Skip to main content

On the Surface


 


 






Isn't it amazing how pictures can capture a moment, but not capture it?

How we can turn to the camera, put on a smile, strike a funny pose, and make everything look grand. But just after the shutter snaps (I don't know, does a shutter snap on a digital camera?), reality returns. Life is messy. And noisy. And sometimes not so pretty. I guess it makes you appreciate the neat, quiet, beautiful moments when they occur. Or maybe it helps you seek out the good when you really want to throw in the towel.

Looking at my magazine with pretty pictures of salves and creams, I picture this nice quiet time in the kitchen mixing this and that and making something good and wholesome for me and the kids. I should have taken a "during" shot of the kitchen! What a mess for two tiny little jars. One for me (body butter) and one for Peter's tush (the whole reason I started this mess in the first place! )

I want to create a world for my kids that they can look back on fondly. I hope they can filter out the yelling and bickering and recall the day that mom brought lunch outside on a special tray and put the tablecloth over the metal utility table to make it fancy. I hope they recall these days as being the best of times. For that is how I think back on my childhood.

I am trying to find a rhythm here in this new home of ours. I am reading, taking notes, trying out ideas. Trying to be better for my family, so that we can all reap the benefits. Trying to come to terms with the things I can't change and forge ahead bravely to fix what can be changed. For I can change how I choose to look at things, and that may just make all the difference.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Door Table

Once there was a store in Georgia. It is no more, but how I wish it was. I likened going in there to treasure hunting. One never knew what was going to be in there, and you had to dig through and wade through all the "other people's treasures" to find your own. I once found a set of blue and white teacups and saucers from England. I found lace handkerchiefs, a rocking chair, and an end table. But by far the best find was my kitchen table. I had stopped by one day while the kids were taking horseback lessons and the then little ones were asleep. The store was not open, but I went up to the window to see if anything new was there. And it was there. The table. And six chairs too! We were in need of a bigger table with Jack on the way. My mom had offered to give us her old one, which I was going to accept if I didn't find something I liked better. I didn't want anyone else to even see the table because I knew it was supposed to be ours, but one can never tell abo...
9 comments
Read more

Walking a New Path

 Well now. It has been quite a while, hasn't it?  I have kept silent about my struggles for the past four years, mainly because I was in the midst of something that I never imagined could happen to our family. And it wasn't just my story. It still is not.  A friend once told me I am an external processor, and I suppose she is right. I find that saying things out loud help me find the answer, if there is one. There was no good answer, as it turns out. And so, I am sad to say, that I am now divorced. A single mother, navigating a life I never imagined.  But there are some things that haven't changed. My faith, for one. I know that God is with me on this journey and that He is way smarter and wiser than I could ever be. He has held me close as I wept and grieved the end of my marriage. He held my hand as I packed up what would fit in a moving truck and drove our belongings to a new home. He has led me to new jobs and I can only trust that all will be well if only I cont...
4 comments
Read more

Fog and faith

 I stepped out into the coolness of the November morning to start the car and defog the windows, preparing to take Jack to school. Daylight had yet to appear. As we drove the many miles, the sky lightened, and we could see the mist hanging out just above the grass. We usually listen to a story together on our drive, adding commentary, exchanging a knowing glance or a shocked expression as the twists and turns unfold. I relish this time with Jack. I know that all too soon he will be preparing to leave the nest, like his sisters before him.  On the drive back, I pull my rosary from my purse and pray. By this time, the sun is just about to appear, making the sky a beautiful orange-pink on the horizon. I am pondering much as I pray, for the path I am on is once again rocky and uncertain. Such is life, whether we have faith or not. Faith makes it bearable. For the most part, the road home is a straight shot and I can see the ribbon of road laid out before me, narrowing in the dista...
3 comments
Read more