Today

Today I put E in the bathtub so I would have some time to clean the bathroom. He played happily, we listened to kid music, I cleaned the bathroom, then I cleaned him. Next, he watched kid shows on TV while I cleaned the kitchen. He played games on the computer while I baked bread, cleaned, moved some laundry around. Then lunch. I made myself a gourmet turkey sandwich with sprouts and spinach and turkey on homemade bread. He ate bread and butter. Next comes the good part. The part where I made a fort. A blanket draped on the back of the couch, the two of us lying inside with the blanket over us. The part where there wasn't much room and he cuddled up close to me and for about 2.5 seconds I had his body snuggled up against mine. That was the best part. And I thought, thank you Lord, for this moment. And by the time I was done thinking it, the moment was over, he was out of the fort to find some way to improve on it.

We'll read stories, he'll take a nap and our day will go on its normal, boring, everyday routine. But that one moment, for 2.5 seconds, was enough to make the whole entire day a good one. Thank you Lord, for each and every little moment like that, sprinkled in throughout our days, those are the moments that keep us going through the rest of the hard, boring, mundane moments. Thank you.

Great Grandpa

Denise and I gathered up our kids and made our trip to the hospital to visit Grandpa. I had thought about writing a letter to him, something I could read to him or someone else could read for him... or when he was better, he could read himself. I wanted to tell him all the things I hadn't said. But I didn't write it, and then we got there and I couldn't say it. He was resting... The time just didn't seem right.

Dear Grandpa...
How can I say the thousand ways you've affected me? How can I list or tell all the big and small ways your presence has been around me, my entire life?

Grandpa rested, we talked around him. People came and went, he woke up and we held his hands, we talked and shared our stories with each other. The little unimportant stuff, how's the weather. The bigger stuff, memories from long ago, the hopes for what's to come. He woke up and shared some thought and we held his hands...

Dear Grandpa,
I've known you my whole life but feel like I hardly really know you. You've been there since the moment my parents found out I was on my way, all the way through everything. Your stories stick in my mind, about many years ago and then about just last week. I always felt like you know everything about everything. We could bring up any topic and you already knew.

Dear Grandpa, you raised a family of six kids, they stick together to this day still. You raised kids who work hard, play hard, love hard. Who share, who sacrifice, who laugh and cry together.

Your home has always felt like home to me. I grew up there, visiting and sleeping upstairs, helping myself to your never-ending candy and whatever was in the fridge. Your home was my great outdoors, my adventure with endless places to explore. There is the upstairs where the bedrooms are still named after my aunt and uncle who haven't lived there for decades. There's the basement and the infamous "snake in the shower" story. There's the yard and trees with swings and pastures and barn and all of it just waiting for us to discover.

Your work ethic was so fully instilled in my mom that I see it in her today, her influence inspiring me to work harder and do better. I see it in my aunts and uncles and cousins, people who work hard to make a living, taking care of their families, people who respect those around them and treat each other well.

You are the glue in this tribe, the one we all came home to. Sometimes often, sometimes not, but we were always coming home to you, coming home to another story, another warm chat around the kitchen table.

Somehow I'm still having a hard time believing you're gone, my whole life you've been here. It doesn't quite make sense to me, but perhaps its because I don't want to accept it, believe that you could have left us behind.

We said goodbye on Sunday, you told us to come again. I promised I would, and turned to walk away. I wish I had said to you, thank you for loving us so generously. Thank you for being the gathering place where we could all come together to cry, and to laugh, and to share our memories and make new ones. Thank you for being you. We love you.

Company Newsletter

We're all supposed to submit something interesting/educational/business-related to our company newsletter once a month. I don't really feel like I have much to contribute to the cause so I sort of ignore it... (Shhh don't tell my boss!)

Anyway, this month I got inspired and wrote this, I wonder if they'll accept it?

The Minions continue to work diligently at their assigned tasks, with only occasional grumbling. A is doing well with acquiring new proficiency as his lessons and coaching by his mentor continue uninterrupted. S works hard to achieve success in her assignment at the new location. To date, she has achieved 100% on every assessment she has been given. E continues to be defiant with the expectations placed upon him to move from his current role to a more advanced position within the organization. Management tirelessly works with each Minion to encourage, support, and motivate continued accomplishments. Management remains steadfast in denying repeated requests for raises, more breaks, and better snacks.

** Disclaimer ** Minions' initials may or may not have any relevance to real-life characters. This account may be purely or only partially fictitious. You be the judge.

A Day in the Life...

Yesterday I heard shouts, "Come quick!! There are HORSES in our backyard!"
I really didn't believe them. We've had deer, we get excited over rabbits and squirrels and even a cat now and then. Horses? No way. I went running back there, and sure enough, horses. Not really right in our back yard, they were on the street behind our house, about a block away. But people riding horses through a suburban neighborhood? Definitely unusual.

Last night was Trick or Treating, E was in charge of handing out candy. Archer and Shelly took turns supervising. David baked cookies, I baked a frozen pizza.

This morning I was eating my breakfast (or was it lunch? 10:00 means maybe it was brunch) and E was running around, he came back to me at the table and as he ran up he stopped short. "OH! Mom, POOP fell out my DIAPER!" Sure enough. I won't go into great detail about what I had to clean up, you can imagine the path things had to take to get from his diaper, down his leg... Anyway, just as we were finishing up bath time and getting a new batch of laundry started, guess who showed up? Bampa Bampa! (That's Grandma and Grandpa to you and me.)

After a flurry of activity, they were gone again. And so was E. I sent this email to David...

Hi, my parents showed up and gave us a new bike, a plate of cookies and a bag of muffins.

They took with them the riding mower, a bowl of potato soup, and E.
Please pick up Elijah from my parents before you come home tonight, thanks!

Tonight we'll have friends over. Tomorrow another day, school, a meeting in the evening, the next day school, drawing and Awana, next Cub Scouts... Time just keeps flying by. Every day there's some fun little detail, and every day there's the same mundane boring stuff, over and over and over. Brush your teeth, don't forget your lunch, do your homework, brush your teeth, go to bed. And life goes on.