Mother's Love - 8/13

I took my car in for an oil change and ended up staying an hour and twenty minutes (on the dot!) in the waiting room, which was luckily quite comfortable.  A mother was there with her three (!) young boys - one probably about 4 and a pair of 10 month old twins! What a handful!!! But they were all incredibly sweet, really, with the big brother being very good about keeping an eye on at least one twin when mom had to go talk to the service guys a couple different times. 

But the moment that struck me was when she was standing up from her chair, a babe in a front carrier, another in her left arm, and the third child deciding that now was the perfect time to latch onto her back. She simply held them all on her body for a moment, just like that, bearing the weight of these three little ones. And I was struck in that moment by such a visual representation of parental love, particularly a mother's love - one that is self-sacrificing, gentle, and so enveloping. She handled that moment gracefully and with joy. It was just a beautiful thing to witness and hopefully have myself, someday. :)

Chin Up -8/12

By the time I was at work this morning after my regular 30-minute commute, I was ready to write an entire post about my pet peeves, specifically bad, aggressive drivers. I grumbled getting out of the car and started my walk with my eyes down at the sidewalk. But my gaze was drawn to the sky and I stopped in my tracks.

"Chin up," said the voice in my heart. 

Look what I might have missed if I kept in my own head about how upset I was. There is so much glory and beauty in our surroundings, in the people we encounter. If we let the bad drivers bring us down, and believe me - my day was not done with its share of bad drivers - we'll miss the rays of sun breaking through overhead.

August - 8/11

The heavy scent of decaying blackberries, dripping off sun-browned vines,

Humid evenings when the orange glow of the sunset presses around bare skin,

The sudden greying of clouds overhead, bursting with rain in a flash and rumble,

Sweet relief when overcast skies cool the air and lean towards the promise of autumn--

Mid-August.

This Moment

In this moment

We are forever.

The Little I Know

I know very little in this ancient and vast world, full of diverse and complicated lives that collide with one another. But I am convinced that everything happens to us for a reason. Lines can be traced between our decisions, some big, some small, leading to where we are now. And many times when we are most questioning where life has led us, we are simply in the middle of one of those threads of decisions and we just need to keep holding on and pulling forward to find the end we were being led towards all along. 

And at the end of each of those lines is an answer we seek, about ourselves, our pasts, our futures - what to do, where to go, who to be and become. Each of those strings, those answers, over our time on earth, forms the grand tapestry of our life. And all of our individual stories weave together into the larger pattern of existence that is both flawed and beautiful.

There is purpose to your life; the answers will be there, even when it seems like they won't. Stay patient, strong, and true to yourself and surround yourself with people who will help you when you feel like you can't. We are all worthy of such love, for it is the love between us all that weaves our whole world together.

Late

For yesterday!

I can't say whether time

Flies or stops

When I'm with you.

All I know is I lose all sense

Of its passing

As we spend it together.

Nanowrimo!

For the first time since hearing about Nanowrimo, I won't be in school -- meaning I'll be theoretically able to give it a shot in November and write 50,000 words!!

Much excitement. :)