Colton on his first day of 5th grade last Tuesday.
Nolan on his first day of 7th grade last Tuesday.
I awake this morning to muffled sounds of the fridge door being swung opened and closed. Wham-thump. Wham-thump. I hear lids coming off jars, silverware clanking, and the ruffling of plastic bags.
Colton has embraced the idea of packing his lunch each day in a cost saving measure.
I'm still in bed, being pulled in the direction of sleep with a heaviness from the meds I take each night to help me sleep. I fight to get my mind clear, to force my eye lids open, to let the light in. I want to be able to wish him well in his day. I work towards these moments of connection. Where I grab each boy and muster energy so all of me can fill all of them in those brief interludes of time.
I often wonder what they will take with them into the future? These moments I strive for? The ones I would be hard pressed to remember?
Last week we had one- Colton and I.
I'm all smiles at the mere mention of it.
If you ever want to start your day with perspective, perhaps you should ask your child.
He was hurrying out the door and I called after him "Love you to the moon and back, Bubba Jack."
The response these days is more mixed. Some days I get a mumble back. Sometimes a smirk. Other days- nothing.
But this day I got a crystal clear "Love you too, mom."
So I say "ah good, just checking. It's the most important thing in life we share, right?"
"Yep," he replies.
Since he seems so open- I push a bit further.
"What else, Colton, what else do you think is the most important thing in life?"
Without missing a beat he throws open the front door and calls over his shoulder,
"Hope, oh and faith."
I smile and call it back to him...
"Hope and faith?"
"Yep- oh and hockey."
Ahh, that's my boy.
Wishing you a day filled with all three- love, hope, faith- and maybe just a smidge of hockey on top.
My energy seems to wane these days with fatigue a close companion. My cough is still persistent and yet I'm just growing more accustomed to it. I don't otherwise feel too bad. But I am spending more time resting than being too active.
So in a thoughtful and generous gesture, my sweet friend, Barb, brought over some of her cherished treasures to make over my bed room. Superman helped rearrange furniture and Barb brought in some decorative items, and a beautiful chaise for me to borrow as well as a perfectly sized writing desk and chair that she painted and refurbished beautifully!
We just need to finish the bed and I will have pictures to post soon!
"So now faith, hope, and hockey abide, these three; but the greatest of these is hockey ..." JK! ;)
ReplyDeleteAhhh- love this- too funny!!
ReplyDelete"Where hope would otherwise become hopelessness, it becomes faith." ~Robert Brault
ReplyDeleteThoughts and prayers my friend!
Beautiful Eileen- and so true! Hugs to you :)
DeleteSo sweet, your Colton. I had to laugh at the , oh, and hockey line!!!
ReplyDeleteYes- that is my Colton- quick to add in his own little twist on things :)
DeleteIt's important to keep those priorities straight! What a precious family you have.
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan- he truly surprised me with how those words just rolled off his tongue :)
Delete
ReplyDeleteyou know that boy is just like his mom, right? :-)
Ahhh- thank you- he is just paying attention more than we think he is :)
DeleteVicky, how is it that you keep growing more beautiful every time a see another photo? And that kid of yours...ah, he's got it all lined up in perspective. And what a gift to you, an echoing of course of your mothering and the things you have showed him you hold dear, too. With a sprinkling of hockey in there, of course! You have a precious family - what riches!
ReplyDeleteEvery time *I* see another photo...the typo brigade was napping this evening. :)
DeleteI just posted and then scrolled to read...that is what I saw too...she radiates such beauty! I think the Lord needed her to know that...or we needed to be touched by it :) I so agree with you!
DeleteRoxane and Peggy- how you move me with your kind words. Thank you friends :) It was such a delight to hear Colton- I could not imagine him saying something like that without prompting typically :)
DeleteSuch a touching story! We do have to steal those moments from our boys, when they are most open. That Colton of yours is a sweet soul, and I am so honored to be his teacher this year!
ReplyDeleteSending thoughts and prayers for healing and peace ~ today and everyday!
Steph- we feel so lucky and blessed to have you! His year has started so well and I am so at ease and peace just sending him off to you each day- such a gift :) Thanks for all those prayers Steph!
DeleteThat's funny. Our boy went through a phase around 5, 6, 7 grade where I couldn't be seen with him, you know, that independence thing! By later in high school, I could finally give him a "public" hug again. You have great boys Vicky.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa- my older boy is more like that now at 13- a little more reserved. He tried to dodge the school photo even, but gave in when the neighbor came over and realized if he just did it, we'd all leave - hehe :)
DeleteGlad the boys know what to do in the morning before school
ReplyDeleteIt helps you a lot.
They leave you with a smile, going to the moon and back and a smidgen of hockey too. :)
It does help me a lot. They grow far more independent all the time :)
DeleteBless that boy, he's got it!
ReplyDeleteHe sure does- surprised me so!!
DeleteYou have the cutest boys (young men )....and wise, too!
ReplyDeleteLove them.
P. S. I have a Granddaughter who is in the seventh grade this year. I didn't realize she and Nolan are the same age.
Sending you love....
Jackie
Yes- isn't that something- I think I realized that once awhile ago that your grand and my son were the same age :) xxoo
DeleteHa! Maybe if you replace hockey with baseball for our list. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm cracking up a little at the hoodie on the first day of school. I never stop being amazed at the temperature differences.
