My kids have been so funny lately. Frustratingly defiant and a little sassy, sure, but also hilarious. Most of the time, I find myself thoroughly relishing their company. As we laughed over lunch at a swanky brunch spot today, I got to hold my neighbor’s baby and then pass her back and finish my mimosa at a leisurely pace. I miss the old days and I like these, too.
And just like that, the kids are back in school. One particularly sweet moment from yesterday… Ames taking flowers to his teachers, just like his big brothers used to do. Time is an illusion and sometimes, a thief.
There are few snags in life the smell of the sea cannot soothe.
The smell of the sea, and an early 2000’s playlist.
I bolted out of work just after lunch, grabbing a coworker on the way to my car. We scooped up the kids and headed straight for the harbor, where the Yale Whiffenpoofs had set up for a quick concert in our amphitheater on their hometown tour. I was back in time for my next meeting, and the whole thing was just as magical and sweet as our Gilmore Girls experience told us it would be. We love you, Richard Gilmore. We love you, Homer, Alaska.
Woke up smiling; went to bed smiling. A #getaftergrateful day, indeed.
It’s been more than a year since I embarked on a journey to sort out my faith from the one of those around me. Despite my best attempts, I cannot seem to shake the character of God, nor the life of Jesus, nor the sentiment that many people I meet seem to claim both and understand neither.
Tomorrow, I will go into work and care for dozens of elders on my day off because there is no one else to do it. I will work as a nurse’s aide for twelve hours straight and get paid for zero of them. I will drive past several churches, where coworkers sit and abstain from working on Sundays because it goes against their religious beliefs. The character of God and the life of Jesus tell me that the nursing home on a Sunday morning is as close to worship as I can possibly get.
This is not a brag. Matthew 7:20 warns that we are known by our fruit, and mine is often rotten. It’s been a long year of soul-searching; I acknowledge that I am not out of the bitter wilderness yet. But I very much want to be, and I think I can see the light through the trees.
During quite possibly the most exhausting week of my professional career, I decided to take my lunch break at the animal shelter. I decided to get in the sun and hug my kids and pet a dog. It was the right choice.
