Freeze This Moment!

My days are busy and I am not finding much time to stop and smell the roses.  I thought, in a funky and resentful mood last week, that this was because there were not enough roses in my life, but I have been praying for some inner calm and the fruit of that prayer is abundant.

I tend to think that a positive family life means that we are all together, laughing, playing board games or reading scripture, playing touch football or serving at the soup kitchen.  I shy away from what B-Mama has called “spaces in our togetherness.”  Lately we have had a lot of spaces, and it feels like my family is moving in too many different directions.  It’s all good, though.  One part of the “spaces” is that there are so many of us that we can mix and mingle in different ways.  Another part is that some alone time is good for everyone.

This morning, I found myself alone at the kitchen sink, cleaning up from breakfast.  Rather than resenting the fact that no one was helping me, I took joy in the time I had alone with my thoughts.

Here is my Saturday morning freeze frame.  When you read this post, respond with a comment about what the various members of your family were doing, it is fun to see a slice of life:

A 12 year old boy is mowing the lawn, listening to Bon Jovi, having attended his first middle school dance last night

A 10 year old girl is doing a computer math tutorial for school, a happy break from her frustrating writing workshop

A 9 year old girl is out on a run with her father, and they brought the baby in the jogger, she is not a golfer, but has finally find a way to get her share of time with dad!

A 9 year old boy is using brand new sharpies, which he worked to earn, to draw over the lines of a haunted mansion he has been working on for several days

4 and 5 year old boys are playing with chalk in the driveway

Life is good.  I need to stop and look around more often and be thankful for that.