Yesterday opened with a therapeutic massage, which has helped considerably in relieving ongoing elbow issues.
Walking back to the car passed me through the downtown Farmer's Market in Bloomington. Dozens of local vendors with attractive booths. It also brought me past the increasingly revitalized downtown, lined with small business boutiques selling everything from bagels to yoga to art to hospital scrubs.
I drove to the Normal Public Library for tutoring with windows down, and the usual springtime aromas of grass, flowers and warm earth filtered in.
The Uptown Normal parking garage was teeming with not only people but puppies, as the creatively named Pooch Parade was preparing to start. This is one event that in my mind runs counter to the "fresh smells" aspect of spring, as confirmed by some step-overs I had to do on the sidewalk, but the sight of a hundred pups is delightful.
The tutoring was as good as its been all week. Final exam prospects have students ultra-focused, and it's showing through one student's recent 94% test score. Another needed only a 10% score on this upcoming week's test in order to be able to skip the final exam. Another showed how much he's grown in the last two years by staying riveted and productive for a two-hour session.
Dena texted me just before I left the library. On the way home I stopped off at Colene Hoose school where Cupcake was enjoying her first ever park-walk, scampering and darting at things real and imaginary the way kittens do. The sun was high and bright, the wind was slight. It was picturesque, our little family basking in the best of nature that God has to offer.
Settling in for the evening, I took a bath and read a magazine.
Then I did some accounting for my business, tallying that I've had 340 paid hours this semester and so have already surpassed my goal of 300 for the entire year. Few things satisfy as much as under-promising and over-delivering. This week I delivered thank-you notes and complimentary 30 minute massage gift certificates to people who referred students to me. I also placed large magnets on my car directing traffic (no pun intended) to my web site, and two different people have talked to me about them.
Heartland wrapped up for the summer, so 10 more hours of my days are free. I am taking full advantage of the free time to reinvest in the business, and to catch up on some to-do's around the house.
My birthday is Tuesday. It's hard to think of anything I need that I don't already have. There are too many blessings to count... but it's deeply satisfying to keep trying.
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