A Season of Change

I have always most loved the changing of the seasons - mostly the transitional seasons - Spring and Fall. Summer and Winter each has it's own special character, but there is just something tantalizing about the seasons that "get" you there. Spring has that quiet awakening - when the birds suddenly start to sing again, the blossoms that suddenly dot the previously dead looking branches in my garden. And fall has it's own unique beauty, but perhaps a little more forboding. Not so much promise, but perhaps a bit of warning. The leaves, while beautiful and entertaining as they dance down the streets in a symphony of their own making - warn of the pending weather, where all that is green and lush will be no more - at least for a time.

Our lives are constantly changing seasons, aren't they? First, there's the spring of life, when all is new and alive... then later, when the children have arrived to add spice and energy, we settle into the summer. Then eventually, we enter autumn - still beautiful, but somehow less full of energy and vivacious life. And of course winter...but I'll save that for another time.

I think our life, David's and mine, has just begun to enter the autumn phase - one of those transitional stages, that has something worth savoring, yet brings about a contemplation of what is ahead. This was all triggered at the beginning of the year when our eldest headed off for University. She took a very trendy "gap year", so I suppose I was granted a small reprieve in entering this stage. But off she went, and for at least 5 days a week, our house was a bit emptier.
Then, as we saw her friendship with a handsome young man blossom, we prepared ourselves for what we knew would be coming.. and at last it has... an engagement to be wed. And this in the not too distant future! Now there is talk dancing around me from some perhaps not so well meaning friends and family - of grandchildren and such! Me, who has only found 1 gray hair on my head, is now being faced with the possibility of being called "Grandma" in the years just ahead. Now I understand how my mother felt as I walked down the aisle, when she herself had just entered her 40's.

I find myself becoming all sentimental - like that young girl who, when trodding off to her first day of school in the fall, would reminisce over the summer just spent - glamourizing it, and relishing in it - making it the lovely hazy memory that one sees on the movie screen, and perhaps dreading the winter ahead just a bit - knowing that there were things ahead that weren't necessarily exciting or worth looking forward to.

As I said, I do love the fall - and while I know that winter lies ahead, I must say that I am rather enjoying the dancing of the leaves, so to speak - and the joy and love that my daughter has found. Being able to share with her in this new stage of life for her is, I suppose all part of the circle that is life - and I am going to choose to focus on those things today that are worth admiring and enjoying, and not worry so much about the winter that is pending - not too close, but ahead none the less.

A Brainstorm!

What is it about collaborating with people over ideas that is so invigorating?
Lately, I've been blessed by opportunities to explore ideas with people who have really supercharged my enthusiasm and creativity.

A month ago, while I was visiting my family in Florida, Al, my brother in law and I had opportunities in the evenings to brainstorm ideas for both his business and mine. It was something of a give and take that got both of our heads buzzing with ideas -maybe more than either of us will ever be able to implement, but it was energizing!

And of course, there is the creative side as well - spending time with people who have ideas and share them freely - that get's my creative juices flowing and makes me want to move! Do something fun! Make something mundane beautiful!

David and I have great brainstorming sessions. His and mine, however are more problem solving, than inspiring. This is just as important. Almost a working out the details of our dreams... a putting foot to what was ethereal and aloof. These make me feel like I'm putting my shoulder to the grindstone, so to speak, in order to accomplish these things we dream of.

It is so important to have people in your life who inspire you, who challenge you, and who help you to accomplish what you dream of - giving you the courage to do what you dream of.

Thanks to all my family and friends who are my brainstorming partners! I'm blessed to have you in my life!

Setting the Standard

I have always felt kind of sorry for pole vaulters. Just when they reach their goal, someone raises the bar! It just doesn't seem quite fair.

My son and I recently had a discussion about standards, specifically his versus his parents. It seems he is rather unsatisfied with the rules in our house, though he is polite enough to begrudginglly follow most of them. In the end, it boiled down to our responsibility as his parents, and he didn't have too much arguement against that.

I also had a conversation about standards and expectations not so long ago with one of the ladies I work with. We were talking about the levels of service offered here in South Africa. It seems that the "standard" is rather low, and it was offered that perhaps I should rather change my expectations to match that of the available standard. I am sure that my frustrated grunts and groans that often eminate from my office can be tiresome, but I have to whole heartedly disagree with the perspective she offered.

What would happen if we didn't have a standard to match? What if there wasn't any "bar" at all to reach for? What point would there be to existence? We would simply reduce ourselves to a blob-like state, simply gratifying ourselves with whatever we could.

I think it is a great challenge to all right minded people who have any sort of ethics at all to raise the current standard - not by forcing rules and regulations upon others, but by practicing a higher standard of living. In the business world: Not taking bribes for orders, Doing what you say you will do, Offering information that is right and true. In private life: Similarly, being genuine people of honesty and integrity, avoiding back biting and gossip (there's a challenge!), raising our families in such a manner that they value things in life such as good citizenship, faith and integrity.

It's not that we don't fall short of those standards, but rather that we keep trying to attain - as Paul said in Philippians: “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Bargain Hunter Looker Outers!

There are just some things that only family can understand; Why you react a certain way to a certain situation...Why you hate certain foods...Why something makes you laugh hysterically...
This is only one of the reasons that family is important - someone who really knows you..what made you the way you are...where you came from...

I was the most blessed woman in the world these last few weeks - not only did my husband give me an incredibly amazing gift of time away from work..and tickets to the States - but I got to spend 19 fabulous days with my crazy little sister.

