Because life needs to be fun
We traded the boot for a cast, and the crutches are now taking second place behind a wheelchair…
and it took him just a few minutes to master this:
He makes me laugh.
Homework
This stack of books is my homework. I’m on a mission to understand some things I’ve never needed to know, as well as to re-learn some things that have become ruts for me and my family. The desire has been spurred by some specific needs in our home we’ve recently learned about. I’m going about this stack a little strangely, I suppose, for I’m reading four of these books at the same time. Not sure why, exactly. Perhaps I find them all so urgent and interesting that I couldn’t resist starting more than one. Either way, it’s helping me see some common threads between all these doctors, experts, etc. and I think I might be defining my priorities faster because of the simultaneous study. It reminds me of my college days, studying material from various classes at the same time. One of my favorite memories of that stage in my life was the feeling of being so mentally alive; the joy of making connections I didn’t see coming and starting a new treasure hunt for knowledge down a path I hadn’t previously known existed. I find myself experiencing this again to a small degree and it is bringing me joy.
The smaller stack holds my journal for recording daily progress on my goals, eight small joy journals for each of my kids (which I fell behind on when we had the flu and I haven’t yet caught up), a notebook for recording thoughts and ideas as I study my tall stack of books, and Middlemarch, a classic that I’m working through much too slowly.
I like this project. I know it will take me time to read all this literature, and even more time to digest it and apply it in our home but I’m going to do it. I took a little break while the kids were home and now I’m back to the books!
Thought for the day:
“Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.” -William Butler Yeats Wishing you a week of growth, Jennifer
Joy, week 15
Spring break is over and we’re working on an early bedtime tonight. It’s so hard to give up my kids for another seven weeks! Our little taste of freedom has yielded some good ideas and observations from which to plan the summer and I’m excited to change gears for more than a week.
It was a fantastic week. I’m so thankful for the things we were able to do, for the time the children spent playing outside, for time with my sister, time as a family, time in the temple, and a hundred other little things.
I definitely felt joy this week. Joy in my children, joy in my relationship with my sister, joy in watching my son handle his new challenge with such humor. I have felt joy in the flowers blooming all over my yard and joy in the blossoms on my trees. Joy in laughing with my husband at the non-stop narrative of our two year old this afternoon, laughing until my eyes were filled with tears. Joy in time spent talking with friends. Lots and lots of joy. It was certainly not a week without difficulty, but it was a joyful week. Yesterday my husband walked through the kitchen and said to me, “Aren’t you so glad we’re not all sick to our stomachs right now?” Yes, we found joy in healthy appetites and no illness in our home.
As far as my goals go, I was happy to spend some time sewing. I also reached a goal I’d set to go spend time in Logan – just me, without kids – with my sister. It feels good to have made that a priority.
Yesterday I spent a couple of hours working on our summer calendar and hope I’ve got some things figured out. I feel like I’ve got a good handle on the next couple of weeks and I really hope to make it through the end of May in good form. It’s the busiest time of the year for me, but I’m starting to feel like I just might be finding my stride. Lots of little things are still falling by the wayside but they’re little things, things I cannot sacrifice to the big things, so I’m learning to let them go and with them, let go of the self-criticism I usually give in to as I watch them litter the path behind me. That’s easily said after a simple week. The test comes as we dive in tomorrow morning and sprint through the week.
And so I’m going to leave this post on the lighter side in order to enjoy some quiet time in bed with a good book before I attempt to get a full night’s sleep. I am grateful to be alive, grateful to have this loud, messy, happy, fun family, grateful for my husband who makes things much more fun than I do, grateful for my Heavenly Father who makes everything work out. Life is joyful!
Jennifer