Taking Time to Smell the Flowers, Watch the Clouds, and Photograph Nature 7

I know some of you have noticed I am posting less. I am taking time for family and health as I promised when I joined the Oxygen Mask Project. I will continue to do my monthly posts for Special-Ism.com, and the occasional post here, but mostly, I am taking life slower for the summer. I guess you could call it being on Hawaiian Time.

I will try to connect on Facebook and Twitter more often as I have neglected you there lately too. I am not giving up on blogging and I am continuing to pursue speaking engagements. I will be speaking at a Hawaii Autism Society event in July and I will be back in August when my son returns to school.

Mahalo for your understanding! Please share yesterday’s post and enjoy today’s pictures! I promise I will respond to comments again soon.

Hope all of you are enjoying your summer or winter for those few who follow me from down under!

Gratitude for a Perfect Day 8

img_2773.jpg ©delightfullydifferentlife.com

Footprints in the Sand

I am moving forward and taking positive steps to get back on track. I am taking time to continue rehabbing my back from an injury I sustained in May. I am supporting my daughter as she works towards overcoming the past hurts from those who wounded her soul and let her down. That is why I am sometimes MIA.

I realize my gratitude posts have been sparse lately, yet I am still focusing on gratitude and forgiveness. Today, I am most grateful for the blessings in my life. I received a wonderful review of Delightfully Different from Lorna at Special Needs Book Review. Just click on the blog name to check it out if you haven’t already. I am also grateful for my readers, my family and my friends.

Another thing I am grateful for is that I get to take care of my health by taking long walks three to four times a week. It is one of the good things about living in Hawaii. I started slowly using my walking poles and leaving my dogs at home. A month later, I got my son to take one dog while I took the other one with one walking pole. Another month has gone by, and I now walk both dogs using one walking pole for added balance. I take my camera in a small backpack and stop and photograph nature along the way. We even walk to the beach occasionally although it is not my corgi’s cup of tea.

©Delightfully Different Life

©Delightfully Different Life

Yesterday was one of our walking days. We stopped at this beach because I knew I could take pictures from above without having to actually walk on beach. Thus, my corgi stayed happy.

I last visited this beach when my daughter was in preschool some years ago. They were learning about tide pools and this beach is ideal for that. The school bus was able to drive to the beach to drop us off and to come back to pick us up which is very important when you are taking four-year olds to the beach.

However, there is no parking at this beach as it is in a residual area, and it is not really the best beach for swimming. Still, it is beautiful and the surfers love it. It is the prefect place to quietly observe if you are not swimming. Yesterday Mother Nature gave me the best Valentine’s present by allowing me to see this.

Mother Nature's Valentine ©DelightfullyDifferentLife

Mother Nature’s Valentine ©DelightfullyDifferentLife

I know it is hard to see, but it is a humpback whale breaching. I never wished I had more than 200 zoom more than yesterday. Still, l am not complaining! Just getting to see this made my day. Until yesterday, the only whales I have seen on Oahu were from a boat.

Taken During Whale Watching Tour ©DelightfullyDifferentLife

Taken During Whale Watching Tour ©DelightfullyDifferentLife

Then, after I got home I got these from hubby.

Hope all of you had a happy Valentine’s Day! I would love to hear about how you spent your day.