Blessings Throughout the Year

We just got back from our yearly camping trip with our extended family.  We see each other throughout the year, but this trip is extra special.  Even when the weather seems to work against us, we power through.  Friday was rainy and windy, but it was worth it.  The sun came out Saturday and stayed Sunday.  Our talent show was covered in sprinkles but it didn't stop us.  We love each other and help out when we can.  They are such a blessing.  

Where's the Fun?!

I remember when I was little...

I would have been thrilled to play with other kids, to go on vacations, to have my parents spend time with me.  And I was thrilled when it happened, but it didn't happen nearly as often as I hoped.  I spent most of my school days on the bus or in school.  When I did get home, I was stuck inside because we were latchkey kids, and it was the rule.  We did get to watch one half hour show after our homework was complete, but I would have much preferred going outside to play.

I do remember my mother spending every minute she had available doing something with us whether it was watching a show together, playing a game, eating dinner, going to see family, going to church, etc.  Our vacations were on the inexpensive side as we didn't have much money to spare, but they were fun because we went together and got to do something different.

Now that I have kids, I actually get to stay home with them every day and teach them.  We play games together, visit friends and family, go to church, camp, etc.  The thing about it is my kids, at least my two oldest, beg to stay home.  They all like going to church, thankfully, but aside from that, they'd like to stay inside by themselves.  :(

I think kids now a day are, for the most part, spoiled.  They have too many things at their fingertips to appreciate the little things like fresh air, an actual book, and laughter with friends.  They can get those things any time they want and don't realize how precious it really is.  

I have to "force" my kids to go on a hike, go camping, play a board game or cards, go for a bike ride, etc.  They usually enjoy it, but I am spent by the end of it from having to make them go in the first place.  

I often toy with the idea of quitting everything except for church and getting rid of the internet.  I wonder if my children would have a different tune after that.  Hmmm...  Things to think about :) :) :)

Alarm

 I feel like I have to set an alarm for everything these days.  The air was low in one of our van tires, but I couldn't stop.  I had to get the kids to horseback riding lessons.  Then I completely forgot about it.  It took a few days for someone else to find the problem.  

I had to set an alarm to remind me to write this blog once a week.  Another alarm is set to remind me to make reservations to go camping.  Alarms for vitamins, pick up the kids, drop the kids off, etc....

I think this life with access to everything at our fingertips has made life more cumbersome.  I remember back when I didn't have a cell phone or email.  Yes, I am dating myself.  But life seemed easier, less stressful.  Wouldn't it be nice to go back to those days?  Maybe I'll set an alarm to remind me one week out of the month to turn all electronics off.  LOL

Stop! Just for a minute or two, please :)

 It seems life just keeps on going even when you ask nicely for it to halt for just a bit...

I measure my children throughout the year, usually around their birthdays.  I guess it was about time I measured them again.  My son only grew about a quarter of an inch in the last seven months :)  Six foot three/four inches is quite tall enough.  He already has issues with sitting in cars and planes; we don't need to add to that.  My oldest daughter who has been trying to stay shorter than me is now the same height when she stands up straight.  No she doesn't slouch her shoulders; instead she falls into her hip and bends her knees.  My youngest is coming up fast.  She has gained about two inches in the past seven months.

I am reminded how quickly time flies when I get photo reminders of years past.  My children use to sit on my lap and snuggle with me and give me nose kisses.  At least my youngest still does, but how long will that last?  I continue to remind myself to enjoy every moment I have with them; before too long they will be grown up and move on.  I wish I could bundle up some of the hugs they give me for days when this house will be empty.  

It's funny!  I TREASURE my time alone, but I still miss them when they are not with me.  

I am one blessed mamma :)

Thankful

 I have been homeschooling my three children.  Yes, we now have three.  A, B, G.

We started a "Thankful Journal" three years ago.  This year we started using a weekly planner instead of a notebook.  It is much easier to keep track of :)  However, our weeks now end on Sunday as that is how the planner is set up.  I still prefer the planner to a notebook, especially for my children.  

