May 04, 2009

q is for...


quaint.

Our first house... it seems like a million years ago! It was nestled in the woods along a winding road... and it seemed like a patch of spring was cut away just for the house. Picket fence... weathered shingles... stone foundation... an arbor around the doorway. Quaint. It was love at first sight... I'm not sure we even looked at another house. It was tiny... but it was ours. And we made it our home. It was where we brought our first baby home to... it was where we laughed with her and cried for her. It was hard to pack up and leave... our first real home together. We had a lot of dreams for that tiny house... but some dreams are meant to fade away... to make room for new ones. For us, it was a Florida home... and here we are...

May 03, 2009

my olympian


He wanted his hair spiked... and if that was what he needed to make him feel confident, I wasn't going to say no. It was his day. His day to shine and have a moment in the spotlight. It is not something I could do... at least not without my stomach doing flips. But he wasn't nervous... not with his spiked hair. When his turn came, he introduced himself to the crowd, adjusted the piano bench and settled in... and then he played the piece he has, for weeks, been putting his heart and soul into. The Olympic Fanfare. He bowed, the audience applauded... and he reveled in his moment. I love that... that tangible moment in time when you can feel the world is on your side and rooting for you... when your best has been proven good enough.

May 02, 2009

the ugliness in me

Sometimes the breath in me sinks down... sinks so far down in me that tears pool at my eyes and there is a gnawing at my heart. I let it happen... I let the hurt and the disappointment and the loneliness and the anger overwhelm my soul. I know the way out... I know how to once again catch my breath and let my soul rise up again... but sometimes I don't, or won't, take those necessary steps. I might begin the prayer... but then I realize that I am not ready to let it go... I am not ready to put it in God's hands and I am not ready to forgive. And if I know... He knows. And the gnawing becomes stronger and the pain physical, instead of just emotional. My fault... I let it happen. I don't know why... I just do. Used to be I could fill that space... where my soul used to be. I could fill it with food or with treasures off of a shelf... but not anymore. I tried to wander the aisles of JoAnn's looking for something to ease the hurt.... but I know... that God has changed me and there is nothing there that would satisfy my need. No quick fix... and He calls me. There is a place though... where I can go to sustain me... until I am ready to pray with sincerity. I raced there today... asking God not for forgiveness to begin, but for what I needed to bridge my way there. Please, don't let me be to late... please... let her still be there... please. He must have known my desperation... must have felt my heart's most immediate need... because I made it... and there she was. My mother's arms set me free... to cry, to rage, to tumble down into a dark abyss, safely, and then emerge again. I don't want to be ugly and full of dirt and darkness... but there I was. And her arms helped me through it and helped me find a place where I was ready to travel the rest of the way... to God's palm... where I sit and confess. He has made me into this person... the one who can't find peace anywhere but here... and I am thankful. And also thankful for the rest stop along the way...

May 01, 2009

another may day



It is funny how some people are known for certain things... singing... a distinctive laugh... the endless ability to make people laugh... And so today, as I went around making deliveries, I was happy to hear Oh! It's the May Day girl! Another friend said- I thought of you and your May baskets as soon as I flipped the page on my calendar. It may be just a sweet token of spring... a basket containing a few candies (left over from Easter!?)... but it is a tradition I love to share. And if someone is going to call me a name... why not the May Basket Girl?

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