Growing up, we all heard certain phrases from our parents that we hope to never repeat. We know about the starving children in Ethiopia who would gladly clean our plate, the hand-me-downs our parents were happy to have, and the kids who walked miles to school in the snow (and presumably uphill, both ways) and we have all snottily answered yes to the most annoying of comebacks, “If Johnny jumped off a bridge would you jump, too?”.
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November 2nd, 2008
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Posted in Family |
October 4th, 2008
Today I watched a handful of first and second graders play a friendly game of basketball. I sat in the bleachers among a scattered group of supportive parents and grandparents while the little ones ran up and down the half-court, dribbling, double-dribbling, traveling, hogging the ball and committing all sorts of other minor infractions. It was all good.
Until, that is, I heard those ugly words, “take the ball” from the opposing coach. What? Did I really hear that?
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Posted in Family, Living Simple |
September 18th, 2008
My youngest son loves to borrow his older brother’s iPod, sneak off to a cozy place and get lost in the music. Any kind of music. Well, not quite. We’ve been rather particular about which artists make it onto the kids’ iPod, but we’ve also done our best to mix it up with plenty of different artists and genres. So any kind of music refers to the cute and eclectic collection my husband, the iPod master, has downloaded.
Reminds me of when I was a kid, listening to the those little 45s — 45 RPM records,
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Posted in Family |
September 12th, 2008
Today I watched my oldest son perform on stage, singing worship songs with the rest of his classmates.
I gazed at his bright, angelic face and found myself skimming through the years; pulling up memories of his chubby, chapped cheeks and his winsome smile. I could hear his laughter and feel the thumping of happy feet as he danced with delight.
I allowed myself to consider how much he’s grown, how his features have changed. My joy was brief; reminiscing wound its way to wisdom.
What my head had been hearing, my heart finally heard…with piercing clarity;
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Posted in Family, Uncategorized |
September 8th, 2008
I love giving rave reviews, but today I’m going to rant. I think it’s the first time I’ve openly ranted in my little forum of family happiness. Having said that, I’m almost reluctant to sully my blogosphere bliss. But here I go, anyway…
Bad drivers, selfish drivers, in particular really get me going. This morning it was the Mini Cooper
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Posted in Rants & Raves |
September 8th, 2008
The other day the smell of freshly cut grass hung in the air. I was immediately taken back to days of my youth.
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September 8th, 2008
The night before my son’s birthday I designed and posted several Happy Birthday signs throughout the house. I made sure the “It’s Your Special Day” plate was washed and set on the counter, ready for his breakfast meal. It was his birthday, after all, and I wanted him to feel special.
A quick mental survey of my efforts left me wondering, why didn’t I do more little things on ordinary days? I had a moment of clarity…How easy would it be,
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Posted in Family |
September 8th, 2008
As I look around the house, my eyes are conspicuously drawn, not to favorite little trinkets and treasures, but, to molehills and mountains of clutter that manage to accumulate and multiply undetected. While I stare at them in disgust three little words pop into my head.
In the laundry area, aka the disaster zone, three little words subtly bombard my thoughts, like a Nor’easter in full force. And when I see the bookshelf sagging from the weight of library books run amok, there they are, again.
I think you get the point.
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Posted in Home |
September 8th, 2008
I love the winter season for lots of reasons: it’s time for the year’s best holidays, visits with extended family, parties galore, snow (if you’re lucky) and plenty of triggers that remind us to be grateful for our blessings, especially our family and friends.
Valentine’s Day sends us running here and there to lavish our love and attention on a few special people for the duration of just one day. One short day. Imagine how we might brighten lives, change the course of entire days, by sprinkling love more often, in little, yet far-reaching ways:
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September 8th, 2008
New Year’s resolutions…it’s amazing how three simple words cause us to shrug and roll our eyes, and maybe even cringe a little at the thought of something so seemingly futile and so powerfully guilt-producing.
We’ve all been there; resolving to lose weight, cook more, eat less, save money, spend more time with family, start exercising; volunteer, etc. There’s not a goal we haven’t strived for, yet there’s a mountain of opportunities we’ve yet to conquer.
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