One Step Report #17
It’s Sunday night. The children are in bed, the baby is asleep and the only sounds I hear are the clicking of the keys on my computer. I love the sound of a quiet house. I love the way I can slow down and ponder when there is quiet in my world.
It’s hard to believe that May is already here. April came and went in a blur and I stand poised at the beginning of this month, half hoping that it will also fly by and half hoping that I will be able to make it count, set some things in motion for summer and accomplish a lot.
My report for this week: 55 steps. I’m happy with that. I was taught some good lessons this week through both positive and negative experiences and I really want to implement them.
This week also saw the end of another month, so my summary for April is a total of 251 steps. On April 29th I passed the 1,000 step mark. Kind of neat! It feels good to know that I’ve recorded more than 1,000 positive, albeit small, things I’ve done so far this year.
About a year ago a friend offered us some little peach tree starts. They were free and we want to grow peaches so as a family we dug them up and transplanted them to our yard. Our children enjoyed watering them throughout the summer. They are between 2-3 feet tall and we wondered if they would survive the winter. Imagine how happy we were to discover these little leaves on all of them.
I am trying to remember that growth is slow but steady if we work at it, and that my efforts will eventually yield the results I am seeking just as we expect these little trees to grow and bring forth fruit someday. It is so comforting to have reminders. I’m learning a lot from my trees.
I’m also learning a lot from life’s bumps and bruises. I am grateful for those moments of illumination when I am able to see clearly and perceive how I need to improve. I’ve had A LOT of opportunities to face my faults this week but I’m encouraged by the ideas I have for positive change. The words I keep thinking of are: deliberate, intentional, purposeful. In all the little things I’m doing, I want to be guided by a stronger sense of vision that cuts through the mundane frustrations and tasks of everyday and helps me be undaunted by the work at hand.
This week’s highlights:
1. I was able to track down a UPS package that was sent to one of our old addresses, which was a relief to my sister-in-law and means a fun new project for me to tackle this month. I’m a bit nervous about it but will do my best.
2. At 7:30 pm this evening I told my parents that we hadn’t needed to use any first aid skills all week. Hooray! Before bedtime we had a cut lip and a swollen eye, but all is well and I had to laugh.
3. My husband and I had a great planning/brainstorming/goal setting session this afternoon. It feels good to have a plan for the coming months and to be on the same page.
4. I started a new book.
5. I stayed up way too late on Friday night and the quilting is now 2/3 of the way done on my Wild Thing quilt. It’s slow going but I am SO excited about finishing.
6. We saw the fulfillment of a promise in a Father’s blessing in the life of our four year old this week. He saw the baby put a lego in her mouth and got help before she choked on it.
7. Today I learned that having the power out during Sacrament meeting does NOT help the youngest children to be quiet in Church. With no power and no microphone I heard nothing from the foyer today, but am told that the meeting was a really neat one, in part BECAUSE there was no power. It certainly created a memory for the older children and reminded me of a memory from my mission.
8. Thanks to the comment of my neighbor in Sunday School, I learned a new meaning to the phrase “charity never faileth.” I’ve got a lot to ponder and I feel grateful for the new ideas I get to explore as a result of someone else’s insight.
Life is good. Full of challenges, but good.
I hope you have a great week!
Jennifer
