take time to smell them or photograph them.....

-
Well, we made it.  1 grade school extravaganza, 1 concert and 2 graduations......and 3 times the public health visits I normally make because it is the end of the month and I had lots of moms and babies to see......and most nights we even ate home-cooked food.  Tomorrow morning I have 2 more visits to finish out the week.  Then, finally the weekend.

We will take Grace to the airport Sunday morning and she will fly home.  Claire made her a video of all of us telling her reasons why we love her and tonight, after graduation we watched it and cried and laughed......and we had cheese cake and cupcakes and deviled eggs because they are her favorites.

Next week we prepare for the year-end dance recital for Precious and Claire....and the kids finish school on Wednesday at noon.....and in 2 weeks we start summer.  I still have to work in the summer, so the big kids all have jobs and the little kids will go to daycare and we will strive to enjoy warm lazy summer days and less busyness......and baseball.....in all the moments between.....and I really, really want to slow life down.  How does that happen exactly?
The logical answer is that we do less, live in the moment, be fully present, etc.....but lets face it......that's not likely.  I can try to take more photos, and blog more memories.....but its not the same thing.  Maybe its a combination of both, or something else I am missing.

Tonight, I am up late, thinking about all of the things I felt and heard and things I saw and did today.....and I am sitting in the dark living room with Grace who is talking on face-time with friends, and crying a bit and feeling emotional.  She and I have a good sense of our attachment and I knew she would want to sit up awhile tonight......to cry and laugh and finish this day.  I see this photo of this beautiful hydrangea in bloom....and I remember taking this photo last summer in Washington state when we were on our family vacation.  I had a slowing-down moment that day......and was able to walk through the gardens and take photos and pray and think and worship.......

May we find these hydrangea bloom moments all summer long and really savor what is beautiful and temporary and worth-while every chance we get.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Superbowl musings, Niki-style

-
 Last week I walked dogs in unexpectedly warm late winter afternoons.  I realized that when I don't walk regularly it matters.  This week I wanted to walk again but I am such a wimp and if it is cold or windy or rainy or all of those things put together, I don't want to walk outside.  I spend my work days in and out and in and out and cold and warm and cold and warm.....but today I needed to walk.  It was cold and windy and rainy.   I started my walking app that tells me when to walk slow, speed up, slow down, speed up and eventually cool down.  In my home office space in front of a cooking competition.  I looked ridiculous walking in place, dancing and prancing, moving foward and backward and working up a sweat but I got it done.  I sure did.   I got groceries because we were out of milk and I got food for "superbowl Sunday" which is not that different from any other Sunday evening.  My parents come over and we have snacks and drinks and then we eat together and clea
Read more

Family

-
Image
  These are my people.  My big kids gifted me for Mother's Day with a photo shoot organized and paid for.  It has always been hard for me to schedule family photos so this gift is extra special.  We did the photos late summer/early fall.  Our smiles do not reveal how hot or windy it was that day.  Yet and still we managed to get some really great pictures, thanks to our sweet and competent photographer...Cassie Beth.   Here is the thing.  This photo tells so many stories...so so many stories.  Each of the 9 of us could be a story, a novel on our own.  Then if you pair up any of the 9 with another, there are more stories to tell, and in groups of guys or girls still other stories to tell.  Looking at Roger and I....chapters and chapters of stories...and separate us out each of us is also a story.  Our lives are stories. I have told my kids over and over that their lives matter.  They were created by God to do something in this life that will expand His kingdom, give Him Glory and ma
Read more

mid-summer check in on being Aware

-
 I remembered today that I had been doing a monthly reflection since January.  I missed June...and apparently July.  Here we are on the second day of August and I find myself aware of it...aware of how June flew by and July slipped by and now I'm settling into August....aware.  June was a full month of ball games and volleyball competition and vacation.  It was also the last month of my fiscal year of my work as a public health nurse and that means there are lots of reports due and documentation needed to make sure we get funded again.  June was a lot and it was awesome...and hot....and busy.   July slowed down a bit with more nights at home, more lazy pool afternoons and a break from the heat.  We caught fireflies and we cooked more meals at home.  We decided to tackle a huge project long overdue and tore out carpetting in our main living area.  This carpet has been there for over 40 years.  It was gross and disgusting....suffice it to say that I am very, very aware of how unsettl
Read more