What does that mean to you? I think it may mean something a little different to everyone. Let me share an example of it that happened to me...
Last month, after our 21st Wedding Anniversay, Kevin informed me that he wanted to take me on a weekend get-a-way. This past weekend, we ran away to Park City, UT. Neither of us had ever been, so it was an adventure.
High in the Wasatch Mountains, surrounded by aspen and pine forested peaks, Park City is picturesque and lovely. We wandered the shops and galleries on Main Street the first afternoon. What amazing art and creativity we saw. Strolling hand-in-hand, we chatted about nothing urgent and enjoyed watching the other tourists who meandered with us.
That night, we went to the "Grub Steak", a wonderful steak house with live entertainment. Again, we talked and talked and talked feasting on a delicious dinner while the singer serenaded us with some of our favorite songs. It was just about perfect.
The next morning, we set out for a leisurely trip home. We went up the mountain behind Park City...right to the top.
Good Night Sweet Angel-girls... I love you!The Window Through Which We Look
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
'That laundry is not very clean,' she said. 'She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.'
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:
'Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this..'
The husband said, 'I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.'
And so it is with life. Often what we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.
I grew up in a military family. That means for the first 15 years of my life, we moved approximately every 3 years. Although I would not trade the experiences of growing up as an "Air Force Brat", it instilled in me some definite likes and dislikes. One of my chief dislikes is "CHANGE". I hate change! I will be the first to admit that I do not handle it well, at all!
Normally, this dislike of change would make being a mommy pretty difficult. However, being the contrary person that I can be... the changes my children go through don't strike me as things to be unhappy about. I'll admit that their milestones sometimes make me wistful and strike me as bittersweet, but not unhappy.
All that being said... As we came to the end of another school year, I realized that we've reached another milestone in our family. This year was Jackie's last year in Elementary school. Next year she will start Jr. High. Next year will also be Amanda's LAST year of Jr. High.
In addition to the school milestones, this year we'll be celebrating some BIRTHDAY milestones. In July, Jackie will be 13...in case that didn't register let me spell it out T-H-I-R-T-E-E-N!!! YIKES!! Officially a teenager!
*pictures courtesy of Kerrianne Burch & Preservation Media*
A few years ago our Church leaders issued a proclamation regarding the family. Part of it talks about the principles upon which our families should be founded... such as: faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities...
We had some unexpected company coming (thanks for visiting, Marie-T. We had a blast!)so we had to work together to get the house in shape. I bribed my kids with the promise of some wholesome recreational activity (a shopping trip and lunch date)in order for us to get all the work done in one day. Here's how it looked from my angle... (Please excuse the quality of the pictures, my camera battery died and I used my cell-phone)
Ah, Windex...my house and I thank you for leading the charge in our battle against dirt, grime, and germs...all with a streak-free shine! Windex, we salute you...
