A group of kids came to my door, yelling "Trick or Treat!" Treats were duly dispensed. Then out of the back of the crowd, a kid came forward and yelled, "Gimme candy!"
I pulled the bowl back and said, rather good-naturedly, "Nope! You have to say 'trick or treat' first!"
The kid turned his nose in the air, made an angry noise and stomped away. What??
That pretty well summarizes my complaint with the rising generation. And I'm afraid my kids are probably not immune to the disease of Modern Americana Entitlement. Heaven help us all.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Right Person.
My family is a jumble of personalities, strings that get tangled up in chaos.
Somehow, Eden is the person who takes all those strings and ties them together. She is the perfect personality to make our family a cohesive whole.
I'm still in awe.
She can handle the loud, in-your-face adoration of three older brothers. She hardly blinks as they maul her with kisses and hugs and "burping," which is little more than hitting her on the back. She just smiles at them, coos and takes it.
When it's quiet and she has somebody's attention, she loves to coo loudly and be heard. But when she's in a group of people, she prefers to sit and listen. She doesn't (usually) interrupt to be heard. She already inherently gets the idea of listening, talking, listening, talking.
Yeah, she's pretty chill. But still she enjoys life. She does more than enjoys it. She savors it. When you hand her a toy, you'll see that she brings her hand together oh-so-gently. Each finger is manipulated with thought and deliberation.
Her brothers DEVOUR the goodness of the world. Eden savors it, gently and joyfully.
She is an example to me and I learn from her every day. I want to grow up to be just like she is right now.
Somehow, Eden is the person who takes all those strings and ties them together. She is the perfect personality to make our family a cohesive whole.
I'm still in awe.
She can handle the loud, in-your-face adoration of three older brothers. She hardly blinks as they maul her with kisses and hugs and "burping," which is little more than hitting her on the back. She just smiles at them, coos and takes it.
When it's quiet and she has somebody's attention, she loves to coo loudly and be heard. But when she's in a group of people, she prefers to sit and listen. She doesn't (usually) interrupt to be heard. She already inherently gets the idea of listening, talking, listening, talking.
Yeah, she's pretty chill. But still she enjoys life. She does more than enjoys it. She savors it. When you hand her a toy, you'll see that she brings her hand together oh-so-gently. Each finger is manipulated with thought and deliberation.
Her brothers DEVOUR the goodness of the world. Eden savors it, gently and joyfully.
She is an example to me and I learn from her every day. I want to grow up to be just like she is right now.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
My favorite time of the year
January is delicious. After all the excitement of the holidays, it is nice to have the children back in school and recover my daily routine. My home becomes my kingdom again. The snow on the ground is still crystal white and I can dream of cross-country skiing.
The winter wonderland becomes a cold, hard winter by the time February comes around. But that's okay because February is birthday month. Three birthdays to celebrate, three cakes, three flavors of ice cream, lots of presents and many smiles. February is lovely.
The comes March. The sun peeks out of from the winter haze. The bravest flowers awaken to say hello. March is heavenly.
April, April, April. You gave me a daughter. My paradise on earth. My Eden. You gave me my marriage. You give me sunshine and perfect weather and tulips. April is my delight.
May is Memorial Day and the first barbecue of the summer and the opening of outdoor swimming pools. May is a happy month.
June brings smiles to my children as they begin their summer vacation. It is flowers and flags. June ain't half bad.
July! My birthday, 4th of July, Pioneer Day, snow cones dripping down my chin. Children with sticky popsicles and ice cream cones and lots of red, white and blue. July rocks.
August. Deep breath. School is in session, folks, and Mom can breathe again. Summer was fun--no doubt--but there is more to life than fun. Like having time to be me: writing, exercising, reading and nibbling chocolate while the baby sleeps. August is divine.
Those months are all wonderful. But they got nothin' -- nothin' at all -- on Autumn!
SEPTEMBER! I peek out my front door, wincing from the memory of heat that baked my skin a month before, but there is only the gentle kiss of cooler weather. I smile. All is well in the world. A rainy day, clouds in the sky, red leaves and pure heaven. September, I love you with all my heart.
OCTOBER! You are a celebration of perfect weather! You are a celebration of imagination as Halloween time nears! You are the beginning of the holiday season and I think I just might have a cup of hot cocoa before the month is done. Ahhhhctober.
NOVEMBER! I could itemize my Thankfulness but wouldn't that be so cliche for this month? I am grateful for November, nonetheless.
DECEMBER! Sleigh bells ring, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Snowflakes keep fallin' on my head. I'm dreaming of a White Christmas.
And it's a Wonderful Life, folks. Every month. Every year.
I woke up this morning and exercised my body and fed my spirit and felt the Autumn chill in the air and fell in love with life all over again. Then Eden woke up and smiled and cooed and I put a book in her hands and I swear she pretended to read it. She would look at the page, then coooo goooo laaa baaa, then look at me and grin, then do the whole thing again.
And I said a prayer: "Dear God, thank you for giving me one more day with this sweet child."
Every day is a gift. Go outside and enjoy your Autumn.
The winter wonderland becomes a cold, hard winter by the time February comes around. But that's okay because February is birthday month. Three birthdays to celebrate, three cakes, three flavors of ice cream, lots of presents and many smiles. February is lovely.
The comes March. The sun peeks out of from the winter haze. The bravest flowers awaken to say hello. March is heavenly.
April, April, April. You gave me a daughter. My paradise on earth. My Eden. You gave me my marriage. You give me sunshine and perfect weather and tulips. April is my delight.
May is Memorial Day and the first barbecue of the summer and the opening of outdoor swimming pools. May is a happy month.
June brings smiles to my children as they begin their summer vacation. It is flowers and flags. June ain't half bad.
July! My birthday, 4th of July, Pioneer Day, snow cones dripping down my chin. Children with sticky popsicles and ice cream cones and lots of red, white and blue. July rocks.
August. Deep breath. School is in session, folks, and Mom can breathe again. Summer was fun--no doubt--but there is more to life than fun. Like having time to be me: writing, exercising, reading and nibbling chocolate while the baby sleeps. August is divine.
Those months are all wonderful. But they got nothin' -- nothin' at all -- on Autumn!
SEPTEMBER! I peek out my front door, wincing from the memory of heat that baked my skin a month before, but there is only the gentle kiss of cooler weather. I smile. All is well in the world. A rainy day, clouds in the sky, red leaves and pure heaven. September, I love you with all my heart.
OCTOBER! You are a celebration of perfect weather! You are a celebration of imagination as Halloween time nears! You are the beginning of the holiday season and I think I just might have a cup of hot cocoa before the month is done. Ahhhhctober.
NOVEMBER! I could itemize my Thankfulness but wouldn't that be so cliche for this month? I am grateful for November, nonetheless.
DECEMBER! Sleigh bells ring, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Snowflakes keep fallin' on my head. I'm dreaming of a White Christmas.
And it's a Wonderful Life, folks. Every month. Every year.
I woke up this morning and exercised my body and fed my spirit and felt the Autumn chill in the air and fell in love with life all over again. Then Eden woke up and smiled and cooed and I put a book in her hands and I swear she pretended to read it. She would look at the page, then coooo goooo laaa baaa, then look at me and grin, then do the whole thing again.
And I said a prayer: "Dear God, thank you for giving me one more day with this sweet child."
Every day is a gift. Go outside and enjoy your Autumn.
Photo courtesy of Heather Clark Photography.
More fabulous photos to come!
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