Crushed Crackers

Dust pan and mop in hand, I sweep crumbs from the floor under the kitchen table.  Little feet dangle in the me-too chair, where Ezra happily munches crackers and sings "la-la-la" or "h-o-t" in exuberant chords.  While my nearly-one-year-old explores his musical side, the trash can door squeaks open and I send an avalanche of lunch left-overs into the bin.

When Ezra finishes his snack, I lift him out of his chair and put him down.  Like a wind-up car, he puts his gear in go and is off before I have my hands off his arms.  Smile turns to sigh as I glance back under the table.  Almost as many cracker crumbs dust the floor under his chair as did before I swept.  Now, I'll have to do it again!

Friend, does your day seem to run accordingly?  I have habits that, although I try to change, seem to come back like weeds in the garden.  Plucking those verdant plants is inevitable, but even that doesn't completely halt their hasty return.  It takes vigilance and daily devotion - and those are habits in and of themselves.

So, I'll grab my mob and dust pan and gather up those cracker crumbs - hoping that some sort of order will result one day soon.

Duck Feet

"They're like duck feet," my three-year-old said as he came into the living room.

Joey's steps sounded oddly soft and flappery against the cherry-wood laminate.  His huge smile was contagious and easily so: for as I slid my eyes to his toes, I could not help but chuckle.  On either foot, Joey had slipped one of his daddy's black leather gloves: each toe appeared elongated like that of a chicken.

"It's funny," Joey declared, with eyes squinched from so much smiling and hands clasped in child-like humility.

I am so glad that laughter and smiles are as easy to catch as hiccups, yawns, and colds.  When you are around someone with whom you are comfortable enough to really be yourself - no fear of judgment or misunderstanding - love's warmth can cheer any mood.

And you, friend?  Has someone else's lovely outlook on life given you ripples of chortles to savor?  Do you bask in love's warmth each day?  If not, let's fill our lives with those special someones that make even the least anticipated chore a grand adventure!

Muffled Memory

It's amazing how my muffled memories can be so powerful.  Certain emotions, situations, and senses can illicit an uncanny reminder of pleasant and not-so-pleasant experiences that I might not be able to recall should I really want to.  How difficult to push past poignant recollections of tense tribulations, especially!  Sometimes, I wish my memory were embedded with its own off switch.  But, alas, 'tis not so.

And yet, flipping through our family's annual photo books yields beautiful re-encounters with little blessings we savored throughout the year - such as a day trip hiking or the birth of a son or celebrating a birthday or even just a first haircut for the boys.  How could I forget such seemingly memorable joys, when the more despairing memories surface from my cloudy mind almost readily?

Friend, do you find your mind wandering away from the joys in life, too?  Do you dwell on the hardships?  Let's try to remind ourselves that beyond those hardships are scintillating stars more beautiful than diamonds and just waiting for us to roll back our shoulders, lift our heads high, and smile once again to refocus ourselves.

Hair Awry

Both boys awoke with hair awry, sun splashing gold dazzles amidst the mobs.  A wet wash-cloth steadied their flares for the most part.  That, and a soft-bristled brush soaked with more water.

Both boys gobbled up breakfast with abandon.  Oozing yellow yolk dribbled down chins and cheerios kissed the floor in showered-song.  Besides sleeping, eating provides one of their only quiet spells during the day.

Both boys are engaged in near-wreckless play.  Pot lids jiggle-dance across the kitchen's cherry floor.  A tonka truck careens in figure eights and circles, nearly colliding with chairs and door jambs.  Grunts and laughs splatter the walls, so that I wonder if I'll still hear them reverberating twenty years from now.

Both boys grow and learn and share.  It's sometimes fun to join in their happy banter; not so fun to encourage careful play with one another.  Please be gentle escapes my lips so often it seems to linger in the air. 

I wonder if both boys, smoothing hair awry years from now, will remember today with smiles on their faces and appreciation for life.  Will they be good friends?  Will they make the world a better place?  Will they live their dreams and hold hope in their hearts?  Such thoughts encourage me to choose wisely now, so that then will benefit.

And you, friend?  What thoughts inspire your life's daily choices?  Does your heart hold hope even when your hair's awry?  How does such hope hold steady despite the varying challenges you face?

Tantalizing Glitter

Once again shadows flicker across the floor and the sun's lightshow splashes glitter across the wall.  Ezra tries to chase it and ends falling with a plop in the middle of the room.  But, though out of reach, those sun shards tantalize my sing-song, smiling boy.  And he laughs.

With each day that passes, I try to clean out the lent trap in my life.  I take a moment and carefully turn each treasure caught within, while shaking the black specks of dirt away so that they don't clog my focus.  And, trust me, my focus is clogged more than I would like it to be!

Friend, do you have times in life (perhaps daily) when the possibilities gleam across the wall in prisms, and instead of chasing them until you're dizzy, you sit and focus on the dark shadows?  Take a hand, and let's laugh together at the beautiful array of hope just waiting for us to grasp.

Purple Sprawl

Purple mountain sprawls.  The intoxicating views of those rolling peaks is as essential to my life as any famous duo.  When I do not have them in view, my concept of direction is completely gone.  When I do not anticipate them around a bend, my eyes rove for their majestic counterpart.

Friend, do you crave something or someone so much that you feel completely lost without such nearby?  Have you ever been without that essential for longer than you would like to be?  Are you struggling with a separation that seems to last an eternity?

Difficulty lures us to focus on what we do not always have.  It can be challenging to see beyond our loss and live in contentment.  How, friend, can we let the beauty of our desires inspire us to traverse the day-to-day trails even when we would prefer to wander in the wilder woods?