bits of sunshine

forty-one

yesterday was my forty-first birthday.

and when the alarm went off, i rolled over and sleepily said to ben, "let's just all stay home."  and he said, "do you want to?"  and i said,"yes. yes, i do." 

i peeled myself out of bed, put on a hoodie, and climbed the stairs. 

i opened maddie's door and said, "you can turn off your alarm and sleep as long as you want to." and tired joy filled her words, "thanks, mom."  i took a content deep breath and closed her door.

then i opened isaac's door and said the same. and he said, incredulus through his sleepy fog, "why?!" "because," i replied, "it's my birthday."  and as he rolled over, "thank you."  i smiled and my contentment settled deeper in my being. 

back downstairs, i emailed my boss and the kids' attendance line {it's my birthday. we are all staying home together today.}.  and i crawled in next to ben, back-to-back, in the warm cacoon of blankets and arms and legs.  i closed my eyes, pictured both of my tall, beautiful, muzzy kids, sleeping in their jumbles of pillows and covers, touched my husband, breathed in deeply, grounded, all four of us home together, and drifted back to sleep.

in the grey mid-morning, i drank coffee and read so many lovely messages and texts. i was showered with happy wishes. late in the slow morning, ben and i did a few chores - just because we could.  maddie and isaac slept until they woke up. we ate together. and we all went to walk by the yellowstone river and throw rocks and pick up big sticks and take selfies - we made the most of the very grey day.

there were birthday cards in the mail and birthday cards and balloons and birthday treats and flowers from my kids - gluten free peanut butter filled pretzels and chocolate.  and in the last few days, a new jacket and leggins from ben.  my friend ashley brought me a happy new plant pot, so i repotted four plants - because one new pot means that other plants need to be moved and talked to and encouraged aslo.  and then there was a little bit of rearranging of knick-knacks so the new plant would have a good home.

and later still, maddie and i chopped up all the things for fresh pico, and ben grilled the carne asada that he had been marinating since the day before, and isaac was working on a project so he was in and out of the garage.

and just as ben finished grilling the meat, brandon and jenna showed up with more flowers and some gifts from their trip.  and we ate all of the goodness of street tacos all together and talked and laughed.  and when we were all six as full as we wanted to be, we got out the pound cake and strawberries and coffee.  they sang happy birthday to me.  i know i was beaming.  and then i opened the package of gluten free oreos that brandon and jenna brought for me - and if you have anyone in your life who has to eat gluten free - buy these oreos for them!  they are really adn truly just like the real thing!  and then jenna said i should dip one in my coffee - and oh! my!  if you like coffee and you like oreoes, dip an oreo in your coffee.  and then thank jenna.  then ben decided that i should eat an oreo piled with strawberries - and well, that is pretty wonderful, too.  and we just kept laughing and enjoying.  

and finally, after hugs all around, and a bit of clean-up, after brandon and jenna headed out, as we were heading off to bed, i decided that this birthday had certainly been a wonderful one.  a very, very good day.  

 

the "first" thanksgiving

often the study of history is like pulling on a thread: some detail catches your attention and leads to something else, another detail.  a narrative slowly unraveling, slowly revealing something behind it, something hidden or forgotten.  - errol morris

pulling on a thread . . .  when we were still living in minnesota, ben worked with a many who had a large forearm tattoo.  a tattoo of 38 hanging men.  of course ben asked him about it.  and he told ben some minnesota history that neither of us had ever heard before.  he told ben about the hanging at mankato in 1862.  when ben told me about this piece of history, he and i did some research and later watched a documentary of a memorial ride from lower brule, south dakota, to manakto, minnesota.  this was a detail that caught my attention.  and over the years, this narrative is slowly unraveling for me.  i choose to continue to pull gently on the thread, to examine parts of this story. 

last fall, i did an exercise in which i researched answers to these questions {what native american tribes historically lived in montana? what tribe's historical homeland do i live on? how many native nations are in the united states? what are reservations and why do they exist? name 10 living native american celebrities, acitivists, and/or political leaders.}  this was very eye-opening and i recommend that you think about doing this same exercise.

also last fall a friend had posted this link {decolonizing thanksgiving} on her facebook - through which i found this article {deconstructing the myths of the "first thanksgiving"}.  ever the unraveling thread.  

