Category Archives: Life

Life, Memories, Writing

.. the best gift..

Leave a comment

Last night we sat in the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree during the last moments of New Year’s Day. The last moments of the holiday week.

Knowing that I should be a responsible human this week and take down my Christmas decorations, I sat back and enjoyed the beautiful glow while I still could.

Looking off to my left, I saw the cat peacefully slumped on his perch.. also staring at the tree. The writer part of my brain instantly started a narrative… A story of how this cat was sad to see the holiday season over. How all the work to make the holiday special.. made the next few weeks seem empty and hollow. Depressed at having to return to his work schedule..

Ha.. this particular cat was only exhausted because he had used all his ninja skills to evade the preschool age kids who just wanted to “love” on him.

… and his only longing glances at the tree? Involved wondering if he would be left alone with the tree long enough to make it to the top before I called his name.

I think everyone deals with holiday “hangover” emotions as their holiday week comes to an end. Whether it is exhaustion because they worked too hard .. worked at keeping up with the messes.. or keeping up with the activities.. or exhaustion from socializing. Or frustration because the holidays weren’t as magical or as smooth as they imagined.

Sometimes that emotion is reigning in the peace gained on vacation.. steeling yourself for returning to work. Or being lost with no holidays to look forward to …

HA!

… and I know there are a lot of people who are looking forward to the peace that a “break” in the holidays with give them. Looking forward to the stability of getting back to a normal schedule.

As I watch Miracle Max give a yawn before stalking off to the kitchen to see what holiday treats were left on the counter… I think about what emotions I am recovering from.

Over the seasons in my life, I have been the over achiever mom (where we did EVERY holiday tradition we could think of).. the crafting mom (where we made so many crafts and cookies)… the exhausted mom (where we did .. almost nothing).. the sick mom (where I wanted to be more but we were stuck in quarantine)… the responsible mom (where I was trying to see if schedules would help keep our “special needs” in control).. the budget mom (yeah.. well..)…

At the close of each of those seasons? I sat just like I am now.. looking at the tree. First running through the memories of the last weeks. Then carefully thinking about what worked well and what didn’t. Making mental notes on what to take with me into next season.

The 2018 season of life was a good mix. We prepared and then rested.

We worked hard to clean up for family events.. and then relaxed into enjoying them.

We crafted gluten free treats and homemade gifts.. then we sat by to watch others enjoy them.

We worked and planned and decorated.. then played games and watched Christmas movies together..

We had big family gatherings where we had loud noisy fun…  then enjoyed quiet discussions over coffee..

Holidays are more than the magic of a full stocking on Christmas morning .. more than lights and decorations.. and even more than the extra calories in the Christmas treats..

.. and I have learned to celebrate family all year long.. so Christmas isn’t the only time to do that..

What I will take with me into this next season?

Balance…

The balance that we learn during the holidays? I want that balance for all year long.

I love to celebrate family… I love to find joy in each season.. I love to find small things to look forward to… to share gifts of the heart.. to follow passion and dreams..

Those gifts I have already learned..

.. but I don’t always remember to relax into enjoying … often forgetting to enjoy the lights and the quiet of each season .. or remembering to rest..

So the gift of this season for me is finding Balance.

What gift did you unwrap this Christmas?

Life, Memories, Writing

Good bye 2018..

Leave a comment

This year..?

This year had its fair share of sorrows.

Well .. more than its fair share really..

Hard decisions… overly full schedules.. sick family members… missing family members … hospital stays… guardianship paperwork… disappointments… extra expenses… broken appliances…

…family members who won’t move into 2019 with us…

… and I didn’t quite finish writing the sequel in my book series like I promised myself.

To many people my year would look like a disaster.

But there were also moments that shined brightly. Laughing with my kids… watching my daughter shine on stage … watching my son gain confidence.. dancing in the waves at sunset… directing 2 great casts to showcase their talents.. a fabulous family vacation or 2… finished projects.. watching my nieces and nephews grow into amazing souls..

Our moments are NOT confined to the years that they occurred in..

