Have you ever played with shaving cream smeared on a table? It is fun--especially with a small child. The happy interest, the joy of trying something you have never tried before, the delighted squeals, the delicious feel when squeezing your fingers together all added to my grandson's excitement when we played together this summer...
...THIS SUMMER. Oh my, this summer when so many life events collided into each other at a such a rapid pace. In more or less chronological order:
--announcement of grandchild # 4 on the way
--hosting a wedding shower
--daughter beginning a new job
--guests arriving from several corners of the world
--the birth of grandchild # 3 in Texas
--a surprise 90th birthday party
--a daughter's wedding
--babysitting a seven-year-old for nine days
--a trip to Texas to help with a new baby
--losing my dear sweet Aunt to that awful cancer
--a mini-vacation to Michigan with girlfriends
--a daughter & her family moving in for an extended stay
And it is only mid August! Yes, the events, when placed in a list, sound so simple and straight-forward and for the most part are happy occasions. However, if you could read between the lines you would find lots of details, lots of emotions and lots of stress interwoven throughout.
Well, well, well--so living life is hard work. Is that my conclusion?
Oh wait, did I forget all the joy that filled the circle of my life this summer?
--holding that newborn baby and smelling his sweet head
--watching my daughter glowing with happiness on her wedding day
--baking cookies to fill a new mom's freezer
--feeling hugs and more hugs as friends and family came into our home
--gazing at the ultrasound and finding out "It's a girl"
--having a child come home
--cherishing memories of a life well lived
--unwinding in the arms of friends who know my heart
--being missed by people who love me
--observing the building of a wagon by Grandpa and his little guy
--sharing days of childhood joys with a precious child
--seeing my new son-in-law welcoming my "baby" girls into his heart
--loving conversations with the dear ones in the "Greatest Generation"
--watching the delight of children seeing fireflies for the very first time
and
--an unexpected kiss on the cheek at the end of an exhausting day
This summer has been amazing! I know that time will mold it into memories that are so intertwined it will be difficult to sort through them. I will never forget it and as time goes by I hope that the satisfaction of wonderful relationships with family and friends is the overwhelming theme.
The table pictured above, in a parsonage in a tiny town in Texas, served as a play area as well as an eating area. One of the first evenings that we sat down together to eat as a family after meeting our new grandchild, we joined hands to ask a blessing on the food. All of a sudden, my little three-year-old grandson said, "It's a circle!" He was clever enough to see that even at a rectangular kitchen table, a circle was formed when his family held hands together.
His sweet innocent comment has been in my mind ever since. Yes, he is correct, each family makes a circle. Also, if I were to sum up my world, I would have to use the image of a circle--filled with a never-ending kaleidoscope of events and people and feelings. This summer was exhausting in so many ways, but it was also a true delight enriched with so many characters. I thank God for the grace that brought me through and the peace I feel as I wait to see what tomorrow brings.
I am so glad your circle bumped into mine this summer.
