Cottages, Strawberries and Pianos

I'm so grateful that my Dad built us a cottage when we were young. I was about 10, and my two youngest brothers were under 5, and we spent the entire summer for many, many years at that cottage. My brothers and I played for hours in the pile of sand down by the beach - the beach was rocky, but Dad made sure that there was always a nice big pile of dirt in that one corner. We built cities and bridges and roadways that went to the most amazing castles. Those houses and castles had moats and swimming pools and elaborate staircases that went nowhere. We had so much fun. We also built forts in the nearby woods, discovered waterfalls and even walked 5km to the nearest store just to buy an ice cream cone! We had the cottage for 30+ years then had to sell it after Dad died. We  miss it terribly now, though perhaps it's the family gatherings there that we miss the most. When I see the children in our neighbourhood out roaming the streets at 9am with nothing to do all day (no school today), I feel so sorry for them - and so very grateful all over again that my Dad built that wonderful cottage for us. Lord, I thank you for the wonderful memories we still cherish from those cottage days. And I ask for special protection and blessings on the children in our neighbourhood...please keep them safe, healthy and happy...especially as they try to find interesting things to do with their time!

I'm grateful for the fresh strawberries just starting to pop out in our garden. Hubby's so pleased, there are LOTS of strawberries this year...and blueberries soon, and raspberries in a few weeks. Our backyard is very tiny, but he has planted as many fruit plants as space will allow. And this year we're finally going to be able to enjoy, literally, the fruits of his labour! Thank You Lord for the bounty of this earth, for the beautiful flowers, for the good food that grows in our garden and for the delicious pleasure that such simple things as fresh-picked strawberries can bring to us.

I'm also grateful for pianos. I love my piano - I bought it in memory of my Dad after he passed away, always thankful for the piano lessons he and Mom insisted I take when I was a child. I don't play as often as I should these days, but I'm still very grateful that it's there when I do finally sit down to play. Thank You Lord for music, pianos, and for Mr Benvie who was an awesome piano teacher.