Four more days of the school year. Which really means one real day and three days of playing around and field day. I love field day. I love remembering Mr. Biollot at Stony Creek Elementary School who set up field day like the olympics; with each class being a country and carrying the flag, opening ceremonies, standing on a podium to receive gold, silver, bronze -- the whole deal. It was awesome. I remember that it was not yet politically incorrect to have winners and to give them ribbons. Ah, the good old days.
I have had several great reminders this week that my family and my children are my true treasures in life. I had a friend remind me that when a child is acting poorly it is more often than not because they are trying to stand up high on their tippie toes holding a red flag that reads "I need more of you. Hug me, love me, spend time with me and help me figure out what I'm going through right now". I'm sorry to say it has taken others reminding me of these things -- that I didn't come to them on my own and shift my paradigm sooner.
The boys went on a father/son campout friday night so I took the girls out to dinner and we watched a movie at home {my attempt to answer the "I need more of you" plea}. As in life, all did not go as planned - the campout was rained out, the girls came down with colds, and the lazy saturday morning plan changed to cleaning the church at 8am. This is so characteristic of life isn't it? I'm doing a better job of rolling with it and remaing happy, smiling through the changes and being thankful for the lessons being taught along the way. I think cleaning the church is a valuable lesson for my family - I want my children to understand that it needs to be done and who better to do it than the people who worship there? What better gift to give than time?
I did several things this week I've been promising myself I would do for the past several weeks. I'm happy to have followed through {even though it took a while}. I did P90X and realized that I have muscles that are sore even when I sneeze. I have never been so happy to see a non-workout Sabbath day arrive. I'm back at it again tomorrow. I know it will take a while to see the results of my labors but I also feel better knowing that I'm going for the long term healthy body plan rather than a quick fix diet. I made home made ice cream for a family treat. I got the girls geared up to begin swim team tomorrow. I ordered math workbooks for the summer. I tried new recipes. I listened to some whisperings in my heart that pointed me in the right direction about some big steps for myself personally and emotionally.
I squared my shoulders and faced a new week, trying my best to smile more, to see the light, to be better and to see the treasure in the midst of the chaos. The truth is, my children are amazing 80 percent of the time. So why do I get stuck in the 20 percent? Why don't I do a better job of remembering their 80 percent behavior? One thing I know for sure is that a drive to a beautiful spot to take some fun pictures always makes me happy. So yesterday when the football games were cancelled from the rain and the church was clean that is just what we did. It was magical. Not perfect, but magical. It still makes me laugh to look through the many photos I took. It makes me remember -- I love this. If you would have asked me 15 years ago to describe the life I wanted in my 30's this is the life I would have described. I'm so blessed. Not perfect, but blessed. I mean really, when was the last time you had the chance to watch a 9 year old dance her heart out Footloose style in front of a barn IN a puddle? You missed out.
Sailing on,
E
that picture of them in the puddle is priceless. i love it.
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