a few of the myths that particularly struck me:

myth #1: "the first thanksgiving" occurred in 1621.  fact: no one knows when the "first" thanksgiving occurred. people have been giving thanks for as long as people have existed. indigenous nations all over the world have celebrations of the harvest that come from very old traditions; for native peoples, thanksgiving comes not once a year, but every day, for all the gifts of life.

myth #3: the colonists came seeking freedom of religion in a new land.  fact: the colonists were not just innocent refugees from religious persecution. by 1620, hundreds of native people had already been to england and back, most as captives; so the plymouth colonists knew full well that the land they were settling on was inhabited. nevertheless, their belief system taught them that any land that was "unimproved" was "wild" and theirs for the taking; that the people who lived there were roving heathens with no right to the land. both the separatists and puritans were rigid fundamentalists who came here fully intending to take the land away from its native inhabitants and establish a new nation, their "holy kingdom." the plymouth colonists were never concerned with "freedom of religion" for anyone but themselves. 

myth #10: the pilgrims and indians became great friends.  fact: a mere generation later, the balance of power had shifted so enormously and the theft of land by the european settlers had become so egregious that the wampanoag were forced into battle. In 1637, english soldiers massacred some 700 pequot men, women and children at mystic fort, burning many of them alive in their homes and shooting those who fled. the colony of connecticut and massachusetts bay colony observed a day of thanksgiving commemorating the massacre. by 1675, there were some 50,000 colonists in the place they had named "new england." that year, metacom, a son of massasoit, one of the first whose generosity had saved the lives of the starving settlers, led a rebellion against them. by the end of the conflict known as "king philip's war," most of the indian peoples of the northeast region had been either completely wiped out, sold into slavery, or had fled for safety into canada. shortly after metacom's death, plymouth colony declared a day of thanksgiving for the english victory over the indians. 

i am not anti-thanksgiving.  i am all for a day that reminds people to focus on the good, to get together with the people they love, to list gratitudes, to focus on thankfulness.  but, if we are going to talk about the history of thanksgiving as a holiday, let's tell it truthfully.  

beginning with george washington, some presidents called for a day of thanksgiving to be observed, some did not.  in 1863, then-president abraham lincoln proclaimed that the fourth thursday in november would be set side as a day of thanksgiving and praise.  and so we have our holiday.  

as for me, i'll probably read the article about thanksgiving myths to my kids and husband  and see what conversation that sparks.  and, this fourth thursday in november, i'll be with some family and some dear friends, laughing, counting gratitudes, catching up, playing games, and probably eating too much of a variety of food (especially pie).

and my wish for you?  that you, too, find threads of history that catch your attention, that you carefully pull the thread and learn from the unraveling, that you are not content with the stories you have been taught, but that you set out to uncover and learn and pass on truth.  

go gently, love fiercely, and be wonderful.

love, e

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

of further interest :

strong resilient indigenous 

through her native eyes

gregg deal

indigenous in plain sight

indigenous women have been disappearing

 

taste of summer

let me tell you about this summer
or maybe i want to tell myself so that i don't forget
some of what has been encompassed
in this summer of change
in this summer of settling
in this summer of growing

these words .:: change, settling, growing ::.  are definitely the framework for this summer

change: ben applied and was selected for a new position in june.  he is now a station manager, a fire operations supervisor.  he is based an hour from home - not two and a half or almost three.  maddie and isaac both had jobs this summer.  regularly scheduled jobs.  they also both have a favorite person to work out relating to and spending time with.  they are fourteen-and-a-half and almost-sixteen and will both be in high school this fall.  oh wow.  oh wow. 

{side trail.  when you have babies and toddlers, everyone tells you how fast your time with your kids goes/will go.  you vaguely believe them because you remember growing up and it doesn't seem like you lived with your mom and dad all that long - especially the older you get.  the older you get, the less of your life you spent under your parents' roof, so you kind of get what they are all saying.  but this.  this right here.  getting one set for ninth grade and one for tenth.  this makes it feel like it is all going fast.  really fast.  these tall, beautiful, wonderful people who hug me and make me feel small, who i love to talk with and listen to and laugh with.  there are all the ways they are growing and changing and becoming.   the having to say freshman and sophomore.  goodness, this all makes me feel the fastness, the speed, makes me believe them - the ones who say the things about time going fast.  it goes really fast.}

also - dramatic change for me - this is the first summer ever, in my whole life, that i have had an eight to five, monday through friday job.  while i appreciate the steadiness, the salary, the permanence, this is a strange, new situation for me, and i am learning how to function without a fluctuating schedule and without working on an as-needed basis.  my schedule doesn't vary from week to week.  i am not waiting for a phone call to know if i am needed for work the next day.  in some ways, i miss being the fill-in, the save-the-day, but in a lot of ways, i am also so very grateful that my position won't change this fall or this winter or in the spring.  i get to continue settling.

