During the last 6 months we were anticipating some big changes for our family and when those died out, I realized I had been living my life for the future. I found myself rationalizing my behavior or happiness level because, “when such-and-such happens, I will be a better mother” . . . “when such-and-such happens, I will be happier” . . . “when such-and-such happens, my kids will keep their rooms cleaned up better” and on and on. Then we had General Conference a couple weeks ago and one of the talks really touched me on this very subject! We need to ‘enjoy the journey,’ not just live our lives for some future event. Not a day later, I ran across this quote:
We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
I have really made a conscious effort to enjoy the journey as this is my life now and before I know it this stage will be over and I will miss it; wishing I would have cherished it more. So, what have we been up to (other than the aforementioned laundry . . . ) . . . . we’ve been enjoying the journey!
Apple Printing
Cami is always asking to paint. I wonder where she came up with this because we VERY rarely do this. So, one day we pulled some apples out of the refrigerator and did some apple prints. Cami ‘printed’ in one area of the paper until it tore and then worked on a different area while Emma refused to even touch an apple (our anti-fruit/vegetable child) and decided to paint with the good ol’ paint brush. It was a great activity.
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Pumpkin Picking
We took a day off of school and went pumpkin picking with some friends. Yes, we live in the suburbs, but no, there aren’t any pumpkin patches nearby so we drove down to Princeton. The drive through Princeton itself was beautiful and reminded me a lot of Cornell. It was hard to leave such beautiful scenery when our day there was over.
We did choose our annual pumpkins. Caleb and Emma chose quickly as did Cami, but her problem was finding one she could carry. Hannah, on the other hand, was still choosing a pumpkin after everyone had finished and was done with the corn maze. But, when all was said and done, she was happy with her choice.
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We stuck around for awhile to hang out with the animals, ride some ‘tractors’, and enjoy cider donuts and apple cider. We noticed they still had some raspberries to pick so we made sure to gather some to take home and make freezer jam with!
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Finding a Fairy Castle
We have done poorly in getting to a weekly homeschool park day. There always seems so much to be done at home, children not getting their school work done, inclement weather, and a number of other reasons. We had our acts together last week and headed off to park day, only to find it was an ‘off’ day for everyone else. So, the kids found a ‘fairy castle’ and began their own medieval play. At first I was an observer and then next thing I knew I was being asked if I were ‘friend or foe’. Thank goodness I was a friend because Emma looked like she could do wonders with her stick bow and arrow! Cami found the treasure hidden amongst the bushes – bird berries!
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While we were playing in the fairy castle, I noticed an older woman standing a little ways a way just observing. I thought maybe she was wondering where these children’s mother was so I stepped a little more out of my ‘secret chamber’ so she could see me. Eventually she walked away only to be walking back towards us with her husband just a few minutes later. When she walked by I said hello and she stopped to talk to me. She told me how she had been enthralled with the kids play and had to bring her husband back to show him how they were playing, making up their own medieval play . . . and speaking in some sort of old-English dialect! She was amazed that they were siblings and seemed to enjoy playing so nicely together outside. Just meeting her made my day as I felt like my day was somewhat validated by her interest.
As I continue to ‘enjoy the journey’ I feel myself uplifted, happier, and able to get more accomplished – and I ask myself, “what was I waiting for?” This is it! This is my life . . . the time I was waiting for – it was an attitude change not a location change that I needed!
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