I will still miss loved ones tomorrow.. that doesn’t stop today.. with the end of 2018..

We will still be figuring out my son’s future plans tomorrow .. that won’t be confined to this year..

My unfinished book.. will still be waiting to be finished in 2019…

Soo?

…if our moments aren’t confined to the year.. why should the year be defined by them?

The moments in 2018 weren’t completely bad. I got to have one last sweet hug from our Auntie.. I sat and talked to a wonderful man for a long time.. not knowing it would be the last time I talked to him. But it was beautiful.

I could go on and on..

My 2018 won’t be defined by the good and the bad … the easy and the hard… the wonderful people who lifted me up .. the people I helped in return.. the finished and the unfinished..

The end of 2018.

The end of the year is just a moment in time for us to pause and take stock of our lives…

A moment to decide if you like where you are headed.. a moment to decide if you need to adjust your direction before we take that next step..

Then we step into 2019.. and just keep moving forward..

Life, Memories, Parenting, Writing

.. finished plans

Leave a comment

“.. and it is finished!”

20 years after I started.. I put the last photo in a frame and closed every painful prong..

Flipping it over, I let the memories flood over me as I studied each picture in my daughter’s collage..

Ok ..

It wasn’t really finished. I opened up those painful prongs one more time and straightened a couple pictures .. and… changed places of two..

.. but then it was finished..

When we started this project 20 years ago.. the plan was simple!

Choose 1 picture to represent every year of her life..

Add in her newborn picture and her graduation photo..

Waa Laa… Easy peasy plan… and Go!

At the time I made that plan? I’d only been a parent for a year.. with my second on the way.

BWAHAHAHA…

I had no idea what life had in store for me… how big my adventures with my kids would be.. NO idea how big my kids’ personalities would be..

I had NO idea how many pictures we would take each year..

After 5 years? … after only 5 years, the task of only picking 1 picture was too daunting.. and I did not chose that year.

The rule of no one else in the photos was quickly set aside.. and the rule against school photos.. gone..

The plan was to display this collage at my daughter’s graduation.. but it wasn’t finished ..

So the new plan was to finish it before the open house. I pulled 200 pictures to fill 20 slots..

Sooooo….?

So.. the new plan was to fill board after board with pictures that represented my daughter’s life… for the open house… then I’d finish the collage later…

..That was 2 years ago…

This morning I was supposed to be cleaning.. because we have a houseful of guests coming to celebrate the New Year with us!

..so naturally ..

I pulled that collage down and started pulling pictures to put in each year’s slot.

I started pulling one picture for each missing year.. but they didn’t fit the sized pictures I needed… they weren’t following the rules.. and it still wasn’t working the way I planned..

The more I sorted?

.. the more I realized…

Life doesn’t follow rules.. and it doesn’t take plans into consideration…

So instead.. ?

I started pulling the pictures that showed the light in her eyes .. the ones that emphasized her beautiful soul… and sense of humor..

.. and before I knew it… ?

It was finished..

Parenting is like that…

Parenting doesn’t follow rules.. and it doesn’t take plans into consideration…

We started out with ideas.. a road map.. an “easy peasy” plan for success..

.. and then we went off-roading.. so far off road that our parenting job could not be more different from what we thought..

But .. you know what??

I think it’s better than what we planned..

This life? …it is so beautiful…

I have a collage full of pictures to prove it..

Life, Memories, Uncategorized, Writing

.. angel wings..

7 Comments

Everyone should have an aunt .. whose face lights up every time they walk in the room. The aunt who laughs at every joke they tell.. (no matter how many times you tell it).. and claps at every performance you give on the living room “stage”..

My kids had that..

Whenever they went to Auntie and Uncle’s house, my daughter always had a “show” planned to show her auntie. And my son always looked forward to hearing “how tall he had gotten”… and he would smile as he called her his “medium sized” auntie.

This year we watched this beautiful soul battle against cancer.

And it was hard.

Yesterday she lost the battle to cancer..

.. but she won.