settling:  we are doing a lot of settling.  even with all the changing.  i have been repainting some rooms in our house, and touching up other worn places on the walls.  we got a few pieces of furniture and some rugs to make the kids' rooms even more comfortable.  a new mattress for isaac will really make his room feel complete.  we have slowly picked away at finding furniture that fits in each room of our house.  the guest room is very cozy and comfortable.  we have had many, many guests stay with us on their way through from east to west or west to east.  i love that we have a place to offer, a comfortable bed, a place to relax and have a meal.  this winter, ben built in a tv and game shelf in the den and we found a great sectional for that space.  i just ordered a new table and chairs for the kitchen that should work well and replace the hodgepodge we have going on in the corner of the kitchen right now.  on saturday, ben and i made a run for a craigs-list couch, and it was just exactly the right one for our living room.  i need to paint the stairwell, and then, the only painting left to do is the outside of the house.  we have a few more ideas for projects we would like to keep picking away at as we continue to settle into our house. 

we are settling with people.  we each have some good friends, people that we have connected with.  maddie and isaac have found their sports and activities, their youth group and their bible study group.  we are figuring out how we do life with the nature of ben's job, and as he settles into this new position, we will get to the point where we know what to expect more often than not.  that will be a wonderful settled feeling.  and we are all in positions where we are thriving and growing.   

growing: mainly isaac.  he's taller than me now and definitely not slowing down.  maddie has been taller than me for about two years now.  and she has been growing her hair longer again.  we have all grown our knowledge base in our jobs and with books we have read and studies we are doing this summer. 

then there are the hollyhocks.  hollyhocks between the sketchy neighbors' house and ours.  hollyhocks that are red and white and peach and magenta and pink.  hollyhocks that grew taller than the house, that filled in the view for these summer months.  hollyhocks that i hope will grow again next summer.  and we should be here to see them.  because we are settling.  staying.  doing our changing in this place. 

 

a rambling 39th birthday post for my very best friend

today. november 30. this is right up there with the very best day ever. because today is ben's birthday. today is the day, 39 years ago, that my very best friend was born. holy smokes! i love him so!! i know he's not too sure about this adding numbers to his age thing, but it's ineveitable, babe - time passes, and years are added, and we keep doing this wild ride together! i don't ever want to know what it would be like to not be adding to the years with you. i'm so grateful for every minute, day, and year with you! 

i was looking back over my blog, and found that i haven't always written ben a birthday post.  i haven't always been able to buy the birthday presents i'd like to buy for him. life is crazy and hard, but it's wonderful and is so, so much better because ben and i get to do it together.  

17 years ago, we were newly married and i wanted to do something nice for ben's birthday.  before our wedding, he had been saying that it was silly that the bride-to-be gets all the parties and gifts. for every bridal shower, there should be a groom's bath. so, for his birthday, i bought a couple sets of tools and wrapped each screwdriver and wrench and hammer separately, in LOTS of paper, and filled the tub with a toolbox and all these individually wrapped tools. then i hung a happy birthday banner over the tub. so, when he got home from work and headed to the bathroom, there was his birthday bath. 

i have gotten to celebrate 17 of ben's 39 birthdays with him - it will be a pretty amazing thing when i can say that i have celebrated half of his birthdays with him! we'll have to keep adding to the years, to the number, for that to happen. {winking at you and and nudging you, babe.} there is good - lots of good - in adding to the years. we'll keep filling the years with more and more good. keep adding good things, one at a time, until that's all there is room for. 

ben, you're the best person i know.  in so many ways.  no one else that i know loves more fiercely, speaks more sincerely, forgives more freely, hugs more tightly, acts with more integrity, works more wisely, problem-solves with more tenacity, or enjoys hobbies and fun and leisure with more peace of heart. 

ben, i can't think of you without thinking of the gift you are to me. i am blessed beyond measure to be your woman, your wife, your best friend, your co-parent (to the two wonderful kiddos we we made together and to as many kids as stop and stay under our roof), your sassy, your soft, your person.

and i am so grateful for you, my man, my husband, my best friend, my co-parent (the one who finds ways to say things to the kids that i would make a mess of), my calm, my rock, my person.

