#17. The Day. Honestly.

I was at church today and a simple scripture was shared in among the lesson. It was from Galations.

Galations 4:4. It talked about timing. All things in life involve a certain timing. And to not give up on the timing of life. Of course there was more to it, but that is what spoke to me..
 The timing and moments of life are noticed by God.

My weekend looked like this.... Lots of moments and timing....

 I made oatmeal for myself one morning and it tasted so good. You know, the stove top kind of old fashioned oatmeal? I add cinnamon to the boiling water. I add a little brown sugar, then shaved almonds, yellow raisins, and almond milk. Oh my good---ness. Pure happy.

 I made vegetable soup for my daughter but I ended up enjoying it as well. Very yummy.

 Of course we needed baked goods. Pumpkin muffins and brownies, both requests by the boy.

The day was followed by a parade.

The people were the fun part of the parade.

Today I went to Mom's. This is my Mom's house in Hampden. She decorated this tree and the rest of the house that she enjoyed showing off to me.

When you look at my weekend you see part of the story.

Here's another part of the story.
My Mom is experiencing some memory loss. For her to decorate a house, a tree, make me coffee, have a lovely visit in which almost every thing we talk about makes perfect sense is so amazingly wonderful. I see myself in this photo with her as tired, but I showed it to someone else and they said, You are beautiful. I know how happy I am after this visit. Many times I simply drive away and shed a tear. Not tonight.

Those parade photos? Another story. Tired parents of a 7 year old but knowing he will love it. Sweet newcomer to the nest. Never knew this lovely person would be here a year ago when all seemed lost. Big smiles. Joy in the nest. Breathing in the here and now because no one knows if tomorrow is a given. Lessons learned this past year will stay with all of us forever. We've grown up. Moments and timing are good teachers, and we are good students.

That vegetable soup? Made for a daughter that has learned how to combat an eating disorder through being a vegan. You are never free from an eating disorder, but she purposefully is doing her best to be as healthy as she can. Another confession? This mom fought it way too hard instead of being supportive, and I'm truly sorry for that. Guess what? I eat the soup now too! I have learned to embrace where each and every one of my children is at this very moment and love them right there. RIGHT THERE. No moving or improving or changing necessary. Ever. I made sweet potato & squash soup today that I will freeze for her next visit, or, just maybe I will eat it and be a little more healthy.

The pictures only tell half the story. I'm letting you in on part of the other half of the story, because I think telling our story can let others be free to be who they are meant to be.

There is no perfect anything. Ever.
But there are good moments.
I'm learning to accept the hard with the good.
There is always both.

Just giving you some honesty.
Give truth a chance.

Julie