She won her angel wings.

.. and we won..

We won the beautiful legacy she left behind..

My kids learned that people can have an unfamiliar accent.. and not be a stranger in your heart. My kids learned that people can look different from us and they can be called family… She taught them what a generous heart looks like… what love looks like…

She showed everyone who came to her house that they wouldn’t leave hungry..

.. she showed her grandkids that they were the most beautiful things in the world to her..

.. and.. she raised 2 beautiful, amazing daughters… I can’t imagine the depths of the legacy she planted there..

Today?

Today we are all trying to imagine a world without Auntie in it. A holiday with no heartfelt hug from her.. family get together with no “Lumpia” (probably not spelled correctly) or other Philippine dishes.. (..though I imagine we will continue to hear about her first cooking disasters told through laughter.. and a few tears..).. not seeing her sneak dollars to each of the kids in the family.. making each kid feel like they are her favorites..

.. but I am so glad that I get to know what a beautiful world it was while she was here with us..

So today .. Auntie gets a new body.. a heavenly body.. one without cancer or pain..

.. and she gets her angel wings…

But honestly? She already had those.

Life, Memories, Uncategorized, Writing

guided by my shadows..

1 Comment

Last year, while shopping for a new Christmas tree.. I fell in love with one that sported pine cones, berries and a soft sprinkling of snow on the branches.

But.. when I saw the price tag?

Yup.. when I saw the price tag on that beautiful tree .. I hesitated.

With a smile.. I could clearly see the memory of my Aunt Diane leaning close to me.. like we were conspicuously conspiring against the “over commercialization of Christmas”..

She would lean in and whisper .. “We can make this.”

Her confidence always impressed me.

AND.. we always were able to make what we set our mind to.. exactly the way we wanted.

So last year? I smiled at my Aunt Diane’s memory.. and set about making the tree I wanted..

ok.. ok..

..it took me a year.. but I did make it..

As I added pine cones and berries to each branch.. I thought about how we are often guided by the shadows around us.

The shadows of the influences in our past.. and in our present..

Sure the shadow of the summers working with my Aunt Diane guided my hands into making a beautiful tree..

.. the shadows of her advices..

“ok.. that didn’t work. Try again.”

“By taking it apart.. you know how to fix it.”

“The only way to know is to jump in and try.”

.. but it was the shadow of my Aunt’s confidence IN ME that guided me to EVEN try..

I glued berries through tears.. remembering her chatting while we worked on crafts together… remembering her laughter…

As I chatted with my girl while we crafted this beautiful tree.. I was thankful for these beautiful shadows that guide me.

But not all Shadows are beautiful as they guide us.

My Aunt beat cancer her first time through.. but the second time it came…??

I drove hours to visit her when her body became weak. I stayed nearby and watched her visit with others..

.. but I never told her how important she was to me.

It was too hard.

What was even harder?

The months after her funeral. The months wishing I had been strong enough to tell her. To speak through tears and sadness. To admit that I was going to miss her until I saw her again.

We are guided by all the shadows in our lives.. the sweet ones.. the funny ones.. and the sad ones .. They ALL shape us into the people we become.. and guide us in the paths we choose in life.

And I have been Blessed by SO MANY shadows in my life!!

This week?

This week as we got together with family….

.. and we watch another loved Auntie battle with cancer..

Cancer is hard. It’s hard to battle.. it is hard to watch..

.. and it is really hard to accept ..

I think about the shadows of memories this Auntie has given to my husband.. to me .. and to my kids.. Her beautiful soul. Her happiness to give.. her capacity to love .. her smiles and laughter.. her joy..

I think about the smiles these shadows will give for years to come..

I’m still not great at telling people how important they are to me.. but this time the shadows reminded me to at least say “love you Auntie” .. and I am so thankful that I got a chance to tell her again this week.

As my family put the ornaments on our newly designed tree.. we found one that our Auntie gave my kids .. She bought it for them when they were small.

