And on and on

God is good and so is life.

My friendship with "the one whom my soul loves" continues to grow.

I have a new freelance job as a feature writer for a free newspaper.

Yes, I am still looking for more on both counts but I know I will have more on both accounts.

The fourth of July weekend was spectacular. I had my own special fireworks.

Two family affairs/birthday parties bookended it. Friday I journeyed to Kokomo to see childhood friends. A live jazz band serenaded the group of family and friends. It was a real love fest.

Sunday turned out perfect as well. It was my mother's birthday celebration at a local restaurant. She was so overjoyed at the celebration that she teared up. That is unusual for my mother. Most of her tears have not been happy ones. It made me feel very good. Watching my mother, my sisters, my children, my aunts and uncles, the grandchildren, and the great grandchildren--I felt so blessed.

And the centerpiece of it all was Saturday. I enjoyed it from the moment I saw him seeing me coming out of the train tunnel in the morning to waiting for the midnight train with his hand resting on my hips.

He cooked for me. The dinner was excellent. The company was better. The day was unbelievably rich with too many moments to choose from as the highlights. Standing on his condo's balcony with our own summer breeze, fireworks going off outside the corner of our view, bumping behinds. Perfect. The highlight, in retrospect, had to be walking through the crowd at the Taste of Chicago and not feeling like one soul against a multitude for a change.

And it's only going to get better.