happy birthday, my love!  happy, happy birthday.

steer clear of the crazy

some tips for enjoying the season - because thanksgiving and then all of the december holidays and celebrations  - and this should be all sorts of wonderful, but sometimes, it's all sorts of overwhelming.  so, here is a little list of things that i think might help bring calm and joy ::

• wear slippers. choose one day to wear slippers all. day. long.
• drink coffee or tea - for the warmth, for the flavor, for the experience.
• drink lots of water.  stay hydrated.  your skin and your mind will thank you.
• and while we are on the subject of what to drink, if you feel a scratchy throat, or sinus pressure, or body aches coming on, mix a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon or two of honey into a cup of hot water and sip - you will boost your immune system and soothe your throat.
• eat cookies - but also, listen when your body tells you it has had enough sweets.
• eat lots of vegetables.
• go outside, look at the sky, take deep breaths.
• play outside.  run, sled, skate, hike, rest awhile in a sunny spot.
• do what you can today.  let some things go.
• today is a good day for joy.
• be kind. for no good reason.  for every good reason.  kindness is an end in and of itself.  except - it doesn't end.
• do the holidays your way.  you aren't anybody else. 
• get a good idea from instagram or pinterest or a blog and use it because it adds to your way and brings you joy.
• know that others are doing the best they can.  sometimes that doesn't look like much, and sometimes it looks like too much.
• sometimes (often?), less is more.
• twinkle lights are delightful all year round.
• go gently, love fiercely, and be wonderful.

love to you, dear friends!  ~e

on aging

seems like every year, the week or so before my birthday, i find myself in a reflective mood.  so, here are some of my it's-almost-my-birthday thoughts.  also, my isaac-boy thinks it's pretty funny to remind me that i am almost 40.  and both maddie and isaac go back and forth between laughing about that ben and i are getting "old" and laughing about that ben and i don't act old at all.  last night, isaac told me that i won't be old until i break a hip or something, because that happens to old people.  so - hopefully, if that's the aging standard, i never grow old!

often, i don't feel my age.  what is 38 (on thursday) heading toward 40 anyway?  

some time ago, one night when i curled up in bed, on my side, legs tucked up, back pressed against ben, like usual, i looked up, out our window at all the stars shining so brightly, so beautifully in the dark sky.  i found orion's belt, in the south eastern sky, and thought how i like sleeping under the pathway that orion, the strong warrior, takes through the night.  

i also felt distinctly like a little kid.  

but i am married; i have been for more than 16 years.  and i have a 14-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son.  how is this possible?  how am i old enough for all of this?

i rested there.  and felt all sorts of silly and strange and happy and thoughtful.  

i still sit on the ground and the floor like a little kid.  now though, if i sit too long, my legs start to go a little tingly.  

i love to ride my bike.  and i love to jump into a lake - make a big splash.  but it takes a lot more encouraging myself to take that leap.  once i've done it, though, i'll jump over and over again.  i love to grab a sled, make a run for it, and go flying down a snow-covered hill. 

i am a funny juxtaposition of young and old, of skip across a parking lot and find all of the goodness in an old hymn, of hunker down with a children's book and read aloud with all the voices and pull an ancient text off the shelf and savor all of the rich old words.

there was a period in my life when i felt old.  much older than my calendar age.  there was lots of life and living, good and hard, beautiful and lonely, times that stretched me, times that i grew through rather than allowing myself to give up.  ben and i married at twenty-one.  lots of people told us that was too young.  we had babies at twenty-three and twenty-five.  working different jobs and moving through different living situations and making business decisions and navigating family relationships and schooling for ourselves and our children and parenting and being a spouse and finding time to play and time to rest and growing and facilitating counseling and leading small groups and all of the pieces of living, well, in some ways, we crammed may years worth of living into just a few short ones.  and in some ways, all of this living aged me, aged my spirit, aged my soul. there is a timbre and a quality to life, though, that comes from circumstances walked through and mercy received and sacrifice made gracefully. 

there is a softness to skin that is slightly wrinkled, that has had to give way for babies to grow, that is feeling the effects of 38 years worth of gravity, that has soaked up sun and fought off chill, that has been shared in the grasping of a hand, in the hugging of a friend, in the comforting of an infant, in the caressing of another, in the loving of a spouse.  some of the skin has been cut or scraped, left ragged or stitched up.  all of the skin tells story, speaks life.

there is a twinkle in the eye that has learned how to look, what to see, what to enjoy, what to be grateful for.

