My Father's Daughter

Another Five Minute Friday, on a Saturday, writing for five minutes for just the beauty of it. Want to join in? Come on over here  and meet this great community. Connect Go: I'm wondering what it's like for my kids: living a connected life where the pieces fit together and don't have to separate into mom's house and dad's house and small little compartments with neat little labels lasting 47 minutes each. I'm wondering if they will ever understand how different it could be. How different it was for their big brother.  I'm wondering if it really is just now, this minute, that I'm realizing that what I missed for most of my life was having a connected life. I had school me, and home me and after leukemia turned up, I had hospital me. I had my-house me and dad's-house me, the me I shared with my friends and the me I created for the boy friends. Then there was the me I was in my own head: the me who tried to write but usually wound up laughing...

I think that it must be true with most things for most people, that walking, doing, growing along side of another gives added meaning to the journey. This summer we had big plans to explore some subjects together. Or I should say I had big plans. But we know what they say of the best laid schemes of mice and men... Instead of ticking off to-do lists and lesson plans, mostly this summer we just enjoyed the sun. My husband spent more time than was expected with us so we took advantage and hit the beach and the pool, family style. Often. It's been a fun summer, filled all up with just what summer should be: salt water, sun-kissed cheeks, playing with friends and cousins. And we still have a few weeks to go.  What we did make time to explore was learning Hebrew and reading the Bible. So far we've made it through the Hebrew aleph-bet. We quiz each other with flash cards. It makes it fun. We've tackled the bible in a few different ways, but I just couldn't find something ...

Some of my Gifts~C ounting in July . Summer all full of grace and thanks. Counting 3 gifts a day with a prompt. 3 gifts loved 544. These boys as they light up when they see me walk in the door 545. this life I've been given 546. me~how God is always good and I am always loved. 3 gifts read 547. The Great Divorce 548. Psalm 103 549. this post about "those boys"~just what I needed to hear 3 gifts water 565. running water right in my kitchen 566. a hose to water our garden 567. the Living Water and because of Him I never have to thirst again 3 gifts in Jars 574. this real maple syrup 575. these marbles making me smile~my boys and their collections 576. homemade jelly, strawberry and blackberry a gift of life, growth and decline 577. this honeysuckle bush big and sweet smelling 578. these new branches all wild and everywhere 579. the old blooms starting to shrivel and fall 3 gifts curled 580. boys curled up next to me as I read to them 581. karat...

Five minute Friday (except it's Saturday) w here a beautiful crowd spends five minutes all writing on the same topic and then sharing ‘em over here . Here: Go I'm learning something. I'm learning to be present. Here. I'm learning to be all in this moment. Not distracted by what's undone or what isn't right but all here wrapped up in the glory of now. Late for work but I don't worry. I laugh and smile big as my 9 year old runs next to my car for a very long block. He's blowing a lip shaped noise mker as he runs. He's looking so silly. He's still such a boy and yet so tall and I slow the car and go at his pace and I think how I'll always remember this wild smile on him. And if I was in a rush I would have waved and kept going. But I didn't. I chose to be right here . All in. We just got back from the beach (again) and there were so many moments, moments I usually wish away so we can get on with the real living, but these mome...