Well, it's time for Five Minute Friday and usually I'd link up with Lisa-Jo, but her blog is broken, which may be the exact reason she chose broken for today's word prompt. So here we go.
Her heart was completely broken. It broke into a million tiny pieces the minute they placed him in her arms. It was the best kind of broken - propelled by the sheer force of joy at the safe arrival of her new son. The world had waited with her, and she'd have to share him with them soon enough, but at this moment it was her and her little family safely cocooned in the hospital suite.
She counted his fingers and toes and wondered which he would break just by boyhood shenanigans. She squeezed his chubby legs and envisioned keeping her fingers crossed that he wouldn't break a leg riding his horse or playing football. What young lady would break his heart for the first time?
His future lay ahead of him like a blank canvas. Not entirely blank, as his heritage prescribed the responsibilities he mantled simply by being born into this family. But as she held him close and felt the million pieces of her heart start to come back together, she purposed once again to protect him from the weight of his birthright even as he would learn to honor it and offer him a happy, bright upbringing filled with the opportunity to laugh with delight, run with joy and perhaps experience a bit of brokenness along the way.
There would be plenty of time for the inevitable brokenness of life in the years to come, but for now, right this moment, before the world even knew he had come, it was simply unbroken perfection.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
Belong
Linking up today with Five Minute Friday. Today's word prompt is belong.
All she ever wanted was to belong. She was skinny, unkempt, neglected. She had spent the first 14 months of her life crated, outside, 24/7 until the uniformed officer came and took her away. It was loud in the new place, very loud until the lights dimmed at nighttime.
She had a family come visit and decide to take her home, but then they changed their minds. She didn't know why. She was ready to belong. She wasn't sad, though. By nature, she was just a happy girl. All the time, even when things went wrong.
And then one night, on a whim, a couple came to where she lived. At first, they walked right past her. They went behind the closed doors and then came back out, looking disappointed. Then the man stopped by her crate and said to the woman, "Can we look at her?" She turned on what bedraggled charm she had and blinked her big brown eyes. "Sure," said the woman who was with the man.
She couldn't believe it. Was she finally going to belong? The couple disappeared behind the doors again and then one of the workers came to get her. She grabbed a ball and pushed exuberantly into the room. BAM! She ran hard and slid right into the man.
And then she heard the woman say, "Well, that pretty much settles it. She's your girl."
She couldn't believe her ears. She was going to belong! She was going to be a daddy's girl! She was getting a new name! There was some talk about having to meet a big brother to make sure they got along, but she wasn't going to let that stand in her way. She'd be sure to be on her best behavior when he came to visit. It took her about two days to convince him that she belonged to the family, too, and she quickly found her way into her brother's heart and became his best pal.
At last, she belonged. She was home.
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All she ever wanted was to belong. She was skinny, unkempt, neglected. She had spent the first 14 months of her life crated, outside, 24/7 until the uniformed officer came and took her away. It was loud in the new place, very loud until the lights dimmed at nighttime.
She had a family come visit and decide to take her home, but then they changed their minds. She didn't know why. She was ready to belong. She wasn't sad, though. By nature, she was just a happy girl. All the time, even when things went wrong.
And then one night, on a whim, a couple came to where she lived. At first, they walked right past her. They went behind the closed doors and then came back out, looking disappointed. Then the man stopped by her crate and said to the woman, "Can we look at her?" She turned on what bedraggled charm she had and blinked her big brown eyes. "Sure," said the woman who was with the man.
She couldn't believe it. Was she finally going to belong? The couple disappeared behind the doors again and then one of the workers came to get her. She grabbed a ball and pushed exuberantly into the room. BAM! She ran hard and slid right into the man.
And then she heard the woman say, "Well, that pretty much settles it. She's your girl."
She couldn't believe her ears. She was going to belong! She was going to be a daddy's girl! She was getting a new name! There was some talk about having to meet a big brother to make sure they got along, but she wasn't going to let that stand in her way. She'd be sure to be on her best behavior when he came to visit. It took her about two days to convince him that she belonged to the family, too, and she quickly found her way into her brother's heart and became his best pal.
At last, she belonged. She was home.
Shelby meets her dad for the first time
On the boat with her brother and best friend, Cooper
Friday, July 12, 2013
Present
Linking up today with Five Minute Friday. Today's word prompt is present.