there is peace in a heart that has learned what to hang onto, what to ponder, what to forgive and grasp lightly.  {i don't believe that painful things really can be or should be forgotten, but there can be peace and rest in knowing that what another meant for harm or selfishness, for hurt and shame, God wants to use all of that for good; those circumstances can create depth of character and can quietly offer healing to many souls.}

there is something pretty wonderful about having a spouse and kids and friends and parents who have grown to know me well, who know just what word or bit of snail mail or gift or outing or adventure or peaceful moment will make my heart overflow.  and something wonderful about knowing them, too, and knowing all these ways to bring them joy.

i am much closer to 40 than to 30 now.  and really, that is fine and good.  i am grateful that i {mostly} feel young.  i will not mind the silver hair that is bound to come {my mom has beautiful silver-white hair, and, with joy, i'm finding a few of these hairs sprinkled throughout my pixie-cut}; i will not mind the wrinkles and the changes; i am finding the good in the lessons i've learned, the experiences i have had and continue to live, the time to love and be loved, the time to find the good and count gratitudes and share bit of sunshine, the chances to bear witness and speak blessing, embracing this life i have been given.

i am so grateful for you, friends. may our years be filled with joy-experiencing and joy-sharing, so that no matter the number of our days, each one will be filled to overflowing with good. 

and may we all go gently, love fiercely, and be wonderful.  

xoxo, e

p.s. some links i've saved for reading and watching that you may enjoy, too :: 

what 36 looks like

famous women talk about aging

some of the most beautiful ladies talk about just being

lovely, fun, quirky, amazing 100-year-old women talk about beauty, style, love, loving what you do, happiness, and being best friends,

 

 

the best day

today is the best day. the very best day. because today, 38 years ago, my very best friend was born.

he's the best person i know.  in so many ways.  no one else that i know loves more fiercely, speaks more sincerely, forgives more freely, hugs more tightly, acts with more integrity, works more wisely, problem-solves with more tenacity, or enjoys his hobbies and fun and leisure with more peace of heart. 

ben, i am blessed beyond measure to be your woman, your wife, your best friend, your co-parent (to two of the best kids there are), your sassy, your soft, your person.

and i am so grateful for you, my man, my husband, my best friend, my co-parent (the one who teaches the kids how to drive and finds ways to say things to them that i would make a mess of), my calm, my rock, my person.

happy birthday, my love!  happy, happy birthday.

 

decking the halls :: merry and bright

{little bits of christmas here and there}

one night in early november (or was it even back in october?), ben said to me, "we should put up the christmas tree and decorate on thanksgiving night, after the kids go to bed, and then have christmas with them on friday morning."  at first i wasn't sure what to think of that.  that's so early for christmas!  but, ben reminded me, the kids had really missed having christmas in our house last year.  we didn't decorate our house last year because i was teaching and we were planning to be in minnesota over christmas.  i didn't want to decorate so we could leave and then come home and have to put it all away.  ben thought that if we decorated thanksgiving night, we'd get to enjoy our decorations for a month before we head to minnesota once again.  our home would feel festive.  and we'd have decorating company - ben's brother and his wife had been planning to join us for thanksgiving week, and wouldn't it be fun to have a little bit of christmas with them, too.

the idea grew on me.  ben and i decided on a small gift list for each kiddo and got their things ordered.  i remembered decorating for christmas at the end of november one other year, with two dear friends who were visiting us.  and i thought - we need to do for our family, in our own house, the things that will make this season festive and joyful.

{decorating in late november 2011 with friends}

then, another great ben idea.  we were on our anniversary get-away, and he thought of picking up goody bags for each of the six of us for our "christmas" morning.  so, he and i went to target {late one evening}, put six gift bags in our cart, and walked the christmas candy aisles, putting things that we knew each person likes in the bag we had picked for that person.  what fun!! 

fast forward to thanksgiving day.  it was a beautiful day spent with dear friends and ben's brother and his wife.  there were ten of us and so much good food and so much laughter and so much joy.  {and all day long, i knew we were going to surprise the kids with christmas!}  

{sunwashed thanksgiving feasting}

that night, we got the kids into bed and the four of us set to work.  we turned on some christmas music, andrea and i started to bring things up from the basement, ben and jake set to work putting the tree together and stringing lights, and we decked the halls.

it was even better than i would have guessed to have jake and andrea decorating with us.  their presence added a fun energy to our unpacking of memories and making new memories. 