At the end of the week, we mark the thing we are most thankful for that week and share it with each other.  It is more difficult some weeks than others to choose just one.  We do the same at the end of each month.  At the beginning of the new year, we go over our most thankful thing for each month and pick one for the year.   I love looking back on our thankful "posts."  We have really good years even when hard things happen.  Being thankful each day makes life more enjoyable no matter what is happening.

We do a White Elephant gift exchange with our family each year.  I remind them that no matter what they get they need to be thankful.  We practiced by me asking my son how he could be thankful for manure.  He responded, "It's good for the garden."  

I am one blessed mamma :)  

It All Started With Ash on the Forehead

Quite a few years back, I noticed something black/gray on my aunt's forehead.  When I mentioned it, she told me about Ash Wednesday.  On Ash Wednesday, Catholics and maybe others put ash on their foreheads and begin their "40" day fast of Lent.  Everyone fasts something different.  Some fast sweets, some meats, some coffee, and such.  I may not be Catholic but thought this would be a good way to eat healthier.  I know that is not the intention of Lent, but those were my thoughts just the same :)

Next year began my first full fast during Lent.  I couldn't think of anything I was hooked on, but I had been drinking one hot chocolate each night for months.  So I decided to give that up.  The next year, I limited my television watching TREMENDOUSLY.  That was harder on me than giving up hot chocolate, but I still didn't feel accomplished much less closer to God.

I really did like the idea of  Lent but needed to change it up a bit.  I decided to add something instead of give something up.  From Lent forward, every time I drive by myself before 10am, I keep the radio off and pray to God.  I have pretty much kept that up to this day.  What a blessing it has been!  I felt my relationship with God get stronger even though it was only a short drive to work.  These days, I get that time with God a lot less as children are usually with me.  But, our relationship is like a best friend who you don't get to see as often as you used to when neither of you had family obligations.  We still talk throughout the day, but that drive time is coveted.

I began thinking that waiting for Lent to happen was no longer needed.  I could start any time of the year.  So, a few years back, I began a November thankful for post on Facebook like I saw so many others doing.  However on December 1, I found myself longing to stay positive and thinking on what I was thankful for.  You guessed it.  I started my "Lent fast" a few months early :)  I started writing it to keep me thinking positively and being grateful for what I have.  A year or so later, various people started telling me in person or via message how they looked forward to reading my thankful for posts.  Wow!  God works in mysterious ways.

I now think, "In what way can I better my life and/or someone else's life."  It may be something that takes a few seconds or something that continues through the years.  Blessing someone else ends up blessing me even if just by a shared smile or a smile I envision them having when they see how someone has secretly blessed them.

What are some blessing suggestions you have that don't cost much if anything?

putting away someone else's grocery cart
pushing store carts back to the store that don't have a place in the parking lot
giving a neighbor a note of appreciation
smiling at passersby (it might be the only smile they get that day)
saying "Thank you, ..."  Saying someones name adds SO much to the thank you.

Racism – does it exist here in our beloved USA?

Racism – does it exist here in our beloved USA?

If you had asked me that question before I went to college, I would have said only with individuals.  Mind you, I had only lived in VT, where there were only white people at the time, and in AZ which is a great state to live for any color for the most part.  It wasn’t until I was visiting my sisters during my summer break after my first year of college that I realized racism still existed in the US and in AZ no less. 

The oldest of my two sisters was dating a black guy.  He was hours late, so my little sister and I started teasing him about being late.  He explained that he was pulled over by a cop on his way there.  I asked why.  He said he was only pulled over because he was a black man driving a Cadillac.  I laughed, because I thought he was joking.  He explained that that happened a lot.  My sisters agreed with him.  Well, I was shocked and appalled.  That didn’t make any sense to me.  The laws were/are completely against this.  But it still happens.  There are racist individuals who are part of the government and other organizations, so my shock was soon turned to sadness.