I think one of the most significant gifts we can give one another is the gift of being present. That's not a new theory in this age of instant communication, chronic distraction that many of us find ourselves in. Since the advent of the smartphone, many have bemoaned the fact that is so easily allows us to avoid being present with the people we are with at any given moment. I recently got a new phone and I find myself intentionally leaving it on my desk or putting it aside. I even considered, gasp, not getting a smartphone at all. Many survive and even thrive without one.
But I think I realized the importance of the gift of being present when walking with Pam on her journey through cancer. Ironically, the motivation for getting a smartphone was to allow me to stay connected with clients and work when I was being present with her, sitting in waiting rooms waiting for her, spending the day with her while she napped, just spending time in the same place.
When someone you love is ill, it's hard sometimes to find your role, to know what you are to be doing. Many people love the one you love and all want to help and sometimes it can be frustrating when you want to serve in a way that someone else has already taken over. But one day, I had an epiphany. I said to Pam, "I've figured it out. My job, my gift, is to be ... to be present with you, to be in your home, to walk by your side. There are many doers, and I'm one of them, but my primary role is just to be." Not surprisingly, she'd come to the same realization, probably sooner than I had. This part of our story deserves a longer, more thought-through post than a Five Minute Friday entry, but it's what came to mind when I saw today's word prompt.
I've carried the lesson of being present with me ever since. In the big things - like going with a friend to the hospital/emergency room/test - I find it easier to be present than in the little things when I allow myself to be distracted by the day-to-day to-do lists that run through my mind non-stop. But I'll keep trying to improve my ability and desire to be present for it really is a gift.
I think one of the most significant gifts we can give one another is the gift of being present. That's not a new theory in this age of instant communication, chronic distraction that many of us find ourselves in. Since the advent of the smartphone, many have bemoaned the fact that is so easily allows us to avoid being present with the people we are with at any given moment. I recently got a new phone and I find myself intentionally leaving it on my desk or putting it aside. I even considered, gasp, not getting a smartphone at all. Many survive and even thrive without one.
But I think I realized the importance of the gift of being present when walking with Pam on her journey through cancer. Ironically, the motivation for getting a smartphone was to allow me to stay connected with clients and work when I was being present with her, sitting in waiting rooms waiting for her, spending the day with her while she napped, just spending time in the same place.
When someone you love is ill, it's hard sometimes to find your role, to know what you are to be doing. Many people love the one you love and all want to help and sometimes it can be frustrating when you want to serve in a way that someone else has already taken over. But one day, I had an epiphany. I said to Pam, "I've figured it out. My job, my gift, is to be ... to be present with you, to be in your home, to walk by your side. There are many doers, and I'm one of them, but my primary role is just to be." Not surprisingly, she'd come to the same realization, probably sooner than I had. This part of our story deserves a longer, more thought-through post than a Five Minute Friday entry, but it's what came to mind when I saw today's word prompt.
I've carried the lesson of being present with me ever since. In the big things - like going with a friend to the hospital/emergency room/test - I find it easier to be present than in the little things when I allow myself to be distracted by the day-to-day to-do lists that run through my mind non-stop. But I'll keep trying to improve my ability and desire to be present for it really is a gift.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Beautiful
Even though it's Sunday, I'm linking up with the other writers over at Five Minute Friday. Today's word prompt is beautiful.
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We were enjoying breakfast on the cabin porch, taking in the beautiful view, when she quietly poked her head through the foliage. Quietly, the doe looked to the left, to the right, up toward where we were sitting. Deciding the coast was clear, she emerged from the woods and began gently walking across the yard. Ever vigilant, ever alert, stealthy.
We froze and willed the dogs to stay still and oblivious to the scene unfolding below us.
Then one little fawn, and another and a third emerged behind her, following their mama on this adventure wherever it would lead. Another doe brought up the rear of this unanticipated parade of beauty on the Fourth of July. Gently, they crossed the yard in single file until they disappeared again in the brush.
Beautiful comes in many shapes and sizes. It can come when and where we least expect it.
We were enjoying breakfast on the cabin porch, taking in the beautiful view, when she quietly poked her head through the foliage. Quietly, the doe looked to the left, to the right, up toward where we were sitting. Deciding the coast was clear, she emerged from the woods and began gently walking across the yard. Ever vigilant, ever alert, stealthy.
We froze and willed the dogs to stay still and oblivious to the scene unfolding below us.
Then one little fawn, and another and a third emerged behind her, following their mama on this adventure wherever it would lead. Another doe brought up the rear of this unanticipated parade of beauty on the Fourth of July. Gently, they crossed the yard in single file until they disappeared again in the brush.
Beautiful comes in many shapes and sizes. It can come when and where we least expect it.
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