{everything ready for a morning surprise}

and in the morning? oh, in the morning!

when isaac came down the stairs, his face registered disbelief and then pure awe and overflowing joy.

{remember zoe? she came with jake and andrea to visit us.}

and then maddie came down.  and i'm quite certain that she (almost) cried.  ben was close to the stairs and she just buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms tight around him.

we all enjoyed sipping coffee and eating apple-pie bars for breakfast, sitting around the christmas tree, in the sunlight, with christmas music and joy playing through the air, making all merry and bright. 

then we let the kids open their presents.  another surprise! 

and moved on over to the table, for more coffee and the bags of treats that ben and i had put together.

we unpacked treats and laughed and sampled candies and traded and tasted.  and it all felt very merry indeed.

i hope that you are all finding the moments of merry and bright in your december.  i hope that you do the decking of halls that you need to do for you and your family, in your time and your way. 

happy christmas, my friends.  and happiest moments of celebration. 

with love, e

advent thoughts :: merry and bright

sunlight through the windows as i worked on lesson planning.

this advent season has been different for us again. of course.

i am doing december as a teacher. that encompasses all kinds of shenanigans. parties and programs and secret santas and such. we had our program at school last thursday evening. it went well and was very festive and fun. maddie and isaac played a trio with their band teacher. their music was wonderful!

and they played again at the main county school last night. and they'll play again at the other country school in the county on thursday evening.

i've been incorporating december poetry and favorite christmas stories into our mornings and our language arts studies. this part of teaching is my favorite. i love sharing words and stories and ideas that strike a chord with me. i love watching my class, diverse as it is, get into reading a story, get into writing their words and thoughts, get a math concept, see the connection between the book we are reading aloud for fun and the study of where all it is taking place on the map. and while we have the maps pulled down and the globe out, let's see where these countries are in relation to each other. and in relation to us. and wow! russia is big! and it's on two continents! but the ussr was really, really big! and now, this is some history, too.

and as i look at the countries of the world, and think about the little bit that i know about what is happening now, and as i listen to my own kids and my other two students, i know that the reality of advent, the waiting for the light of the world to come and to dispel shadows with his great might and love, i know that i am living in advent. i am waiting for the arrival. and while i wait, i will do my best to shine with his light. to share joy. even when my flesh is weak. i have a safe and comfortable bed in which to rest my weary body. not a bed of hay. not a pile of rubble. not a refugee tent. always, joy and light come with the practice of gratitude.

this advent, the light is coming to me in the beautiful skies of early morning and midday and as evening falls in brilliant colors. i light candles. we have two strands of lights in our living room. no tree this year. the first year since ben and i have been married that we haven't put up a tree. but our home still feels festive. there is no snow on the ground, yet we are still merry and bright.

we are in this new place. this new town. this new state. nine hours of driving to our closest family members. so this year, we will drive. drive to my parents. drive to ben's parents. drive to our siblings' homes. drive and drive. and visit and hug and see and connect. and drive some more. two full weeks of goodness. two full weeks of not our usual christmas time. i have had mixed emotions about this. about not putting up a tree, about not being in our own home for any of the days surrounding christmas. but really, my home is wherever the four of us are together. and everyone we visit will have a tree and all the trimmings. and i am really looking forward to driving off, car full of little gifts for our family, just embarking on a little adventure.

i hope that this advent season is merry and bright and full of goodness for you, my friends.

go gently and be wonderful.
~e

a glimpse in a box

one day last week, there was a box outside my door when i ran home for lunch. i opened it just enough to see that it was packed full of goodness.  too much to enjoy in the few minutes i had right then.

for the rest of the afternoon at work, i knew that box was waiting for me.  when i returned home, i took it out in the sunshine and slowly worked my way through each wonderful bit. 

inside i found music and drawings and words and zippers and coloring and scents and more words and stories and thoughts and love. 

i sat and soaked the warm sunshine in through my skin and soaked all kinds of love and bits of my friend's life in through my eyes and my hands and my heart. 

i took one bit to work with me the next day.  good, good words - lettered and framed with love. 

be at peace once more, oh my soul
for the LORD has been good to you
for you, oh LORD, have delivered
my soul from death
my eyes from tears
my feet from stumbling
that i may walk in the land of the living
psalm 116:7-8

 

what a lovely gift.  a box filled with a glimpse of her life. 
a box filled with sunshine, ribbons, wrapping and joy. 
thank you, dear e.  thank you.