Cherish Every Moment
02 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Reflections Tags: blessings, Family, love
While driving home from Target yesterday, I found my thoughts wandering all over the place. I need to work on our co-op plan, need to get dinner done early for pack meeting, why is baby upset in his seat, what am I going to do for language arts, when is mom leaving on vacation, and on and on and on. I’m sure you can relate. Then, suddenly, something hit me, like a 9-ton Mack truck: it doesn’t matter! None of it matters. It’s so easy to be caught up in everyday life, that we forget to actually live. One day, I’m going to be 90 years old and think to myself, “You know, this life just went by too fast!” I mean, we say it all the time, that time goes by too quickly, and that our children grow up too fast. Well, put all those years together and soon we’ll see that life, itself, just goes by too fast. Now, of course I can’t stop that from happening. I can’t slow time down, though I often wish I could. But, what I can do is simply cherish every single moment. Every moment with my children, my husband, my family and friends. Cherish the laughs and tears, the silliness and grumpiness, the ups and downs. Cherish it all- because before we know it, we are going to be 90 years old and looking back on our lives. When I’m there I want to be able to say, “Even though this life went by fast, I loved it all!”
This journey that we are taking with homeschooling is about so much more than just what curriculum we are using and what this kids are accomplishing academically. It’s truly about the little moments with them. I, for one, plan on cherishing those moments. It’s those little moments that make the biggest blessings in our lives! I am immensely blessed!
My Daddy
28 Jan 2009 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Family, love, my Dad
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted anything. That’s because my world has been turned upside down.
A little over four weeks ago, my dad passed away unexpectedly in his sleep. Ever since then, nothing has been the same.
My dad was my rock. He was my friend. He was my daddy. He will always be. But I miss him terribly. He was such a huge part of our lives. I love my dad more than I could ever begin to describe.
It’s been 4 weeks now, and I still feel lost and terribly sad. The sadness is purely selfish. I’m thrilled for him. I know where he is. I know that I’ll see him and be with him again. I know t
hat death is not the end and that I can be with my family for eternity. However, I’m so sad not to have him physically here anymore. Someone told me that we never mourn for those that have passed, we mourn for those of us left behind. It’s so true.
I wanted to take a little bit of time, and talk about my dad a bit.
My dad’s world revolved around me and the kids. His family was his life. Growing up he always put me first and was always there for me when I needed him. There are countless examples of this, but I remember on one particular occasion, I was in preschool. Some kid slammed my pinkie in the hinge part of a door and I was in some serious pain. I remember getting some ice from the teacher, and then looking up and seeing my dad there. It seemed like it has only been a couple minutes since it had happened. My dad was at work at the time, but dropped everything and drove as fast as he could to come get me. On another occasion, he came to the rescue when I lost my favorite blankie. I have wonderful memories of going out to Lake Mead with my dad. No matter how much he wanted to fish, he always made sure to pull the boat up to shore line so I could go collect sea shells and rocks and other fun things. We spent a lot of time outdoors when I was younger, as my dad loved to fish and hunt and camp. We stayed close, even as I was a teenager. My dad was always someone I felt I could talk to and go to with anything. He wasn’t always happy about what I did, but he was always there for me and always loved me. After I got married and had children, my dad was a wonderful grandpa. Trips to grandpa’s house with the boys always started off by visiting the garage and playing with tools and learning something. He loved to have the boys come over and they would build things and work on all kinds of projects together. And the girls just melted his heart. In talking to family and friends, he would constantly be talking about the kids. He took such joy in all of them. He was a huge part of our lives.
My dad was incredibly talented. As a young child I remember sitting next to him and watching him as he tied flies for fly fishing, or worked on a fishing rod, making it look completely amazing. He also was an extremely skilled woodturner. The things he made on that wood lathe were absolutely incredible, including intricate baby rattles for each of the kids. My dad was also the one anyone called if they wanted a picture frame made, or shelves made, or anything fixed.
My dad was also a very kind and gentle man. He was a great example to everyone who knew him.
I’m so grateful for the time I did have here with him, and I’m so grateful that he is my dad.
You can read the obituary here.
