Light and Warmth In the Darkness...
It is the darkest day of the year for my faith, this Good Friday. A day when light and warmth can seem very far away if you let them.
Yesterday was ice rain, rain and slick roads for most of the day. This morning is sideways snow and spring seems hopelessly far away.
Yesterday morning, my mother had to go to the hospital with an irregular heartbeat and it has turned out to be a bit more serious than we hoped. She will be in ICU for the Easter weekend.
It would be so easy to give in to despair...
It would be easy to get into the Easter candy early...
Life is seldom easy!
I can remember looking at grown ups as a child. I thought they were so lucky to be able to stay up as late as they wanted, earn their own money to buy things and pick what gets cooked for dinner.
As an adult, I know that many of us don’t get enough sleep, have bills to pay and grab something to eat on the go which may not be the best for our health.
Life is not about how easy your path is, but how you travel it.
Do you look around you at the scenery and appreciate the beauty that you find around you or are you always looking for a shortcut or envying other roads?
Do you take time to speak to people along the way, stop and give directions, point out neat spots to others, share part of your sandwich with someone who is hungry, play 20 questions and listen to the radio at full blast when a great song comes on... or are you racing to your destination with a speed and intensity that lets nothing distract you?
The dark times remind us to treasure all that is precious... to rely on the hugs of friends... to say “I love you” more often... to count the many blessings that we do have... and to remember that after the darkness comes the brilliance of the dawn.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Things I Am Learning with Nick Away...
Being a single parent in the midst of report card season, pre-Easter activities and upcoming school holidays has taught me a lot this week. I need to make myself smile tonight, so here’s what I’ve learned while Nick is up in the Yukon helping organize his father’s funeral.
1) My kids will eat almost anything for supper if I convince them it is something new and unusual that Dad might not let them do if he were here.
2) I can let off steam to unsuspecting telemarketers who call during supper hour.
3) All 6 of my stuffed animals on Nick’s side of the bed along with the pillow bolster do NOT compensate for his body weight. I am waking up in the middle of the bed doing a dead man’s float and snoring... how attractive!
4) It feels strange not to have anything of his in the laundry pile.
5) I’ve gone back to wishing I could stuff myself through a phone line so that I can hug him in person... just like I did when we were dating long-distance.
6) I’m starting to talk to the hamster again for adult conversation.
7) I am more ruthless with the paper clutter on the counters. Shredding things into pieces or scrumpling them into wads is good therapy and keeps me from biting my fingernails or getting into the chocolate.
8) If I must get into some chocolate, baking chocolate chip cookies with my girls can be justified as a math lesson, a chance to learn a necessary life skill, a bonding experience and much more. Making sure that at least half of the cookies go out the door to an event also keeps me from eating the rest when they are at school!
9) There really is nothing good on TV late at night!
10) If I read until very late at night, and get really, really tired, I don’t jump at ever creak and groan the house makes in the middle of the night. The only problem is that the next morning, all the creaks and groans come from me!
Being a single parent in the midst of report card season, pre-Easter activities and upcoming school holidays has taught me a lot this week. I need to make myself smile tonight, so here’s what I’ve learned while Nick is up in the Yukon helping organize his father’s funeral.
1) My kids will eat almost anything for supper if I convince them it is something new and unusual that Dad might not let them do if he were here.
2) I can let off steam to unsuspecting telemarketers who call during supper hour.
3) All 6 of my stuffed animals on Nick’s side of the bed along with the pillow bolster do NOT compensate for his body weight. I am waking up in the middle of the bed doing a dead man’s float and snoring... how attractive!
4) It feels strange not to have anything of his in the laundry pile.
5) I’ve gone back to wishing I could stuff myself through a phone line so that I can hug him in person... just like I did when we were dating long-distance.
6) I’m starting to talk to the hamster again for adult conversation.
7) I am more ruthless with the paper clutter on the counters. Shredding things into pieces or scrumpling them into wads is good therapy and keeps me from biting my fingernails or getting into the chocolate.
8) If I must get into some chocolate, baking chocolate chip cookies with my girls can be justified as a math lesson, a chance to learn a necessary life skill, a bonding experience and much more. Making sure that at least half of the cookies go out the door to an event also keeps me from eating the rest when they are at school!
9) There really is nothing good on TV late at night!
10) If I read until very late at night, and get really, really tired, I don’t jump at ever creak and groan the house makes in the middle of the night. The only problem is that the next morning, all the creaks and groans come from me!
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