.. and I realized…

Christmas trees are full of Shadows.. shadows of Auntie from my childhood and from my adulthood.. shadows of my kids when they were little.. and now that they are big.. shadows of growing as a family.. and shadows that make us tear up..

.. and this Christmas tree?

This Christmas tree shows me exactly how much I have to be thankful for..

Life, Parenting, Special Needs, Writing

…storms in life..

Leave a comment

img_2512Sometimes after a storm, I walk through my yard just to see what blew in. My favorite finds are nests. I find them fascinating!

So intricate.. so beautiful…

.. but when there are eggshells still in the nests.. I remember that what I find fascinating? It’s what’s left of a creature’s home.

This summer I found many nests blown down.. it was hot and dry.. and very windy here in Central Michigan..

.. but I also made a different find!! I found a nest in my Locust tree. High above my head.. on a solid branch.. a solid built nest. It wasn’t as delicate as some of the beautiful nests I had found .. and definitely NOT as pretty..

… and on the backside I found some creepy critters..

.. but it withstood storm after storm… In fact, I found myself checking in with it every day. Well.. at least until my life got busy again..

This morning, I sat and watch news footage of the hurricane destruction in Florida.

So sad.

Putting my phone away… I walked out to feed my chickens, and once again checked in on my nest.

As the wind whipped around me.. I looked up into that tree.. with its branches bending dramatically…

.. and in the middle of the storm.. this nest still held firm.

The tree has fewer leaves now.. and the ones remaining have changed colors.. the feathers have blown away.. and the sunlight isn’t as bright..

..but this nest is still there…

Most of us don’t experience storms like Hurricane Michael.. or Florence.. we don’t see storm surges and wind speeds over 100 mph… we don’t see our houses blown down ..  homes destroyed…

…but we all experience storms in life…

Parenting itself is a storm at times..

.. then add in special needs storms.. a new diagnosis… health issues.. emergency surgeries.. medicine changes.. family emergencies… conflicts in our world.. death of a loved one.. financial strain…

..yes…

…we all have storms..

I have had storms…

…many… many storms..

Today? As I stood there in the wind.. I thought about my nest…

.. my home.. my life…

Some people think that our nests are in a specific location.. some people think our homes need to be beautiful.. most people think our lives shouldn’t have creepy critters in them…

My nest isn’t a place … I have moved too many times…

My home isn’t perfectly beautiful.. we are too busy living life in it…

.. and the people in my life aren’t perfect .. but neither am I..

… but when a storm blows through my life? Will the life that I have built withstand the winds?

Or will I be blown out of that tree.. and into God’s lawn?

.. Will God pick my life up out of debris? Pick off a creepy critter… or two? Will God have to put me back in my tree? Will He move me to a safer tree? Will He put me right back into the storm?

I have fallen in storms…

I have broken down in tears…

I have asked God to put me a different tree…

I have asked Him to take away my storms…

… but I have weathered a lot of storms firmly rooted to my branch…

.. I have come through storms looking for rainbows on the other side…

.. I have formed bonds inside those storms…

… and found happiness.

I will always continue to look for ways to improve my life and make it more storm proof. … But I like the nest I have built…

So today..??

Today.. as the trees bend and twist in the wind… take a look at your nest and consider…

…how will you withstand the storm?

Life, Parenting, Special Needs, Writing

Marinade…

Leave a comment

I love to make my own homemade soaps and scrubs… but sometimes?

Sometimes the writer in me comes out.. and my imagination gets the best of me..

… rosemary… thyme.. holy basil… lime…

… wild orange peel…

.. ALL in a coconut oil base…

Let’s face it.. it’s practically a marinade…

If Earth is invaded by predators or aliens? Would they think that I’ve already been marinaded in advance?

Will their mouths water at the smell of the Rosemary and thyme?

…will the Holy Basil be enough to keep me safe if they are demonic invaders?

Ha… as I stir the sugar scrub I’m sending to my daughter? I could write a whole book on whether I’m saving her .. or preparing her marinade!!

But really this isn’t unlike any other parenting question…

I often wonder if I’ve given my daughter the tools to be confident and stand out..

