Bloody Blessings

I had my first Bloody Mary today...

Yeah, I went with my SWEET Friend/Sister, Shirley to Ventura to hang out, and had lunch on the harbor...the sun was out, the boats were swaying in their docks, and with Oysters on the half shell, Civiche, and Shrimp in front of me, nothing could ruin my mojo.

Other than that Bloody Mary.

I was excited, too! I felt...grown up. In fact, I joked that I felt like I was 80 years old, and when it came, I took my first ever taste.

My GOD.

I looked at my Sister, and she was sprinkling PEPPER into her cocktail...odd, but she's the experienced one, so I followed her lead. It cant taste much worse than it does now, and perhaps Pepper is the secret?

I took the shaker after she set it down, and shook it over my cold tomato soup...I mean,"Bloody Mary". (Same thing).

I shook the shaker for about as long as she did, I thought, then set it down, and stirred the drink. I kept stirring it, but the pepper never dissolved, so I finally stopped stirring, and took a sip.

Holy HELL.

I'd have bet money that it wasn't possible, and I'd have lost.

It actually GOT WORSE.

I was so glad to be sitting next to someone who loves me unconditionally..I was so glad to be comfortable with my Sister, trying something insane for the first time. She kept asking how I liked it...I kept saying that I felt 80 years old.

The bar tender told me to watch how many crackers I ate because they were likely to get "stuck in my dentures". Yeah, even he knew that the Blood Mary Soup Drink was not for me. So, in the comfort of my company (Shirley), I turned to the couple next to us at the bar.

"Hello", I said to the nice couple to my left.

"Hi, how are you"? They asked.

" I have a question", I began, "When you think of a Bloody Mary, do you think of an 80 year old woman at Bingo"?

""No!" they both exclaimed, then the man added, "I love Bloody Mary's".

I noticed he was drinking Amstel Light...so I asked, "Wanna trade"?

"Sure!" He was so happy...it was so odd.

We traded...it was a win/win.

God, that beer was so good.

Blessings...

1. For girlfriends I feel completely comfortable with..the ones I feel like I've known forever, the ones I KNOW were sent directly from you, God, I say THANK YOU.

My prayers were answered.

2. For the Angel Store. I loved the Angel Store..all angels, all the time, man..ANGELS EVERYWHERE! It was SO peaceful inside this store...we walked through in a fog; a peaceful, lazy, comfortable, fog.

Turned out they'd been on the news; they had a whole PRAYER WALL..you write your message to God on a post -it (perfect, huh? He's a busy guy...keep it brief), and stick your prayer up on the wall.

I wrote, "God, please bless my Sisters. Love, Elle". It was the first prayer to come to mind. I stuck it up on the wall, while Shirley wrote a prayer...

We stood there, reading prayer after prayer. There were thousands of them. I felt my eyes burn, I fought tears back. Occassionally, one of us would read one aloud, and break the silence;

"I know my Mom is happier with you, God. And I know she's still with me. Thank you".

"Please Lord, watch over my children and I through my divorce".

"Please tell my grandma that I miss her".

In broken English, "Thank You God for making me to take care of my own and be strong".

In a child's writing, "Please God take care of my brother. Please make him well."

I am so blessed.
Thank you, God.

3. For ice cream in waffle cones, that melt and drip all over two grown women, who laugh about it while walking down Main Street, I give eternal thanks.

4. For friendly strangers who trade drinks with me at a bar.

Shirley asked the Server for more crackers...I was sure we were to crumble them up and sprinkle them into our Bloody Cold Soup Drinks. Turns out, those crackers were for the Civiche, and luckily NOT to add to my beverage.

I'm so grateful for kind strangers who aren't shy to trade.

4. For the anticipation of hitting balls...I'm so excited to hit balls!

(At the golf course this week..what did you think I was talking about?)

5. Thank you God for days like this. LOVE, laughter, food, friendship, support, and child-like behavior.

Mama said there'd be days like this.

Thank God, she was right.

Change your life TODAY..right NOW. Count your blessings. That's all you have to do.

You can't change the way your story started, but you have complete control of the story line from here on out, and the ending is up to you.

With LOVE,
Elle