Short Ride

I took a short bike ride this morning.  It was my first fun ride since I've been sick.  I'm looking forward to total healing and longer rides.  Today, I did a loop through the neighborhood near Ladd Road, rode up toward the road that leads to Oneida Shores, rode down and around by the lake, and then wound my way through neighborhoods toward home.  It only took about a half hour.  I kept it mild since I'm still coughing and I get tired quickly. 

I remembered this is a good place to live.  It's beautiful here.  I noticed the older neighborhood closer to the lake is having their annual garage sale this weekend.  Many people were out setting up their stuff.  I also remembered the annual Hobie Cat Regatta is this weekend.  These are a couple of pictures I took and here's an article about it from our local paper. 

Feeling Grateful

Today was the perfect day for a picnic rendezvous in the park.

Never Give Up

Today we came close to having one of those awful school-time moments a child remembers forever, like the time I made pretty homemade cupcakes for my daughter's 2nd grade class for her birthday.  Her teacher wouldn't let anyone have a cupcake because of the school policy (new and we didn't know about it) that said every food consumed by students had to be store-bought.  When I picked up my daughter from school, she had a tray full of uneaten cupcakes and she was in tears.  I walked her back to her classroom and the teacher apologized.  My daughter is nearly ready to graduate from high school and she still remembers how embarrassed, hurt, and sad she felt.

What happened today: 

Last week, my husband and oldest daughter spent a lot of time helping my son make a contraption for the class egg drop.  The goal was to make something that would keep the egg from breaking. The janitor planned to get on the roof and drop everyone's projects.  My son's project was big and fancy with a little suspension chamber for the egg in the middle.  The event was supposed to take place on Friday, but we had a lot of rain.  So they postponed it until this morning. 

When we arrived at his classroom, the teacher informed us something had happened to my son's project over the weekend.  We discovered broken sticks and that the chamber was no longer suspended.  It was tempting to give up.  I personally didn't know how to fix it, but I knew we couldn't give up.  The teacher spoke my feelings, "He'll be so disappointed."  She handed us some tape.  Trying to fix it seemed useless.  With scissors to remove things and tape to redo things, I left my husband fiddling with the thing while I walked with my son and his class outside.   I could see the concern, disappointment, and hope in my son's face. 

My husband was gone a long time.  I told my son that we might have to give up.  Just before the janitor started dropping the eggs, I went to find my husband.  He was pretty sure it was useless, that it wouldn't work.  Then we couldn't figure out how to get the thing up to the janitor on the roof.  We brought the project outside.  We watched everybody else's eggs drop.  My son was so sad when it was over.  He held his head down pressed up against me and hugged me for comfort while his classmates went to find out if their eggs broke.  I noticed the janitor came down from the roof and outside to see the results.  We asked my son if he still wanted to try dropping the egg.  He nodded and raised his head hopefully.  My husband explained the situation to the janitor and asked if he'd take what was left of my son's project up and drop it.  He agreed. 

The big smile on my son's face made it worth it.  The situation turned from devastating to joyful.  

An amazing side: his egg didn't even crack.

Perserverance

One of the things that I admire about my second-oldest daughter, is her confidence and perseverance.  She doesn't give up easily when she wants something.  She's willing to work hard.  She's willing to ask for help.  She's patient and she's willing to let things be imperfect for a while if necessary.  Last night was Senior Ball.  She'd wanted to go for months.  She didn't have money for all the things she needed and wanted:  the $60 ticket, a dress, jewelry, money to get her hair and make up done, and all the other little things that go along with a big event like that.  One by one, the problems were solved.  She saved her money.  She made things work.  She borrowed a dress, went with a friend to a place that does free make up, found the perfect handbag for an amazing $2, found great jewelry, the same friend helped her get her hair done and did her nails, and she got the ball ticket for free because she paid her senior dues on time.  It all came together and I think she had a good time.  I'm thankful for her example.

Protected

We heard a crash like an explosion in my little boy's room, then silence. My daughter and I rushed upstairs.

"Are you okay?" she said.

He was fine. He was protected.

His dresser was front-heavy; he was getting dressed and left too many drawers open. It was also top heavy; there was a large glass vase full of rocks and shells, treasure boxes, and a heavy lamp on top. When the whole thing toppled, the vase shattered and the lamp shade was crushed. There were large pieces of glass and rocks everywhere.  His room is small, but he was out of the way.

"For some reason, I really wanted to go to the edge of my room," he said.

It took me a second to realize he was thinking about his feelings before the dresser fell. He was prompted to move. Someone was watching over my little boy.

Flu and Flowers

Some things last longer than expected.

I bought these carnations the same day I came down with some kind of flu, nearly two weeks ago.  

I am thankful for beauty.  Life isn't all about enduring pain and experiencing trials.  It's also about finding joy in the midst of suffering.

New Day

It was beautiful, the sun, a pink-orange ball rising in a corner of sky.  I should have gone outside to take the picture, but it wouldn't capture what I saw.  I'm grateful for new days.

I feel a strange mixture of abandonment and yearning, like a little girl who has been left home with a babysitter while her parents leave for a long, fabulous adventure.  Yesterday, my parents flew to Puerto Rico to begin their twenty-three-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  They will be flying to the island St. Croix today.  My grown-up self is excited and happy for them beyond words. 

I've been sick for a week and I have had sick kids home from school.  I think my son is well enough to go to school, but he got in trouble last time he was there, so I think he's avoiding consequences.  The goal for today is to make home as boring as possible.