.. does she have the confidence and understanding to avoid predators in her life?

… does my son have the discipline and coping mechanisms to succeed in a workplace?

… Did we teach enough skills to let his light shine brighter than the Autism?

… did I fill my daughter full of enough empowerment.. that she knows she is more than her pretty face and her waistline?

Sometimes I worry that I didn’t put enough Holy Basil in their marinade…

But then?

Then I see their smile.. I see them laugh..

I see them confidently go into the world to meet their alien invaders…

.. and I know it’s enough for now..

.. and I’ll be here if they fall.. to help them up..

Ha… then add another ingredient into their marinade before sending them back into the world…

No one ever tells you how dangerous parenting can be…

Life, Parenting, Special Needs, Writing

Sowing seeds

Leave a comment

My brother sent me a picture of the pumpkins he is growing in his yard. The pumpkins he had not meant to plant.

You see…?

Last Halloween’s pumpkins….?

Last fall, he was too busy to throw away the jack o lanterns.

Ok.. ok.. his actual words were that he was “too lazy”… but how many of us don’t get too busy and feel too tired to do the small things..

We all get lazy..

Looking at his pumpkins, made me remember that we had planted some in our garden.

Planted on purpose ..

..but then left to defend themselves.

As I walked through the garden… I was surprised by how well the plants had blossomed. How big our harvest was going to be.. with no actual work on our part beyond the sowing of the seeds.

Those pumpkins took the seeds we gave them.. and didn’t just sprout.. and blossom.. they grew into beautiful fruit..

They took the space we gave them and spread their leaves … made a place in this world.. some even grew despite sickly plants and bad soil..

We all sow seeds in our lives..

Some we spread on purpose… our help.. our time.. our smiles.. a listening ear..

.. but we also spread seeds on accident..

Yesterday.. I was researching a concern I have about my son…. when I felt a soft object hit my face. A balled up napkin. Looking up, my son smiled at me and said, “There you are.. you’re being too busy.”

I laughed.. and put my phone down. My son may have a disability (in the eyes of the world) .. but he is pretty smart.

We are all so busy with worries, and tasks… working … and taking care of our responsibilities…

..but the seed I was sowing in that moment was.. I’m too busy.. you aren’t as important as my phone…

Those are not the seeds I want to sow.. and most of the time they aren’t.. but accidentally?

Accidentally we sow seeds everyday.

The question is what kind of seeds.

This keeps me up at night…

I want to change the world.. I want to make it a beautiful place for kids.. a better place..

I listen to kids.. correct them when they are wrong… justify their emotions.. empower them to change their own world..

…but what about the kids I can’t reach.

What about when I am too busy to slow down and listen?

Last night I walked around a football game with my son. The night was supposed to be about him (for me).. Last year’s homecoming king crowning THIS year’s homecoming king.

And it was about my son.

So many people stopped to shake his hand. So many people greeted him. Asked him how he was doing. This boy with a disability… showing the ability to touch so many lives. It is such a beautiful thing.

But what surprised me?

What surprised me were the kids that were excited to see ME. Many of the students from the school I worked at last year.. shouted across a crowd to get my attention. Some rushed to hug me, before rushing off with their friends.. A few gave timid waves before moving on.

Those students are just like the pumpkin blossoms that I find in my garden. So beautiful.. so open to the world.. so ready to grow into their full potential..

What we give them … as parents.. as family.. as a community?

What we give them makes a difference in how well they grow.. what they grow into…

Will they be small but mighty… will they hide behind bigger plants… shy but powerful in smaller groups.. Will they be big? Will they search for a bigger world? Will they grow despite bad soil and sickly plants?

Or will they stay small and sickly on a vine.. forgotten..

After so many hugs, from so many students last night? I realized I had sowed some good seeds. Even some on accident … to kids I hadn’t realized I had affected.

For me..? I worry…

Is it enough..?

What about the young man who timidly waved and then walked on? What about the young lady who stayed back from the group talking to me?