Hope today goes well. H on Tuesdays, right?
Exactly- I could so see that!! Yes- the temps are back in the 80's and hot and humid once again- but we do have some intermittent cool mornings and evenings cooling off too. H is only 1 x every 3 weeks fortunately- so nothing today :)
DeleteDo you realize...if your picture was a a billboard. (one for Hockey Mom's :) and the rest of us had no clue about that happening's in your life. None of us would have a clue?? we wouldnt have a clue that some days or evenings. your bathroom is your best friend. That waking up can be hard due to meds, or that nausea can haunt you at any given moment. We just wouldn't have a clue. I have noticed that in all your pictures, your eye's sparkle and you radiate a pure beauty that is rare. I had to share that. Loved what you son said!!! but for some reason you stood out to me in this post...lady you look marvelouse. I hope they find something that helps with your cough. You and your family is upheld in constant prayer. Your simply amazing :)
ReplyDeleteI totally get what you say Peggy- thank you- its such a sweet compliment. I have been saying my inside and outside don't match for the longest time now and I hope I continue on with that blessing for a time to come. Thank you for your kind and generous words sweet friend- they truly touch me!
DeleteMy heart be still. Wise words from such a young man.
ReplyDeleteLove, hope, faith.
Jesus.
Grace and peace sweet Vicky.
Love you to the moon and back!
Oh Kelly - thank you- he sure surprised me. He just reads it around our house so much and hears it said so much it must have resonated with him and it was a pleasant surprise. xxoo and all the way back Kelly :)
DeleteLove those moments, Vicky, and they can only happen between ultra-intimates – as Ann Voskamp calls them, “Those who witness our lives.” They are the times that warm us to our core and wrap us in joy. I’m so sentimental that I can’t erase special texts from my kids. My phone is now full of 200 of them and I’ve GOTTA figure out how to upload them to my computer because I’m almost maxed out on message room.
ReplyDeleteBut who could throw away a text from a hungry son when you tell him what’s for dinner. “OH BOI! EDIBELZ!!!” (He LOVES to harass me with weird spellings.) Or this one when as a high school senior this year he was dead last on the wait list for classes at the junior college, “I GOT IN!! I GOT THE CLAAAAAAAASS!” (I can’t imagine EVER being that excited about Trigonometry – haha.) And then there was this one from my you-have-to-drag-info-out-of-me-with-a-tractor girly when she was in her last year of college, this last May. She was facing a daunting class and an equally daunting test but was almost at the finish line of her college career: “Smoked it. Smoked it, SMOKED it, smoked IT. Got my last paper back, 100% A+. I could fail this exam and still get and A. But I’m gonna get an A on the test too. Smoked it. I smell freedom….it smells a lot like bbq tri-tip.” I mean, seriously? How do you throw out THOSE messages?? Hang on to all the moments, Vicky. They are the stuff of LIFE. They ARE life. LOVE your time with your guys and thank you for sharing these exchanges with us. Love You. (Hope these gave you a chuckle today, sweet friend.)
May your energy increase to be as massive as your incredible spirit.
Oh my stars- yes- you need to upload those right away!! Precious- and so fun to read through... perfect book material- I could so see you do this :)
DeleteFun to share kid stories with you, friend. Thinking of you tonight and hoping that you are sleeping peacefully. It's 1:30am here and I'm headed to try and do the same. Love you.
DeleteWhat a sweet guy. And a sweet friend to pamper you in such a special way. I love it.
ReplyDeleteSending love and prayers from up north :-)
I have so loved seeing your photos from up north :) Keep enjoying it! xxoo
DeleteDearest Vicky,
ReplyDeleteThis post touches my heart. You said, "I often wonder what they will take into the future? These moments I strive for?"
What I know for sure is that all of those small moments are etched in their hearts and will come back tenfold as they get older. The little sayings, greeting and good bye rituals may seem small at the time, but just as God etches His grace by small phrases from the Bible that are repeated over and over, so are the whisperings from a parent's heart shared in love again and again. Your messages are etched into Colton's heart and Nolan's heart. Rick's heart too.
How do I know this for sure? There are two reasons. First, like you, for years I sent off my children with a "Love you to the moon and back." I even have a favorite pillow with those words on it. I now hear my adult children send off their children using that same phrase or one of their own making. Sometimes there was a "yup, me too", sometimes no response. Yet it ALL sinks into the places where we ALL need to know we are cherished. Even my son, who has in the past been a swat team police officer, softens as I say long ago repeated phrases to him.
Secondly, even though I am 66, I can remember one liners I heard from my parents, just as if it was yesterday. They have both gone home to be with God, but they have left behind a memory tape of the deep love they had for me. It plays in moments when I have self-doubts or feel lonely. Just as I know
God loves me, I know my parents cherished me.
So never fear, dear Vicky. Your sweet children, the love of your heart, will take all of your love, all of the small moments, all of the "I love you" messages into the future. My daily prayer is that you will be here to see your sons tell their children how much they are loved. Yet if God should take you home before then, rest easy. The love you are giving them will stay with them forever. And then it will be passed on. :)
God bless, sweet friend!
Linda