My Moutain

The twisting, turning, hidden paths of life can surprise us sometimes.  

They say hindsight is 20/20; you can see where you've been and you can see the wrong steps you made on the way.  And sometimes, sometimes you can see the beautiful hill that you climbed that led you to the top of the mountain where you currently stand, looking out over your bright future. 

Yesterday I saw a "for sale" sign placed in my front yard. 

A week ago I watched my husband walk across the stage and be hooded as Dr. Renegar. 

In two months I'll watch my baby girl take the long walk to her Kindergarten classroom. 

Over the last few years, I've seen my children grow and change and witnessed my mother, brother, sister, brothers-in-law, and countless students begin to fulfill their own dreams. 

Each day, for the last three years, I've trudged up the side of this mountain.  Sometimes I ran, sometimes I stumbled, occasionally I slipped and fell and had to wipe the muck and dirt away before raising my head and climbing again.  Each day I wondered, "Who am I and where am I going?"  And yet, I climbed, patiently placing one foot in front of the other. 

When you are focused on climbing and not falling you often don't stop to smell the roses. You don't look around or behind, but ahead, despite not really knowing what the view will be from the top. 

And then, one day, you're there.  You are at the top of your mountain, with so much hard work behind you. You see your future laid out in the valley below you and you can see the path down.  Your legs are tired and your heart full of the struggles and successes of the climb, but your energy is renewed and your eyes bright. 

This is my mountain and I made it.  I'm at the top, looking down.  Watch out world, here I come. 

Still for the moment

This one is more for me than anyone else.  Of course, the nature of my blog is more the musings of my mind than anything else, so I guess deep down all of my blog posts are really for me.

This afternoon I'm attending a baby shower, my Facebook news feed has been full of beautiful blossoming women who are entering the ending stages of their pregnancies, and at my La Leche League meetings pregnant and new moms are finally balancing out moms of older babies and toddlers.   I'm overwhelmed with excitement for these women as they welcome their first, second, third and fourth babies.

I can clearly remember after Whit was born everyone I knew (and many people I didn't know) would ask me if and when I was having more children.  Since Eilidh came along and I had "A family of four, a girl and a boy", the questions about more children have stopped from everyone except close friends who know I want more kids and my overzealous Child Development students.

Not too long ago I was desperate for another child.  I can remember, clearly, the craving to cradle new life again, to have a fresh nursling to snuggle and wear.  And I really wanted to buy an infant-sized Kinderpack.

I'm not sure what changed between then and now.  Perhaps it is my focus on living in the moment instead of reminiscing about the future as I am typically prone to do.  Perhaps it is the words of Sidewalk Prophets that have been running through my head almost like a silent prayer for months.  " If there's a road I should walk, help me find it. If I need to be still, give me peace for the moment..."

Whatever it is, I'm happy with my little family of four, a girl and a boy right now.


Right now I have peace about my family.



Right now, we are perfect.

Call me maybe?

It's been too long since my last posting.  Our lives have been a crazy kind of wonderful with absolutely no downtime.  Right now I should be grading papers and lesson planning and instead I'm contemplating life.

A few years ago I wrote about our faith journey. We had picked up and moved, for the second time in our marriage, because that's where our road was going.  I wrote about patience, faith, waiting and giving up control and planning because that's when you can really enjoy the ride of life.  I'm glad I stumbled on that post today because I needed it.  Everyone in my life is starting a new adventure. A few months ago I wrote about feeling like I was in transition and trying to find out who I was and where I was heading.  I didn't feel like I could start my own adventure because I needed to be a base camp as my family grows.  Kirk is now well entrenched in his post-graduate work, Whit is nearing the halfway point of Kindergarten and Eilidh continues to emerge into an independent and captivating child.

For the last few weeks, perhaps months, I've wondered where life would lead ME next. I see my family ranging out and coming back to me but I've been steadfast so far.  When would it be my turn? Who will I become next?  And although I don't doubt that something new will be on the horizon for me eventually, I must have missed the subtle shifting and changing that was going on around me; that my island was growing and bridges were being built around it.  I'm overwhelmed right now with the sense of community surrounding me. With the sharing of ideas and building of lives.  Someone once told me that the 30's were an amazing time and they have surely proved to be thus far.

And while I may lament at times the need for me to be away from home and family for work, and why I can't seem to figure out who I'm supposed to be and where I'm supposed to go, I've come to see over time that I haven't missed the calling that I've been waiting for.  I've just followed it without really hearing it.  I've settled into my new self without realizing it and have been doing important work without really knowing it.