The first time I remember experiencing racism was when a girl, who was part black with beautiful green eyes and had a sweet little girl, befriended me when I switched schools my senior year of high school.   Her friendship soon turned to hatred toward me.  She helped spread a lie and turned many of the black girls in the school against me.  The crazy thing was, she didn’t even like black girls.  But because she was part black, they believed her lies.  Actually, many people who heard those lies believed them.  My world got turned upside down.  That year was the best and worst year of my school life all in one.  Thankfully, there were some people who ignored her and befriended me anyway. 

It hit me hard again when I found out some of my family members were racist but “only” against interracial marriages like that’s any better.  I found this out when my mom started to date a really nice guy who happened to be black.  He wasn’t allowed in a family members home for the simple reason he was dating her and he was black.  They even agreed that he was a good guy.  But that didn’t matter.  What?!  Are you kidding me?  Then I found out that feeling was found on my mother’s and father’s side.  WOW!  Talk about a RUDE awakening!  I was shocked!  I was horrified!  But I was thankful that they didn’t pass that racism down to my brother and me.  My mother protected us from so much 😊

Then, when I started dating my now husband, I wasn’t sure how a specific family member of mine was going to react.  I mentioned to that person that I was dating someone.  He asked what my boyfriend looked like.  I pulled out a photo I specifically took for this question.  Just before I handed him the photo, I told him that my boyfriend is black.  He looks at the photo.  Without skipping a beat, he says, “He’s not black.”  What?!  Yes, he is.  Then, I realized my now husband wasn’t the “black” guy this person had pictured in his head.  My now husband wasn’t a thug.  This person’s problem was making ‘black guy’ and ‘thug’ synonymous. 

Later that year, my fiancé and I had been pulled up on stage to do a little dance during a wedding show.  Well, as we walked off, I saw these two piercing, cold eyes staring at me.  I swear you would have thought I just stole her man.  My man didn’t know who she was but wasn’t surprised at it.  I on the other hand was shocked.  I didn’t understand why she looked at me like that.  He then told me that he gets that look from a lot of white guys.  I said, “no” thinking he was just kidding.  But he wasn’t. 

I also found out that there was at least one person close to my husband who didn’t want us to get married for the simple reason that I wasn’t black.  He also had a crazy uncle who didn’t like white people.  He just laughed about all of it.  That’s the way it is.  He didn’t take it personally either way. 

After we got married, we were looking for a church.  Some would say we were church hopping.  It just so happens that Michael Jackson had died recently when we checked out this one church.  This specific church was small, only one isle.  We, my husband, our new baby, and I, were a bit late but not much.  We found a spot near the back.  We sang and praised God just like everyone else.  Then, the pastor got up and started preaching.  Now, my husband and I remember this part differently…  My view:  the pastor starts saying how Michael Jackson is in hell, but he keeps repeating himself, at least five times, in different ways.  My husband’s view:  the pastor started preaching.  After he had preached for a little while, he says once or twice that Michael Jackson went to hell.  My husband “finally” looks at me and says that we are leaving.  I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.  But as we were walking out the door, the preacher says, ‘yah, you leave.’  My husband almost turned around and told him off.  Thankfully, he didn’t.  I swore the congregation had shotguns and were going to kill us.

Yes, there is racism in our beloved USA.  But don’t think that it shines everywhere.  Don’t think that someone who doesn’t have a ‘Black Lives Matter’ bumper sticker on their car or who raises an American flag on their lawn is racist.  Yes, black lives matter but so do white, brown, red, and yellow.  Lives matter, period.  The American flag is a symbol of unity, courage, strength, liberty, and justice for ALL.  When you piss on the flag, you piss on the ALL.   We are the ALL…  you, me, the person on your left and right, the person in front of you and behind you, the person in that uniform and this, all of us are the ALL.