Did I sow bad seeds on accident …?

…or …

…did I not sow enough seeds on purpose?

This morning I looked down at that pumpkin blossom … worrying about those other students..

… and I realized those blossoms looked like starfish…

The story of starfish has been told to me so often.. Starfish that get stranded on the beach with high tides.. People who doubt they can make a difference because they KNOW they can’t rescue ALL of the starfish.. because they KNOW there are too many…

The story of how one rescuer smiles as they toss a starfish safely back into the waters.. “I made a difference to that one.”

Standing up out of that dirt.. I smiled.

As I looked around, I could see the good I have done… and realized I can’t let myself get distracted by worries.. I need to put those worries away.. and keep sowing good seeds…

…because those pumpkins.. those starfish.. are very important to me …

Life, Parenting, Special Needs, Writing

..among the weeds…

Leave a comment

We planted a garden this summer.. the way we usually do.. Planned which vegetables we wanted to plant.. the way we usually do. And then my husband installed the irrigation system.. the way he always does..

… and then life happened…

This time of year usually finds me knee deep in green beans and surrounded by quart jars of dill pickles..

.. but life happened this summer… and we have neither..

With graduation events.. family trips planned… and family emergencies that weren’t… laughter and camping that were scheduled into our plans… finding a sick kitten in the driveway tube that wasn’t.. lawn mowers that wouldn’t start…  to-do lists that wouldn’t end…

img_0462

… with no rain… high temperatures… and no extra time to weed and pamper the vegetable plants…?? The garden didn’t do well… and by the time we remembered to check on it.. the weeds were high and it was definitely too late to replant…

Wandering through the weeds today, I noticed a couple plants had survived.

One was the reliable zucchini plant. It’s not very exciting but we are really good at growing zucchini in our garden.

More exciting to me.. there were quite a few tomato plants. I always enjoy tomatoes.. especially the little cherry sized ones. NOT to mention fried green tomatoes…

img_0790 YES.. the tomatoes were a good find.

As I pulled back some weeds to give these plants some room to grow.. I stumbled across a couple cucumber plants. Struggling to survive without sunlight.. choked out by the tall weeds.. but still alive.

Excited to see so much surviving in this overgrown and neglected garden, I started pulling weeds with more energy.

As I knelt there in the dirt… I realized our lives are like my garden..

There are seasons where we will not have the energy or resources to water our talents or hobbies. We may not have the time to weed out our bad habits or negative thoughts..

And harvesting? That will have to wait.

When I first became a mom.. the only thing I paid attention to? Yup.. watering those baby plants. The other corners of my garden were virtually forgotten..

When my son was diagnosed with Autism.. and then a mood disorder… Yup.. the corners of my garden grew high with weeds again..

I didn’t water my friendships… I didn’t weed out my worries… I didn’t take time to read for fun.. or to write for enjoyment.. My adventure plants were nearly choked out…

…and my self care?

I don’t think that plant survived…

Doctors and friends often remind me that I never take enough time for myself.

You see?

My “zucchini plant”? My boring, stable.. always present … can’t kill talent?

Taking care of others..

And I do it really well… sometimes too well. So well.. at times.. that I over-volunteer.. I over-work myself.. over commit …

…under eat.. under sleep.. under relax ..

… and forget to leave enough energy to enjoy my interests…

My tomato plants…? My exciting adventure plants… my love to read and write… my love to play baseball in the backyard? .. to watch Jane Austen movies?

Those plants are surviving.. but they don’t have a lot of fruit on them.

And those cuke plants? Friendships and relationships?

Pulling back the weeds, I always find that they are still there. Ready to listen .. and to laugh. But I need to go looking for them more often.

Surprisingly… after the really long year ?

My garden is full of ALL KINDS of interesting things. I pulled out unique plants I have never seen before, beautiful weed flowers.. and huge pricker bushes.

I find that all kinds of beauty.. and ugliness can come from struggles in life. Doubts and bitterness… anger… fears… they can ALL take root in your garden. So can surprise friendships, new knowledge… new skills… blessings in unexpected forms.

