~After leaving Sunday school, we were talking about what was learned that day. Both the boys had learned about God’s provision for the birds.
“He gave them wings, and beaks so they can eat, and bring food to their babies.” Eliot said, and Aiden shook his head in agreement.
“How does God provide for us?” I asked
“He gives us restaurants.” ~Eliot said.
“The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments… It is not a thing that lends significance to a moment; it is a Moment that lends significance to things.” ~Abraham Heschel
What would you do more of/ less of, if you only had one month left to live? Would moments be more sacred to you then? Would you sense God around you, because of the your stillness? Would you listen to your kids more intently, and enjoy the questions that they ask over and over again? Would you soak in the faces around you, and enjoy the touch of people you love that much more?
I know I would. I’d put less a value on sleep, and more value on holding my baby. I’d play more. Everything would seem special, everything would be a moment I’d remember. Why? Because I’d be intentional in the way I was living, because I’d want to enjoy the last days of my life, and mostly I’d want to enjoy the people in my life. I’d give those talking to me my full attention because I wouldn’t want to miss an ounce of what they were saying. I’d be so involved in each moment that I wouldn’t be thinking about the next, or the next day, I wouldn’t want to, I’d want to soak it in. I’d hug more. I’d laugh more. I’d tell those in my life that I love them that much more. I’d remember to return those phone calls. I’d make time to go to lunch. I’d spend time talking with my husband. I’d hold my sons tighter, and longer. I’d let the time at the dinner table linger. I’d do those things my kids wanted to do, and I wouldn’t watch the clock. I’d want those minutes to seem like hours, and I’d want each of those minutes to be packed with memories, with good good moments. I’d be, be here, in the moment.
What would you do?
~Today I tried to plan the ultimate fun day for a kid to kick off the summer. We started the morning with a “pick what you want” breakfast, followed by a trip to the sand pit park with our friends. Next, we drove through mc donalds and picnicked out on our back deck and ate the fatty kid friendly food, and played with the shrek toys. After a brief nap, friends came over to play, and they had a fun filled few hours eating popsicles, swinging, nature hunting, and jumping on the trampoline. We ate a dinner of p.b. and j. sandwiches, grapes, and yogurt then watched a movie while eating popcorn, then danced around the living room while the credits played.
While tucking in my two year old, I asked him what his favorite part of the day was. I said, “was it going to the park? or playing with LP? or eating popsicles?”
He replied, “spinning round with you, mama.”
This blog is very intriguing in itself, but this post about a woman listing her reasons for turning down $20,000 dollars to appear on “Wife Swap,” is a must read.
~ He finished his first year of pre school! He learned the alphabet, and how to write his name. He made friends with all the kids in his class, and won the heart of his teacher. I am so proud of him, but so sad that it’s over so fast. We’re on to a summer of drum lessons, swimming lessons, and lots and lots of playing in the sprinkler!
This was one of those laugh-at-it- later-but-be-incredibly-stressed in the middle of it moment, that I had yesterday. I had hurt my back earlier in the day and was having trouble getting around. We were driving to a friend’s birthday party, and all of a sudden everything turned to chaos. My baby got hungry and started wailing, my two year old threw up pink chunky puke all over himself, and I was lost. Grinding my teeth, from the pain in my back I squeezed myself into the back seat, where with one hand I fed my baby a bottle, and with the other wiped pink puke from my boy’s face, while my four year old turned on the blinkers, wind shield wipers, and the veggie tales music up loud enough for the entire parking lot to hear.
It’s a test of love when you have to clean up puke, and you don’t throw up yourself. When you care more about getting it off of them, than you do about getting it on yourself. I love my boys, even through all the puke, noise and pain.
I’m starting to wonder.
~My son can catch flies mid air. It’s really weird, he does this all the time. He’s incredibly quick, and his eyes catch a fly buzzing around, he takes his index and thumb, and just grabs the fly.
AND he doesn’t get hurt. He can fall off most things and stand right back up and keep going.
(He’s also got really white hair, and he’s out for the good of man.)
~So I kept wondering who he got it from, and then I remembered some magnetic abilities my husband had with the silverware at a Dennys. Was it just the silver ware, or him?
Hmmmm….
My dad has an agricultural degree, owned a landscaping business, and we had beautiful yards and gardens all my life. The problem is, he did all the work, so I learned nothing! I rode in the wheelbarrow, and played beside him while he worked.
Now I am realizing that I love to plant, and tend plants, but seem to be killing them, some are growing well, but my tomatoes are wilty and weird looking, and my new rose plants have little afids on them and bites out of the leaves. The funny thing is, is that my son planted some plants I had pulled out into his little bucket, and they are growing very well.
Here’s what I’ve done, what else can I do?
~Watered Regularly
~Put fertilizer on them
~They are out in the sunshine
~I sang to them, (I did a science experiment in grammar school on music and plants growing well….my husband thinks I’m crazy)
~ I pulled the weeds all around them
~ and I care about them….. what else can I do?
The past couple of days, I have been in a very sentimental mood. Not sad, but teary, and I have this feeling over me as if I have to say goodbye to someone. So when I woke up this morning, I decided I needed to figure out what was going on with me, and this is what I traced it back to….
It all started with the season finale of Gilmore Girls on Tuesday. The show has been about this woman and her daughter, their family and the small town they grow up in. The characters relationships all intertwine, and the daughter has grown up throughout the years from grammar school to now graduating college and moving on to her first job. The mother and daughter had to say goodbye, as the town gave her a surprise party in her honor. It was a touching ending, which ignited my sentimental feelings toward my sons.
Then we were hanging out with friends, and someone was saying that the reason time feels like it’s flying the older we get, is because it is our perception on a year is based upon how many years that we’ve lived. So to an 80 year old, a year feels like no time at all, but to a 5 year old, a year feels like an eternity. Which is all very interesting, but once again, I was left to ponder and stare longingly at my children.
So then my husband pointed me to this blog post, which made me laugh, and then get even more sentimental.
Then it hit me. It seems as if others are in this mood too, and I wondered,”is it just the time of year?” We’ve grown up, with this being the season of school ending, people graduating, getting married, moving on, and this is the time of year I have grown up reflecting, missing, and moving on.
I am in a melancholy mood for no apparent reason. It’s just that time of year for me I guess.
~How about you, are you feeling this too?
~I got this as a forward, and it’s weird how it works. Don’t read ahead, and let me know if it works for you too!
YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATH
This is pretty neat.
DON’T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!
It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read. Be sure you
don’t read the bottom until you’ve worked it out!
1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to
go out to eat (more than once but less than 10)
2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)
3. Add 5
4. Multiply it by 50
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1757 … If you
haven’t, add 1756
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born – you should have
a three digit number.
The first digit of this was your original number (i.e., how many times
you want to go out to restaurants in a week), the next two numbers are
YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!) THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2007) IT WILL
EVER WORK.
