Summertime Treasures
Here I am, looking for my most recent blog entry, looking for "July" to show up in the archives and, guess what? No July! Where did it go? Oops. My last post was way back on June 30th. How time flies!
It's been a busy week, a typical week for early July. I've been rushing to accomplish my summer list before we start back to school again in six short weeks. But life just seems to get in the way. You know, things like Fourth of July celebrations, dentist appointments, cooking, laundry, gardening, and transporting kids wherever they need to go--and running that dishwasher over and over. It's astounding how fast those dirty dishes accumulate when all four of us are home for three meals every day.
I treasure my summers. Even though I love teaching, I look forward to the change in routine that summer brings, for a chance to spend more time with my family and catch up with home projects that were placed on hold during the school year. I love to be outside in the yard, pulling those relentless weeds, babying new plantings, and making mulch from all those branches that fall out of our trees whenever the wind blows. I love to gaze at the goldfish skittering in and out of the sunlight, just under the pond's surface. (Victoria counted seventeen fish the other day but, who knows? There might be a few new babies hiding in the reeds.)
I love spending a little extra time with my seventeen-month-old grandson, catching a glimpse of life through his awestruck eyes. Did you know that it is possible to stack eight small books into his tractor's bucket, and move them across the floor slowly until they eventually topple? And do you remember how much fun it is to stack those same books in the same loader over and over again?
I look forward to the Bible study I have time to attend during these summer months. I relish the time I can spend alone in my bedroom, door shut, reading or playing my guitar and singing praise to God, and rejoicing that I can actually play the guitar this summer, sometimes for more than half an hour before my arthritic fingers start to rebel.
Of course, some summer time activities are not really fun. Since we are all home so much, the house just doesn't stay clean. I could do without the extra housecleaning--or, perhaps I should say supervising, since one of my summer goals is to turn my youngest children into passable house cleaners. We are making progress, slowly. And I am certainly not looking forward to cleaning the basement, but it has to be done this week. It's time to get rid of our kitchen remodeling discards, which are now cluttering up the basement. Does anyone need an outdated kitchen sink? That's the one thing the auction house won't take.
I think that the biggest blessing this summer is reflected in the new and improved attitudes of my children. Victoria is smiling and conversing like she used to, years ago, and Levi has not been talking back! I'm almost holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then, I remind myself that so many people have been praying for us this summer, and that God promises to hear our prayers. Thanks, all of you who have been praying! Your prayers mean more than you can imagine.
I wonder what the next week will bring. Majestic thunderstorms, hollyhocks in full bloom, a clean basement, an ultrasound picture of our newest grandchild--I'm eagerly anticipating all of these summertime treasures. No, I'm not ready to get back to school just yet. I'm hoping that July will last for a very long time this year.
It's been a busy week, a typical week for early July. I've been rushing to accomplish my summer list before we start back to school again in six short weeks. But life just seems to get in the way. You know, things like Fourth of July celebrations, dentist appointments, cooking, laundry, gardening, and transporting kids wherever they need to go--and running that dishwasher over and over. It's astounding how fast those dirty dishes accumulate when all four of us are home for three meals every day.
I treasure my summers. Even though I love teaching, I look forward to the change in routine that summer brings, for a chance to spend more time with my family and catch up with home projects that were placed on hold during the school year. I love to be outside in the yard, pulling those relentless weeds, babying new plantings, and making mulch from all those branches that fall out of our trees whenever the wind blows. I love to gaze at the goldfish skittering in and out of the sunlight, just under the pond's surface. (Victoria counted seventeen fish the other day but, who knows? There might be a few new babies hiding in the reeds.)
I love spending a little extra time with my seventeen-month-old grandson, catching a glimpse of life through his awestruck eyes. Did you know that it is possible to stack eight small books into his tractor's bucket, and move them across the floor slowly until they eventually topple? And do you remember how much fun it is to stack those same books in the same loader over and over again?
I look forward to the Bible study I have time to attend during these summer months. I relish the time I can spend alone in my bedroom, door shut, reading or playing my guitar and singing praise to God, and rejoicing that I can actually play the guitar this summer, sometimes for more than half an hour before my arthritic fingers start to rebel.
Of course, some summer time activities are not really fun. Since we are all home so much, the house just doesn't stay clean. I could do without the extra housecleaning--or, perhaps I should say supervising, since one of my summer goals is to turn my youngest children into passable house cleaners. We are making progress, slowly. And I am certainly not looking forward to cleaning the basement, but it has to be done this week. It's time to get rid of our kitchen remodeling discards, which are now cluttering up the basement. Does anyone need an outdated kitchen sink? That's the one thing the auction house won't take.
I think that the biggest blessing this summer is reflected in the new and improved attitudes of my children. Victoria is smiling and conversing like she used to, years ago, and Levi has not been talking back! I'm almost holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then, I remind myself that so many people have been praying for us this summer, and that God promises to hear our prayers. Thanks, all of you who have been praying! Your prayers mean more than you can imagine.
I wonder what the next week will bring. Majestic thunderstorms, hollyhocks in full bloom, a clean basement, an ultrasound picture of our newest grandchild--I'm eagerly anticipating all of these summertime treasures. No, I'm not ready to get back to school just yet. I'm hoping that July will last for a very long time this year.
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