my children used to love to build forts.
Give them a few blankets, put them near a large sofa, and the building would begin.
An old country bench placed strategically close to the sofa would suffice.
A ladder back chair placed at one end gave the blanket just enough height.

It was a secret place.
It was a place of hiding even though they were fully seen.
It was a place to which I was sometimes invited.
There was something magical about fort building.

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I have two funerals to go to which happen to be a day apart.
It is never easy to walk through the visitation line and express your heart to the family.
You have a few minutes to somehow try to encapsulate a lifetime.
The funerals I have to go to were both girlhood friends.

One could argue that there are many downsides to social media.
However, it is also through social media that old friends reconnect.
Such was the case with these two girlhood friends.
Many years ago, we found each other on Facebook.

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Many years ago, a friend gave me a lovely votive candle holder.
She knew that I love candles.
She knew that I love blueberries.
This votive candle holder had clusters of blueberries on the base.

I only burn one candle, which sits on my island in the kitchen.
It is my favorite scent: Country Store.
It is a conglomeration of all the scents you might smell if you walk into a country store.
The scent of the candle permeates the entire house.

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