Time Out

I have been in the zone all weekend, pouring all of my energy into a home landscaping project.  The shrubs in front of our c.1867 house are are so overgrown it looks like they haven't been properly maintained since the Lincoln administration.  We've been here two years this month.  Last year we tackled the back yard; this year the front.  I've approached this project with gusto digging and pulling in every spare moment since Friday.  I want my husband to share my enthusiasm for the demolition phase.  He doesn't.  Seems we're both having a problem being patient.  I'm intent on clearing out the old so I can move ahead with tending our new garden and watching it take shape over the coming months and years.  He wants to plant things that look mature and beautiful from day one.  We're clearly products of our "want it, got it" culture. 

We've been so wrapped up in plowing through the project that we haven't taken time to enjoy the process, to appreciate the opportunity to work on it together, and to soak up the warm spring sun.  At least not until now.  Turns out we've got company.  Over half way through "Operation Shrub Pull" I uncovered this little sweetie.  A mother Robin has made her nest in one of our overgrown bushes.  What's an eye sore to us is home sweet home to her and her tiny, baby bird. 

This discovery has really put the brakes on our project.  I can't help but wonder if God has put us in a timeout.  We've been so focused on our task that we've been blind to the beauty that surrounds us.

Time to switch gears.  Our new landscaping will have to wait a few weeks while our family lets nature take its course.  We've put down our shovels, poured some lemonade, and found a seat on the front porch.  After all, these shrubs have been overgrown for years, what's a few more days.

"M" is for the Million Things She Gave Me

It's mother's day, quite possibly my favorite day of the year.  This picture-perfect day came complete with church, fresh flowers, a brunch buffet, a nap, a walk, and plenty of precious gifts, handmade with love by my children.  Bliss.  The only thing that could have made today any better would have been the chance to spend some time with my own mother.

As a little girl, we learned a corny song called "M is for the Million Things She Gave Me" at a church mother-daughter banquet and an off-key tradition was born.  The song goes something like this:

M is for the million things she gave me.
O means only that she's growing old.
T is for the tears she shed to save me.
H is for her heart of purest gold.
E is for her eyes with love light shining.
R means right and right she'll always be. 
Put them all together they spell mother.  The word that means the world to me.

We usually call and sing this song to my mom every mother's day. It's a race to see who can call first.  This year, I had to leave a message so my sister won.  Hopefully writing about it will earn me some extra points.

My mother became a mom when she was barely eighteen years old.  She and my dad moved into a small house located kitty-corner from where her parents still live, in the house where my mom grew up.  She tells about being in her house at night, home alone with me when I was new baby.  She was scared and lonely.  She would look across to her parent's house and want so badly to go home.  But she didn't.  She stuck it out.

As a child I never realized how young my mom was.  I guess having a baby at eighteen makes you grow up fast. I was soon joined by a sister and then a brother.  The three of us meant everything to mom.  She was a natural.  She didn't read parenting books or join a mommy group.  She just seemed to know what to say and do.  I grew up in the care of a mother who was kind, fair, gentle, funny, understanding, patient and strong.  Her loving example remains the heart of our family. 

On her first mother's day, my mom was just a girl.  Today, she is mom to three grown children, all of whom have college degrees and successful, happy lives.  She's also a mother-in-law and a beloved grandma to four grandchildren. 

Growing up, we may not have had everything we wanted but, because of our mom, we had everything we needed - and then some.  It's been a long time since my teen-aged mom looked out her window and yearned to go home. Looking back I hope she knows that her selfless sacrifices on our behalf made all the difference in our lives.  This mother's day, like every other, I'm reminded that "M" is for the million things she gave me - and so much more.

Tomorrow It Could Snow

Last night I was passing through the living room when I heard the weatherman announce, "Tomorrow it could snow."  I'm nearly certain he wasn't trying to be prophetic, standing there on the weather deck, but his words struck me.  Try as he (and we) may, we can't really forecast the future.   As an unwittingly wise man once said, "Tomorrow it could snow."  Celebrate what's sunny in your life at this very moment.

You-Turn

Have you ever been traveling along in life and think to yourself, “Did I miss my exit? How did I get here?” I have. I’m going through a mini life transition right now and it’s given me pause to be both reflective and forward thinking.

Frequent readers and friends know that I am the mother of four young children and we’ve just come through “birthday month.” In our little family, there are four birthdays in one month causing cake consumption and introspection to spike dramatically.

With every passing year, birthday month seems to come faster and faster. It reminds me (in a way that is not unlike having a cold glass of water thrown in your face) that time is marching along at a pretty good clip. Life is a fast ride and when you come to a place where you need to make a lane change, you better be ready.

This year, the baby turned one. The last baby. Nine years ago I made the lane change from successful, quick-climbing career woman to mostly stay-at-home mom. Since then, having babies and parenting them has been the focus of this most beautiful and busy stage of my life. In nine years I’ve had four (difficult) pregnancies – think feeding tubes, one miscarriage, and nursed for a total of more than four years. My focus has been clear. Then, all of a sudden, birthday month happened. Now the baby is one, my breasts have officially retired (they aren’t moving to Naples, but sadly, they have headed south) and our family is complete.

Enter transition.

I barely remember the fresh-faced, newly married, childless professional woman from days gone by.  Three of my four children are in school and the baby toddler is growing quickly. It’s another new stage for all of us. What will that mean for me?

A few years ago I took a six-month, very part-time gig at our church filling in for a friend whose husband had taken an international job assignment. It wasn’t supposed to last or lead to anything. In fact, it wasn’t even supposed to register on my life plan. Guess what? I’m still here, just in a different capacity. Guess what else? It’s opened up a whole new side of me and I find myself asking, “How on Earth did I get here?” I’m developing programming, being published in devotionals, facilitating retreats and being fueled by a really cool energy. It’s as if a whole new world of possibility has jumped up and shouted, “Surprise!” It makes me wonder if going off track has led me onto the right path.

Yesterday, my friend, a business psychologist, asked me to help her prepare for an upcoming coaching session by being her guinea pig for a strengths assessment tool. What she didn’t realize was that her “favor” was more like an answer to my prayers. This is exactly what I need at exactly the right time. Maybe it’s the right time for you, too.

Identifying our strengths is a good idea. Honestly assessing what we're good at, what feeds our soul, and how we can incorporate those things into our lives is good spiritual housekeeping. As women, we are usually aware of how we present our physical self to the world and, when things change, we adjust our strategy. We get our haircut, do something about our waistlines, and slather cream on our wrinkles. Are we as mindful of our spiritual self? When things change do we adjust our strategy? Do we ask the tough questions, consider what brings us joy, learn from our past, and keep an eye on a meaningful and purposeful future path - wherever it might lead?

If we’re blessed enough to travel through life for awhile, eventually we all come to a fork in the road. When we do, let’s look both ways, embrace where we’ve been, be optimistic about where we’re going, and try to learn something new about ourselves at every turn.