virtual coffee (tea again...)

The family is scattered tonight... one already tucked in, another finishing up his homework, and someone else tuned into the tv. And then there is me, ready for a cup of tea to soothe this kinda sore throat. While the quiet is kind of nice after this seemingly long day, I am always up for a visit with friends.

If we were really meeting for coffee tonight I'd let you know first off that it is not strep throat, not contagious. It is sinus... again. I went to the doctor last week to head it off at the pass, but apparently I wasn't sick enough yet. Oh well, I am getting there.

If we were really meeting for coffee... I'd let you know that Laura looked beautiful in her homecoming dress, and had a great time with her friends. And while she was {not} dancing, Cam & I ran out to do a couple of errands and had a quick dinner together, just the two of us. I'm so glad he is content to spend the time with me.

If we were really meeting for coffee... I'd tell you that we have a free weekend coming up. Free, as in no band or concession commitments. I am going to try to get my fall decorations out... and finally stash the Easter ones away (they are not on display, just in a pile in the sewing room.) Truly though, I wish it was just a little cooler... so we could run away to some state park and camp under the stars. Hopefully it won't be too much longer.

If we were really meeting for coffee today... I might just gush a little over how my son was rockin' in his drum lesson today. It was cool. But then I'd probably get a little teary-eyed and tell you that I've been trying to work on his Africa post... and the words won't come. I suppose they will, in their own sweet time.

One thing I am sure of... that over coffee, there would be laughter, and living.
Because it is what friends do.

no matter what you're wearing...

It was a week full fun.
The kind of crazy high school fun that makes you reminisce and wander back to those days. Each day with its own madness... celebrating decades, tackiness and school spirit. And realizing that yes, she is a junior. Yikes.

But what I loved most of all...

was that no matter what she was wearing, from Wacky Tacky to Homecoming splendor, it was who she is that shone through and through.

Linking up to Tuesdays Unwrapped at Chatting at the Sky... because a smiling girl who knows who she is, is one of the best gifts a mother can celebrate.

waiting all year

I had expectations.
Blue sky, gentle breeze, family, friends... and the band.
Eric told me it was going to rain, but I refused to believe it. With each prayer I offered up on Friday, I included one for no rain. And I believed it.
Faith?
Denial?
I think I often walk a fine line between the two. But not for one minute was I going to doubt that my expectations would not be met. I couldn't... I had waited all year for this night.

Sometimes He meets you where you are... and sometimes I think He makes a way to meet me where I want to be. Because it was... the perfect night.

Hot and sticky, I climbed up the bleachers and found my seat, focusing on the very small patches of blue that peeked from behind angry gray. Leaning back, I felt it kick up... and saw the flag begin to wave in the breeze. That same breeze... it forced the gray off to the west. And I could breathe... and praise.

It would have been nice if the football team had won the homecoming game... or if the three bouts of rainy mist had stayed away. But my every expectation had already been met...

and if the sky had opened up and poured down after half-time, I would have just danced in the rain.

laura... in africa

She figured it out just a few bites into her dinner on that long ago candlelit evening... and her smile has been just a little brighter ever since. She loves animals, all of them... and is always up for an adventure. And this adventure, with her was... beautiful.

On our first game drive I remembered something I wish I had not forgotten... Laura's vision. Using the binoculars was tough at first, and while we could see most of the wildlife without them, I was always amazed at the detail I could enjoy with them. And so my Mom trained her... to use the binoculars. Covering her left eye blocked out the blurry distraction and she held the lenses steady with the other hand... affording her the views of a lifetime. My heart swelled at her accomplishment, and brought tears to my eyes when we saw that very first cat. And a leopard at that! And my despair over what she couldn't see became thankfulness over what she could. (I did have a breakdown temper tantrum in the Ngorongoro Crater over her sight again, but in just a few minutes it became incredibly apparent that God was holding us right in the palm of His mighty hand!)

Laura, in Africa, was a photographer. I loved watching her crouch and snap with a steady hand. I expected her to video away her trip, but instead she found her place, eye to the lens. She was the one... who gave me courage to get out of that jeep in the Maasai village, she and her camera.  There she was, surrounded by dark faces and dusty hands... and the beauty I saw in that moment,  these little children and her shining heart, encouraged me to break free... and eventually dance.  Coming home and seeing her photographs, Africa through her eyes, was incredible.  Her photos were breathtaking, at times, outshining both her Mother and Grandmother.

My girl headed to Africa with a hundred sheets of origami paper... and came back with just a few. At Shanga she shyly exchanged one for a beaded bracelet, and she continued folding almost everywhere we stopped. She tells me she has a running total of paper cranes, but I am guessing she has well exceeded her 1,000 goal. But why stop there? She folded for the little ones at Mama Anna's... and the kids were fascinated It filled my heart to see her hands whipping that colorful paper around, using her leg as a table to make the creases crisp. And the little ones! They clutched their new treasure tightly in the hand, toddling around and keeping it close to their own heart, and away from siblings hands.

Paper cranes continued at the Bashay Primary School in Karatu... and Laura, she was the shining star. She took on a teaching role, students and adults gathered around the desk and tried to mimic her swift hands. Laura would set her crane aside and catch us up when we got behind... and after I completed my first, I just enjoyed watching her. Her bright eyes and the love and care that shone from them. The principal came over and spoke with her... he too, was fascinated with her craft. Laura chose to leave her origami paper, at least the rest of what she had in her backpack, at the school, and we are getting ready to mail him the book... Sadaku and the Thousand Paper Cranes.

My girl, in Africa was... more beautiful than ever, beautiful to her very core. Though I kept her close to me, her independence was so apparent, along with her heart. When we were half-way through our adventure, she became quite chatty with our new tour friends... and it made us all laugh... truly comfortable, and alive... in this place that stole all our hearts. Every parent dreams of giving their children the world... and while this trip was a gift from grandparents... I am ever grateful for her to now have this bit of the world in her heart.

And to have experienced it right by her side, brings me quite far past tears...