moving right along...

When he was this small...

tiger scout, first grade

it may have crossed my mind. Or maybe not. As he grew and became more and more involved in scouting, I had high hopes... that he might achieve Eagle Scout.  At the time I had no idea what it really involved, but with each new rank he earned, I learned a little bit more.  Today, he is standing on the threshold.

Over the past few months, he has been working hard, making lists, and making those items on his to-do list come alive. Eagle project proposal, check. Pancake breakfast, check. Donation letters, check. Thank you notes, check. Project, in progress...  


These posts now mark the miles on the path at the end of our safari road.  The logistics of getting materials and crews out on the twelve mile trail were tough, but this project has been important to him.  I know he is now at the point of just wanting to be done, but I think sooner than later, he will look back and he will fully know how much this experience means to him.

Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty...
I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life.
I have envied a great many people who led diffcult lives and led them well.

-Theodore Roosevelt 

hope & courage

We walked in beauty last night, my girl & I.
It was just us... and a couple of mother ducks looking after their fuzzy little ducklings.

I had been meaning to get there for a while.  A friend shared some pictures of this magical spot months ago and although it was near the top of my to-do list, I had yet to make the time for it.  But last night… well, it was meant to be.

We have put some tough weeks behind us.  Days we thought might break us, not just our hearts. The facts of it all are still hard to say out loud, and I cover them with softer, vaguer, gentler words. Laura is home. Things didn’t work out so well. We are trying to re-group.  All of those things are true… and easier to say than she failed her zoo testing and can’t go back.  There have been a lot of tears, from both of us. And as if God could not feel the weight of my heart and see the river of tears, I had say out loud, loudly, how much I hated this situation.  And what I mostly hate is that she did her best, and it wasn't good enough. Ouch.

All along though, I have trusted that God has a plan for her.  That if this was not the path He desired for her, that there would be another way.  Last week, we gripped hands in the car, and I prayed God, we hope that this is the path we have been looking for, but even if it isn't, we still trust you.  Off she went, into an interview... and the next day she got the news that she got the job.  At the zoo.  She won't be a keeper... yet. But oh how we can feel the love of God in this answer.

When Wendi told me about this garden, I had forgotten that it had a name...

The garden of hope and courage.
These last few weeks had been leading us here. To this place, this moment in time. 

I watched her look out over the pond, and I see the young woman she has become, the way life has molded her heart, and I can see that He has given her all that she needs.  Hope for the future of her dreams. And courage to continue to pursue it, even after a fall...

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, 

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

away from the everyday...

The sun beats down hot, but the breeze coming across the gulf is cool.  I could sit here all day.

I can hear their voices being carried in by the wind.  I don't know what they are saying, but it really doesn't matter, it makes me smile.  It is not the content of the conversation that makes the communication between father and son meaningful. It is the fact that they are sharing. One passing along some tidbit of interesting, the other commenting on it.  Once in a while I notice a description involving wide arm movements.

I cherish this scene and the laughter that makes its way across the waves. Sometimes the best conversations happen when you are away from the tv, the radio, the buzz of everyday life.  Even if it is not a real vacation, but a day stolen from midweek...

a bookend-ed day...

I was surprised it only took 23 minutes, from my drive way to the parking lot. On a weekday it would have taken at least ten minutes longer, but the world must have been sleeping in on Saturday...

The boardwalk was quiet.  No rumble of golf carts. No chatter of walkers passing by.  I dodged a couple of spider webs along the way, all worth it, because this path through the mangroves gives way to beautiful.

It never fails to take my breath away.
At the same time, though, it opens up my soul, creating breathing room.  Chatter of the birds, waves lapping up the shore line, and sea foam splashing up as I walk along.  Words come and go though my head, but mostly I am just in the moment, laughing at this snowy egret stalking the fishermen casting out their nets...

: :

Somewhere between loads of laundry and unloading the dishwasher I decided there was no better way to celebrate the first day of summer than to start and end my day with my toes in the sand. I decided on a different spot, one of my other favorites. Lot #3. Chipotle to-go only added to its charm.

I'm planning on making the most of the summer...

life lately...

I have had a bunch of things to say... but not the get-up-and-go to say them... so this is a catch up, and hopefully I can get my act back together soon!

in bloom!

It starts off as hushed as red-orange can be...

I see them here and there as I make my way through town... admiring the blooms surrounded by feathery green brush....

And before long, the buds have exploded and the trees are afire. Everywhere. Dancing and swaying in the wind, showing off their red finery.  I can't help but smile... and let the laughter come along, too.

Earth laughs in flowers.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

feels like a monday on tuesday...

It wasn't easy pulling myself out from under the warm blankets, the comfortable sleeping in of summer. School is finally out, my boy is officially a senior, and I am back on my summer work schedule... flip-flopping the balance of work days from four to three.  Perfection.  

But Monday still came... this week on a Tuesday.  Four people needing to be in four places at four different times, which might not be a problem unless you are down to two cars.  And someone heading out to drive his cousins to camp, forgetting that his truck tank was hovering just above empty.  Oh yes... and having to pull myself from beautiful, cozy sleep to wide awake and workout clothes.  Hours later I feel like we are all still just adjusting.

The actual Monday of our week? 
Morning errands, a college meetings and job applications... lunch for four {thank you Jason's Deli for making it easy for Eric to grab a quick sandwich!} We came home to a storm rolling in, which was the perfect excuse to curl up with a book and laze the afternoon away.  And since both kids wanted to accompany Eric to the grocery store, my afternoon stretched on into evening...

I live for summer like I live for the weekends.  And a Tuesday-Monday during summer hardly has a sting when it is only followed by two more work days!