oh simple things

"I love you quadrillion and 99!" K~, age 7.

Staying up till 1:00am to watch Alias with Z~. Because he got home too late to catch SNL.

First love. The goofy grin on L~'s face when he gets off the phone from talking to the girl he really likes. It gets even goofier when I tell him he likes her and that I think she likes him.

The pre-teen angst in my daughter's voice when she tells me how I love everyone else more than I love her. That she really feels that way doesn't bring me joy, but I am grateful she feels comfortable vocalizing her fears and her sorrows, as well as her joys. I will be mindful to give her the extra attention she seems to need right now.

Snow!

Getting a parking spot on the front row at work every day last week.

My kids: My "baby" who still loves hugs and kisses. My daughter who is a lot of fun to be around and to talk to and who instantly gets how hysterically misguided it is that her Primary teacher gave them all "old lady" fragrances for a Christmas present. My second oldest son who is not afraid of affection even though he is both a male and a teen. My oldest son who is just a really good kid.

December!

The color of the sky on Monday morning.

My daughter calling me "Dude" as she tells me about her day.

Spending an afternoon working on tiny and oh-so-cute quilt blocks with a friend.

And savoring each mouthwatering bite of this, baby!

A simply sinful sweet potato souffle.

Friends and family gathered around my table.

A leftover-turkey sandwich.

A warm sweater; the hint of soon-to-fall snow; shoes, socks or slippers.

An acquaintance of mine who lives in my neighborhood who took the time to elicit from an acquaintance of his seven written pages of memories this man had of my father. My father died when I was 19--that was well over 20 years ago. The man who wrote the memories knew my father from before I was born. The neighbor of mine worked with this man in Brazil recently and, from the goodness in his heart, desired to solicit this beautiful gift and bring it back to me. I in turn now have a wonderful gift with which to surprise my mother, my grandmother and my siblings at Christmas time.

A beautiful Sunday School lesson in which I was reminded to serve not with duty, but with caring and love. I work hard to do that anyway, but I find it much more difficult to accomplish as I get caught up in the crazy busy-ness of my world. The reminder was heartfelt and lovingly expressed and I hope the message will stay with me.

A daughter who will be painfully honest with me about feeling pressure from me to achieve something her brothers achieved when they were her age. It gives me a chance to have that conversation with her in which I reassure her I love her for being who she is and that I only want things for her that I think will make her happy--and my desires for her are in no way related to expectations attached to anyone else. I don't know if she believed me, but at least I got to listen to her heart and give her back piece of my own.

Lorien--of the Lo Down variety, dropping everything for an impromptu shop attack at BBB. Followed by a drive-by Arby's run. That somehow left the Arby's guy with the impression that Lorien and I were personally going to eat all 21 Arby's cheese melts by our little old selves.

Will someone please pass the Horsey...


A gathering of some 20-25 women for a thank-you dinner last night. What brought us together? A beautiful woman named Pam. I was there mostly by default (oh, you're Shane's wife) but the rest of them have been leaving their homes, families, spouses--and their own warm beds--to spend one night a month (sometimes more) at Pam's house. With both her parents gone now, she is all alone. She is pretty independent, but needs someone there at night. This eclectic group of beautiful women has served her so selflessly for months now. I was touched and honored to sit among them. Delighted to get to know them. And thankful for their service to my dear friend.

Being proud of myself that it took almost an entire week for me to finish off my indulgent pint of Sanity.

After I choked down the fact that it cost me $40 to take my mid-sized family to the matinee, I just had a great time this week with my family in an otherwise empty theater, watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D."

Best part--besides being able to laugh out loud and even dance if we wanted to in theater--was watching my 7-year-old reach out his arms and try to grasp the objects he thought were floating towards him.

That was a lot of fun. I think we should do it again sometime. (Well, you know, except for the $40 thing.)

A friend making the most of the some 20 minutes left-after-drive-time I can sneak away for lunch and inviting me to her home on Friday where I met her first grandchild and enjoyed a brief but wonderful visit.

The brilliant fall colors still hanging on despite winter's imminent threat.

A gathering of friends--some new and some long-time--sure breaks up the monotony of the work week.

Cuddling my "baby" and watching him drift off to sleep with a content smile on his face because I have my arms wrapped around him and have just told him how much I love him.

The abundant joy with which my niece Sadie dances. She doesn't just hear the music--she feels it.

Finally taking the time to sit down and have a good visit with my good friend Becky.

Becky inviting me to come to her house to make pies for a class I have to teach on Wednesday (something I usually enjoy, but felt burdened by as my life spins out of control and I find myself desperate for just one night home). It will be less a burden and more a joy to have a little help and share that time with a friend.

Coming home after a long week's work already (yes, it was only Tuesday) to find my boys had taken it upon themselves to go into cleaning mode and had done their best work on the family room, downstairs hallway and the living room upstairs. A little section of order in the chaos that is my life.

My daughter begging to go with me to the grocery store--even though she had lots of homework to complete. "I can work on it anyway," she claimed. So she worked out story problems in the car and leaned over the cart to do some more every time I stopped to grab something off the shelf. I watched her smile and listened to her laugh as she talked to me about various and sundry and often silly things and was silently amused by her efforts to rest her math book in the increasingly full cart and write down her answers as I moved along the aisles. "She's so animated tonight," I thought. We were both content to be together. It was a moment of perfect "dovetailing" and definitely time well spent.