Singing in the rain

I took Dynamite in to the shower with me tonight for two reasons: 1) to bathe him and 2) to keep him out of everyone's hair. He is three and is very impressed at his ability to affect the environment around him, sometimes in negative ways.

I've been thinking a lot about how I interact with my children. About how quickly the time goes. It's hard for me to believe that my eldest is going to be nine next month. Another nine and he will be contemplating college and moving out. Sometimes I wonder if time is truly absolute as it seems that it goes increasingly fast as I get older.

As I was in the shower tonight with dear Dynamite, I had the thought that I will never get "these" five minutes back. And so I knelt down and sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider to him, complete with hand motions. A wonderful smile swallowed up his face as our fingertips danced in the "rain" coming down.

God, give me the grace to remember how quickly it all goes and to make every moment, even the most ordinary, magical.

Beauty For Ashes

Life has been pretty rough lately. I have been trying to hone in on some food allergies and it's not been easy! For years, I've struggled with chronic fatigue and eczema. Generally, the cycle goes something like this:

1) An adverse reaction to food or an environmental factor

2) Try to drink a buttload of water and eat everything green under the sun

3) End up at the doctor looking like I had an acid bath and getting put on steroids

Ugh.

I've been eating yeast-free, because I know that I am allergic to yeast. Now, I need to figure out what else I'm allergic to.

Anyway, you don't want to hear my health woes. I sound like an 80-year old woman for crying out loud.

Let me tell you about what I'm grateful for despite my circumstances.

Today my husband came home and made me the most god-awful juice you can imagine. He threw some celery, cilantro, cucumber, kale, apples, parsley and carrots in to the juicer (he found this recipe online for combating skin issues). I then drank half of it, but had to stop there b/c I was ready to toss my cookies. But can I just say, how awesome is my husband that he tries to make me feel better? He took a half day off work so I could go to the doctor. I am one lucky duck.

My 3-month old grins so big, his little cheeks swallow up his whole chubby face. How cute is that??

When I told my 8-year old that I was sad because I couldn't find the coffee filters and I really wanted a cup of coffee, he said, "Now I feel sad because you just said you feel sad". Sweet empathy from one so young... (okay, I know that I was whining, but it was still super cute).

It is so easy to find the things that are wrong in our lives. We sure don't have to look hard. There are illnesses, inattentive spouses, pressures at work, never feeling like we have enough time. There are heavy issues that many of us can't even comprehend: crumbling marriages, dying loved ones intense financial stress, the list could go on and on.

But if we allow our lives to become only those things, we will die. Stop giving thanks and we have lost the fight. We are no longer living. We get only one today.

Check out this website for some inspiration:

http://onethousandgifts.com/a-letter-from-ann