What we do share, besides our history and children the same age... is a love of crafts and an awesome bargain! In fact, Al, husband of my dear Sis, has titled us "Bargain Hunter Looker Outers". It's an awesome title, and one that I will proudly wear! Yes, we knew every clearance aisle in every Target shop in town... and we could smell a garage sale miles away! Red stickers, showing the discounted price makes our eyebrows raise and our hearts beat quicker... and it's something we LOVE to gloat about to each other. I admit it...I was jealous when Christy revealed that she had found 6 packets of paper marked down to nothing... but enjoyed showing my off season dress I found for 75% off. It's a friendly competition that made my husband once warn me "It's NOT how much you SAVED I'm interested in...It's how muchy you SPENT!"

Okay, so we aren't kids anymore...eating donuts and reading stories, picking raspberries in the backyard. We aren't even the young women who went camping and tramping up creeks (okay... she tramped..I tripped!) But we are now mature mothers of amazing children - happy and secure with our places in life and we "get" each other! Not that we are at all LIKE each other - she's active and sort of a outdoorsy type - I'm a not so active, but adventurous in spirit type.

The other thing I love to do with my sister is craft - most especially scrapbooking. I have spent my last 4 years in South Africa in a scrapbooking slump -not able to scrap a single page - partially out of mourning for not having my best scrapping buddy around. It took us only about 3 hours to sit down and start scrapping together. In amidst all the other activities we did while I visited, I managed to scrap 9 pages - in a revived frenzy of scrapping bliss with my inspirational sister.

This love for each other - and for crafts - has spilled over to our youngest girls. We had a fabulous day painting pottery with our 4 girls - so many colours to choose from - and so much fun! I could have stayed in that place for days! And the friendship that our girls share - one that has miraculously stretched over the years and the miles- to be revived so easily with one simple hug at the airport- makes my heart absolutely over-full with gratefulness to God for giving me such an amazing relationship with such an amazing woman!

Life is good, and God is great - and even though the miles once again separate us, I'm comforted by the fact that nothing will ever truly come between us. And I trust that it won't ever have to be so long again before we see each other again to once again stay up late chatting, scrapping and doing the ever so fun bargain hunting!

On the Road

There are some feelings that are just too deep to have words. Some emotions that flit by in such a woosh that you hardly have time to analyze them to see exactly what they are and where they came from.

I had some of those when my youngest daughters and I stepped out of the airplane in Atlanta and I saw a huge American flag painted over the escalator we were riding. After 4 years of being out of the country of my birth, I have at last set foot here again - if only for a short while.

David and I had planned to come back here 2 years ago, but circumstances prevented it. Now with our business operating at full steam, only one of us and 1/2 of the children were able to steal away for a short visit to Florida. Sadly, money and time prevent us from visiting other friends and family further west. But my dearest sister relocated to Florida last year, making a journey to see her plausible.

It has been a fabulous time - the girls are no longer toddlers, and she and I are slightly more wrinkled than before - but otherwise it feels like the years have melted away. Many many late nights talking (the first 3 days, no one could get a word in edgewise!) and fun times interacting with our neices have made this trip better than any tourist package out there! I have missed my sister more than I even knew.

To top it off she and I have rekindled our creative fire and have been painting, beading and scrapbooking to our hearts content. I honestly could not bring myself to scrap in South Africa - my sister and I had always had our afternoon scrap sessions with the babies nestled in their activity chairs or napping in the other room - and when I lost my connection with her, I lost my desire to do what we had shared together. Now I'm trying to make up for lost time!! :) Meanwhile our girls are finding their own creative flow - painting ceramics, pairs of blue jeans and even toenails and rediscovering the close friendship they shared 4 years ago.

I'm very grateful to my amazing husband, who has not only held our home together while I am gone, but has been working himself very hard at our business. My heart overflows with gratitude and thankfulness for the sacrifices he made so I could come and see my sister.

Territories

Every so often, more often than I wish, my dogs bark all night. It isn’t the boogy man, or even an errant rat that they are barking at. It isn’t the wind whistling through the trees, or even the loud airplanes that could wake the dead. Instead, it is each other. And they are barking (or should I say bickering) over who is going to lay where. Alex is the largest, Roscoe the most tenacious, but Zoey, the smallest is the most annoying. And they bark and growl at each other until someone gives up and moves (or until either David or myself gets up and shouts at them).

I am also witness to a weekly argument coming from the back seat of my car – because for some reason, everyone wants a window seat – and no one wants the middle (even though I have tried to point out that it really does have the best view of all).

It seems that everyone has a sense of claim that sets a territory of some kind, be it physical or psychological.

Sadly it is this setting of ownership that has torn apart churches – this sense of possession that goes beyond service and enters a realm of “me and mine”. I have battled with this, and felt conviction in my heart for what I realized was pride. It’s something that even now, I find creeps into the fringe of my being as I try to reach out… which means opening up… which means letting go of my ability to control.

Anyone who listens to the news anywhere in the world has probably heard about the terrible violence that has gripped the townships here in South Africa. Nightly news reports tell of foreigners – mostly Mozambicans and Zimbabweans who have come to South Africa looking for a way to provide food and income to their families- who are being beaten, maimed and even murdered – all because of territory. Political Science aside, it is a horrible atrocious thing that is happening – and it is spiralling out of control.

These refugees are now camping out in police offices and town centers all over Johannesburg,waiting for the government to decide if they are going to step in or not – waiting to see if they will be “reintegrated” or be put on a bus back to the land they originally came from.

It’s sad to see what this issue of “territory” can do – it brings out the worst in people. And sadly, until the heart is humbled, and a realization dawns that there is not one of us better than the next – not one of us who deserves to be treated more humanely than the other – we will continue to brawl over what we think is “ours”, what we feel we deserve and the other doesn’t , and we will stop growing as a people. Our country will war, our churches will split, our businesses will cease to grow – and all we will have is that little piece of territory that we staked out as “mine” – holding tightly onto it, instead of experiencing the massive blessing that God had in mind instead. A sad loss for a measly gain.