lesson for mom

How is it that on Halloween night my kids can walk miles upon miles collecting candy and never tire but on a day like today during the "scouting for food" event my son can't make it up one street before he starts complaining? Seven months pregnant I walked up and down the street with my six year old son leaving bags for people to fill with food for the food shelf. Trying to teach him a lesson of generosity and sacrifice for the less fortunate but equally feeling his misery. After working all day and two weeks without a day off at that made the event something to dread. The things we do to teach our children the lessons of life. Once upon a time I myself was going to the food shelf to partake in others generosity, now that the tables are turned I appreciate that generosity much more. So who really learned a lesson today? It seemed to be a lesson of patience as well as sacrifice for myself today. Watching my little man in his cub scout attire walk up and down each driveway was harder than I ever expected. It's so hard for me to let him go on his own but once I finally did he seemed to enjoy himself so much more. I was trying to explain to him over and again how to tie the bags onto doors, growing frustrated at his turtle like speed, once I just let go and let him figure it out for himself my anxiety level went back down. We began racing each other from house to house turning the event into a game until we finally made it back to my little yellow beetle. He was so relieved to see that little car, "finally" he sighed as we crawled in and headed for home. I don't really think that he got anything as far as a lesson in generosity but we made it home in one piece and he did look cute in his little blue and orange uniform. Luckily for us the rain held out until this evening and we were only chased by one dog. I'll never forget the look on his little face as he ran from that monster, I didn't know the little guy could even move that fast.

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." John Wesley

Crunching leaves

The cool Autumn breeze brushes against my face as the sun sets behing the trees, a fire of color before my eyes. The breeze finds its way through every crevice of my favorite sweater tickling the goosebumps hidden underneath. I should probably have a light coat on but I rebel, if only against myself, at the thought of surrendering to the clutches of winter which hides just around the corner. Fall is a magical time of year, it's as if summer is holding on in a fight it's bound only to loose against it's opponent winter. The sound of children playing in the school yard as the leaves tenderly fall. The rustling of squirrels and other small animals as they hurry to build their winter nests. The crunching of leaves under my birkenstocks as I walk my little dog in the park. Time never seems long enough in the fall.

My 10 favorite sounds

1. crunching leaves in the fall

2. rain

3. laughter of my children

4. silence of night

5. baby breathe

6. laughing hard, until you cry

7. "i love you" and really meaning it

8. my dog snoring

9. songbirds in the morning

10. my husbands laugh