We’ve spent the past six weeks living in various states of mourning and fear and chaos and joy. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions that have worn us all down and made me grateful for all these days that are just ordinary and normal.
Except I’ve also learned that by treasuring these moments of the mundane, I’m embracing a life that can be so much more. So here’s to the ordinary, the normal, the basic routines that make life delightful.
Joshua has finally been given the green light to return to work. While it’s been great to just have him here and know he’s fine and should be for many years to come, I’ve been feeling like we’re in some holding pattern circling our regular routine. Getting him back to his normal means that I feel free to go back to my normal routine as well, which in turn reassures me that he really is okay.
Hold on, my baby is walking. I shouldn’t be so surprised. He’s one and all his sisters walked earlier than that. But it happened so suddenly that I’m still startled when I see him toddling down the hall when I know I left him sitting on the living room floor.
We sent Madelynne off to camp for the first time this summer. Always, because we’re Berry grads and worked Camp WinShape ourselves, we thought that would be her first experience, but instead we were given the opportunity to keep her a little more in our neck of the woods and send her to Strong Rock Camp. It was a great experience. The camp is a bit smaller and there were plenty of other girls there from her school, so she didn’t feel quite so alone. Plus, Strong Rock is known for its horse barn and she was able to ride everyday which made her incredibly happy. I’m sure someday we’ll send her over to the WinShape Nation, but for now we’re really happy with Strong Rock.
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| That’s her with another camper and the son of one of the camp directors. They are friends of ours and she was happy to play some game involving Gobstoppers with Carver! |
Last week while Madelynne was off at camp, Annabelle was off on the Appalachian Trail. Ever since her retirement, my mom has been hiking the AT in as many increments as her bum foot and shoulder allow. Last summer she did about 600 miles of the trail between Harper’s Ferry and Great Barrington, Massachusetts. But she’s had foot surgery since then, so she’s building her endurance back up. She took Annabelle on the 15 mile stretch between Hogpen Gap and Unicoi Gap in Georgia. They spent two nights on the trail, ate a lot of Pop-tarts and mashed potatoes, got a little wet, and Annabelle returned with twenty mosquito bites because she’s just that delicious.
I’m such a teacher nerd who must miss the classroom because yesterday I wrote us a lesson plan for the week. I’ll probably post more about it later in the week. It’s the first week that we haven’t had anyone gone, so we’re finally able to settle into a bit of summer simplicity and enjoy the library, the $1 movies at the local theater, and our own backyard.
Although since I wrote this earlier I’ve already had to remind myself to be thankful for the normal, even if it means I can’t get a post published before 10 p.m. and the sink remains full of dishes even after the dishwasher is loaded.
Linking up with Miscellany Monday over at lowercase letters. Check it out, there’s a giveaway!
Lindsey P. Brackett 