I see the signs of change coming, I can smell a new adventure in the air. But for now I'm going to watch and wait.  I'm going to pay attention to who I am, where I am, and this amazing group of people I'm being connected to.  And when the time comes for me to jump, I'll be ready.

To my mother in the mirror

I glance up and I see her...

She is looking in the mirror, poking, prodding and evaluating.
I can see the look in her eyes; I know what she is thinking.

Her skin, while still healthy, bears an uneven tan with strange tan lines.
There are stretch marks and spider veins scattered across her body.
Her breasts, hips and abdomen are not as firm as they once were.
Her knees, which she has never loved, are even less sightly than before.
Her arms and thighs have lost the tone and muscle of her youth.
Her hair, once a naturally highlighted blond has gotten darker with age, changing into something that can only be described as "brown."
Her eyes are tired, with just a hint of fine lines around the corners.

I met her gaze and I want to shout "Don't you see?"

Don't you see that your body bears a testament to your life, it tells a story?
Don't you see that your uneven tan shows that you have spent the summer working hard outside, playing with your children, planting a garden, living?
Don't you see that those stretch marks, spider veins, and abdomen are the proof that you nurtured and grew two amazing, beautiful children within your own body?
Don't you see that your knees are just the right height for a toddler to hold on to; that you are her anchor in the world?
Don't you see that your arms and thighs are now more suited to hugging, holding and kneeling down to clean a spill or play a game?
Don't you see that I don't care what color your hair is or what dress size you wear? I only want us to have matching hairstyles and dresses that swirl.
Don't you see that those eyes communicate love, hope and security?

Don't you see?  Don't you see that I am you?

25 years ago it was you standing there, looking at yourself in the mirror as I watched on.  Now it is me.  In another 25 years it will be my daughter who I can see out of the corner of my eye.

Then, now and in the future I will silently scream "Please! Don't you see how beautiful you are?"

Me, with my two amazing, beautiful children

My mother, the most beautiful woman I know

When I grow up... the artist and the adventurer

In the last three months both of my little ones have added a year to their age.  Each time this happens I think "I should start a prediction page!" Thinking, of course, that each year I would write down what I (or they) think each child will be when they grow up.

So I started thinking.  When Whit was very little he had charisma.  He was loved by a lot of people and always made a good impression.  I thought, surely, he will be the President or something.  As he got older I noticed that he cared about the rules a lot more than other children his age.  Aha! He will be in law making or law enforcement.  Then there was always the athletic side of him. Will he be a baseball player, maybe soccer, maybe football? I mean, the kid can kick and throw and hit.  And what about the fact that he likes to go places but doesn't like to do new things (as ironic as that sounds)...

When Eilidh was born I often played the same game in my mind with her.  She certainly won't cut it in the corporate world with a name like Eilidh.... but perhaps she'll be an artist?  She's loved to write and draw since she could pick up a pencil.  Or perhaps she will be a counselor or a nurse, since she enjoys taking care of other people.

And then, just about the time Whit turned five, I really started thinking.  Why am I getting so worked up over what my children will be when they are grown - in  more than 20 years.  Am I really going to keep a revolving list of what I think they will be?  Am I really going to ask them every year what they are going to be when they grow up?  Although the list thus far is quite funny - Whit is going to be a ghostbuster, a football player and a firefighter/school principal.  Eilidh is going to be a bunny, or a horse, or a bird.

I've decided to stop pressuring them. My children have their entire adult lives to figure out, without any input or pressure from me, how they want to affect this world.  I've passed the 30 year mark and I'm still trying to figure out what my role in this world is.  And even those times that I've figured it out, it always seems to change, sometimes very quickly.

I guess the bottom line is if we are to remain fluid and continue to grow (although rarely taller) throughout our lives we are never truly "grown up."  And therefore we can only hope that our daily actions can compound and impact our ever changing world in a positive way.  Regardless of their profession I hope we can teach our children to work hard at whatever they choose to do, to serve as custodians rather than consumers of their planet, to love first and judge last.

Someday my children will be grown and out on their own.  I hope they are successful.  I pray they find a path in life that follow's God's plan for them.  I hope their path makes them feel fulfilled, happy, and purposeful. And I hope that I can keep my own opinions out of it.

The Artist

The Adventurer