Never Settle

As I stand in my kitchen and prep for tomorrows festivities my eyes water, partly from the onions, partly from the emotions.  The ingredients making up tomorrows meal are endless, but the memories are infinite.  Thanksgiving has brought us together with family, friends, neighbors, and even people we've never met. Ive scoured magazines and pulled recipes; Ive made lists and visited the grocery store a few  many times.  The food will be delicious, our plates will be full, our tummies will be satisfied.  My heart will be explosive. There is something extra melancholy about the holidays when you're away from home.  On one side Im missing my family and the reality of Thanksgiving around the table with family.  On the flip side Im embracing the time we will spend with friends, or better termed "framily"---those friends that are like family.  When we move ALL the time, we have to dig in, get to know people and get to love people right away because if...

Company Clean  The "maid" I have just doesn't seem to be cutting it lately. She does a good job keeping the surfaces clean and mostly picked up, but don't look too closely. I want a clean house. It used to be that every weekend I'd spend a day cleaning, like really cleaning the house--dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing, mopping, etc. Then life happened, kids happened, activities started.  I'm lucky to get a whole day home at once.  The things that used to matter don't seem as big.  The irony is when I'm preparing to have guests over or someone stops by unexpectedly my house gets infinitely dirtier. The dust that seemed minimal starts to swirl like a twister on a midsummers day. As soon as the doorbell rings,  My bathrooms immediately become port a potty runner ups.  The oven, microwave and refrigerator accumulate every drip, spill and splatter.  My house that felt okay and livable somehow seems like a trip to the neighborhood junk...

Losing the Weight  Wait It's the eve of my oldest's birthday and 13 years ago at this time I was big and hot and emotional. Today, I'm big and hot and emotional.  I couldn't wait to hold that baby in my arms, then I couldn't wait to lose the baby weight. Losing the weight is on my mind a lot. It's losing the baby weight, losing the last pcs pounds, losing the holiday and winter hibernation weight.  Losing the weight before vacation or summer or a wedding or event, fill in the blank. It's in my mind daily...the weight. But for this moment, it's not about the weight...it's about the wait. The wait I don't want to lose. See now that I have a teen in the house, I'm over the waiting for the baby to wake from a nap or a nights slumber.  I don't have to wait for the next nursing session or wait for the toddler temper tantrums to finish.  I'm done waiting for the first day of kindergarten.  A lot of the wait has passe...

Redecorating my heart I'm taking down the curtains and pulling back the shades.  It's time to get on my hands and knees for a good baseboard scrub.  It's spring cleaning.  The time of year when you open your windows to air out the mustiness of winter.  Birds are chirp and bees buzz while flowers burst up from a long winters nap. Most of the time my spring cleaning merges with a PCS (Permanent Change of Station, aka military move).  See when preparing for a move it forces me to clean and purge.  Curtains come down and washed, pictures get dusted, and drawers get cleaned out. Every PCS is unique, but the one commonality is all our stuff gets packed up and moved. Except the stuff we don't bring. The stuff we don't bring gets sold, donated, passed on, or thrown away.  The occasional left behind items get left behind because of their value...they're too important to risk the move.  Photo albums and family heirlooms, things of sentimental valu...

 JUST. My son asked me this afternoon, “mom, are you JUST a member now.”  I was taken back, wondering for a moment what he was talking about, when it dawned on me.  Today was the day that I crossed from the “doer” to the “undone” or “did.”  I passed the invisible torch of leadership. In a moments notice I went from being THE leader to JUST a member.  JUST an attender.  JUST a Bible study gal.  There isn’t any clout in being JUST a member.  Funny thing is, there is more to JUST than “just.”  I am JUST a mom and JUST a wife.  I am the one and only wife to my husband. I am more than JUST a companion to my husband that I love and care for. To my sick kid that I nurse back to health, I am more than JUST his/her mom.   I am JUST a friend.  BUT to the friend I encourage I am more than JUST an encouragement. I am MORE. I am more than JUST a member.  I am a daughter of the most high King of Kings and ...