While I walked my journey as a parent of a son with Autism.. I had doubts as to whether I could be a good parent.. I had anger that my son had to endure so much.. FEAR that we would never make it past each “phase”… fear that I would fail my son…

… but…

But I also found some amazing friendships among the flowers that walked with us… Paraprofessionals, special education directors, speech therapists, teachers… students in his classes… parents of his peers…

I developed a huge knowledge data base.. that I found could be applied to all kids..

I developed a vast amount of patience… that I didn’t know I had… Patience that I apply to every aspect of my life.

When a difficult season of life was over?

I found myself kneeling in the dirt… pulling weeds.. letting the sun shine on forgotten parts of my life.. finding friendships that I had neglected…

Today I pulled out those pricker bushes… all the fears and anger… Remembering how happy and thriving my kids are… I threw those fears in the pile with the doubts and exhaustion….

But… when my hand came across a weed flower? A friendship I hadn’t expected.. one I didn’t plant… and I certainly didn’t plan for?

I simply smile… and clear the plants surrounding it.

And today.. as I looked around my garden…? Among those weeds..?

I realized that some of my favorite things weren’t planned for…

Life, Parenting, Special Needs, Writing

.. thrive

Leave a comment

img_0574As we traveled home from dropping my daughter off at her first apartment, we pulled off on a scenic overlook.

High on a hill overlooking the beautiful Lake Superior, the colors were vibrant.. the lake was calm… The whole area was stunning.

Everything was thriving.

Except one tree…

There in the middle of all the green trees.. in the midst of the green grass growing high… right next to one of the largest supplies of fresh water in the world… ??

Right there was a very brown, very dried up tree.. The brown was such a contrast to the greens around it, that you couldn’t help but notice it.

As I snapped a few pictures of it, I wondered what was eating at it. This tree couldn’t thrive in the most optimal environment.. so something had to be eating at it.

I enjoyed the view for another moment and then continued down the hill to the beach below.. img_0591

The lake was unusually calm.. and it was a beautiful place to take pictures..

As I tried to get artistic with a pile of rocks, my foot came to rest next to a stump in the sand. At first, I thought it was a rock and tried to move it… but it wouldn’t budge.

So I shifted my footing and snapped a picture of it.

A stump… from a tree… that had survived and grown on a sandy beach. No dark rich soil.. No minerals and nutrients… nothing to shelter it from the winds.

As I pushed on the stump again, I could feel how solidly the roots were planted still.

img_0676 Here was a tree who had lived in an environment full of difficulties and right next to a turbulent body of water.

And yet?

Yet.. this tree dug its roots down deep.. deep enough to hold on and thrive for a number of years.

Again my attention was drawn to the brown tree on the hill.

So often we are like these trees.

Some of us are planted in fertile soil.. in a beautiful environment… with so many blessings…

Yet?

And yet… we let things eat at us. Anger.. disappointment… something from our past that we feel like we can’t let go of… Something that has a deep hold on us..

But those things eat at our roots.. and steal the joy from our lives if we let them control us.

When we let those things go?

When we let them go.. they can’t control us anymore. And we can thrive…

I have met a number of people in my life… who are like the stump on the beach. Some of them were parents of kiddos with extreme special needs. Some were people with the most horrific childhoods.. Some survived diseases.. some survived without parents…

But… ?

But they ALL survived…

What stood out about these people?

They stood on the shores of those turbulent waves… they dug their roots down deep…

..and they survived…

In fact?

They didn’t JUST survive.. With smiles on their faces.. and counting their blessings … and reaching out to help others… They were thriving…

I snapped a couple more pictures and thought about my daughter that we just dropped off at college.. I thought about my son that stood there beside me… We have no idea what the future holds for either of them. We have no idea where the future will take either of them…

A smile came to my face as I whispered a prayer for them.

My prayer? … as I sat there in the sand?

My prayer for my kids is that they will thrive wherever they are planted …

… my smile?

My smile is because I believe they will…