by Inspiration | Oct 22, 2024 | Attitude, Archives
The Chase My youngest child turned seven months old yesterday. They grow so quickly, don’t they? His development is bittersweet, I can’t wait for him to reach that next stage,… The Chase My youngest child turned seven months old yesterday. They grow so quickly, don’t they? His development is bittersweet, I can’t wait for him to reach that next stage, but then again I want him to stay little! He is at that point where he is about to crawl – but can’t quite do it yet. That doesn’t stop him from moving around and getting where he needs to go though! He scoots around this house as fast as he can, dragging his little body with chubby arms. I love that ‘army crawl’! His favorite adventure the past few days has been ‘chasing the bouncy blue ball’. I watched this closely today, and this is what I saw. His whole face lights up as soon as he sees the ball, and ‘the chase’ is on! He scoots after the ball – almost gets it in his grasp – and it slips away. No matter, he squeals with delight and chases it again. He catches it the next time, rolls over on his back, and holds on tight. He uses both hands and feet to keep the ball where he
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by Inspiration | Oct 21, 2024 | Attitude, Archives, Parenting
Take Control of You Mum tucked me in. “Mum, is it really going to snow?” She pulled the blankets up to my chin and kissed my cheek. “That’s what the… Take Control of You Mum tucked me in. “Mum, is it really going to snow?” She pulled the blankets up to my chin and kissed my cheek. “That’s what the weatherman said.” “Will they cancel school?” “It depends. If we get twelve inches like he said, they probably will.” “Great! I don’t want to go to school. I want to play in the snow.” “Now, Michael! Don’t go getting your hopes up. You could be disappointed.” “But the weatherman said.” “Michael, storms are unpredictable.” She patted my hand. “Go to sleep and we’ll see what the morning brings.” She closed the door. The room grew dark. Outside, the wind howled. Sleet and ice clattered against the window. I heard mum walk to the kitchen. It was safe. I rolled out of bed, crept to the window, and pulled the blinds back. Snow swirled beneath the streetlight and spun in circles over the pavement like the sands in a desert. My heart rate increased – no school tomorrow! “Michael, are you in bed?” Mum called out. “Yes, Mum!” I ran back to my bed and pulled the covers up to my
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by Inspiration | Oct 20, 2024 | Attitude, Archives
How to Enjoy Life to the Fullest As I’m typing my thoughts, I am watching my daughter play outside games with her neighborhood friends. First, they played a made-up game… How to Enjoy Life to the Fullest As I’m typing my thoughts, I am watching my daughter play outside games with her neighborhood friends. First, they played a made-up game of throwing a ball through hula-hoops. Next, it was bouncing a ball in the middle of the hula-hoop, which had a number point value scribbled with pink sidewalk chalk in the center. How fun it is to watch the girls, aged five to eleven, improvise with the items they have, which were six hula-hoops and five balls of various sizes. I’m amazed at how quickly the girls can switch from game to game, making new rules, and having fun. Watching their excitement, giggles, and negotiation skills remind me of some of the aspects of life that we sometimes don’t. We don’t celebrate life. Each day, we should celebrate life. No, I’m not talking about living irresponsibly, but enjoy every day given to us. For the past week, my daughter asks me what special thing we are going to do that day. Sometimes, she just wants to go outside and play catch or take a family bike ride to the park.
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by Inspiration | Oct 19, 2024 | Archives
Kindness is Contagious My 9-year-old daughter and I were flying from our home in Charlotte, North Carolina, to spend a week with my husband in Miami, Florida. Mike had been… Kindness is Contagious My 9-year-old daughter and I were flying from our home in Charlotte, North Carolina, to spend a week with my husband in Miami, Florida. Mike had been in Florida for five months working for an Internet start-up company. We were excited about the trip because we had seen him only five times in five months, and Kallie missed her dad terribly. As usual on the Charlotte-to-Miami flight, the plane was totally full. I had noticed a troop of Boy Scouts at the gate and commented to my daughter that if anything happened, we would be OK with all those Scouts on our flight! Little did I know… Because we did not get our boarding passes until we arrived at the gate, Kallie and I could not get seats together and were separated by the aisle. That wasn’t such a big deal, except that Kallie was nervous about the trip and had counted on my reading to her the whole way. Trying to read across the aisle would be a challenge. When the two passengers who shared my row boarded the plane, I asked if they would switch
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by Inspiration | Oct 18, 2024 | Relationship, Archives
Friendship is one of the many blessings God has given each one of us. I am so grateful for the lasting friendships I have cultivated through the years. As women,… Friendship is one of the many blessings God has given each one of us. I am so grateful for the lasting friendships I have cultivated through the years. As women, we know that true friendship is a sacred commodity. This is a relationship that is to be cherished and revered for a lifetime. We’ve experienced friendships that have come and gone because of misunderstandings, differences in lifestyles, spiritual or personal growth. For whatever reasons, they have left a permanent mark on our hearts of what true friendship really is. I am known to be a very outgoing person and can interact with people from various cultures and backgrounds. I believe this is one of the many gifts God has bestowed upon me. I say this with great humbleness: as a child, I was very shy and reserved. During my early years, I longed for friends. I wanted people to accept and like me. Even in high school, I felt like an outcast because I wasn’t chosen to be in what I thought was the “In” group. Consequently, this had a negative effect on my self-esteem. I placed little value on
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