Category Archives: family

the great unknown

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I haven’t found a rhythm to my days yet. I miss that. Nothing like knowing where and when I am supposed to be somewhere to anchor my days.  The one scheduled appointment that I keep each day to work out has been a grounding tool for me. It gives me a reason to show up, to know what day it is and time, and to center myself and focus on the moment. Conveniently, the class is about the same time when I used to go to swim, so that feels familiar to me. I crave familiar right now. I also have lots of questions. More than anything, we all have this big unknown future before us.

Questions that I am entertaining currently include:  Is my husband’s job going to survive this downturn? Who might need some help right now? Will my grown children have their jobs? What am I doing to help where I can? How can I have connection with those with whom I can’t have contact? When will this end? How will it end? Who will be hurt in the process?

The biggest challenge so far for me is how to live with uncertainty. I wish I could say I instinctively know that this is not in my hands and my first thought would be to offer it to God and pray for His Help and watch how miraculously He resolves this mess. It is not. As I write these words, I still find myself swirling with worry. Right now, everyone is fine. Everyone is safe. We have a beautiful right now. We have this moment that we don’t want to waste. We have now. Worry robs us of now. I heard recently that we have two pandemics going–the Covid-19 and fear. And fear is overtaking more of us than the virus. But there is a way to stop it.

What the coming days hold God knows, and in this, I can rest. Because we know He will work it for good. There is no where too far that His Loving Hand cannot reach. There are some things too big for us, and this is just a perfect place to ask God for miracles and sit back and watch the show. May we all find rest in placing it in His Hands today.

How about you? have you stopped and taken a look inward? Where are you finding joy these days? How are you making your time meaningful?

One thing I know we all can do to help relieve some of this pain: we can call someone today who needs some hope. My 90 year old cousin who lives alone called today and we chatted for a short while. I am ashamed to say it was she who made the call and not I. She simply said as we closed, “Thank you for being there.” Show up for someone today. It might make their day.

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I’ve been cooking a lot! Here are some blueberry muffins.

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Before the “stay at home” order, we got to take Mike’s dad out for a look at the bluebonnets, which were especially beautiful this year.

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As soon as some of our grandkids got home from Alabama, we had a play date at our house! SO good to see them again.

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Lauren and Mike got back just in time before South Africa closed international travel. We watched their beautiful KCC, Victoria.

 

 

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the moment

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We went to a very special wedding last night of one of our dear friends’ daughter. It was a beautiful evening from start to finish. It was especially good to catch up with our old neighbors and reconnect.

To start, any time you plan a wedding in January, the weather certainly can be questionable but yesterday was just perfect. The bride selected the Julia Ideson Building in downtown Houston for her venue. The architecture of this library is stunning. I cannot wait to see her photos as they are sure to be be phenomenal. Wolfgang Puck’s catering team led by Vanessa catered the event, and the band was outstanding. The wedding was held in the auditorium, then we went outside (where the January weather was delightful!) to the courtyard for cocktails, and then moved to the Reading Room for the seated dinner and reception. There was even a cameo appearance of Princess Leia and a couple of stormtroopers in the courtyard as we arrived!

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And to end the dinner with a sweet note, All the Crave crafted some scrumptious mini cheesecakes. Cynthia Hughes and Stephanie with  EnVogue Events did an amazing job of putting together an evening we will not soon forget.

So, I love weddings. And I have seen my share of them having had our own venue at our ranch. I love the festivities, the excitement, the joy. But for me, it can all be summed up in one special moment of the night–those few moments when the bride and her dad dance together.

It’s not the dad and the bride that I have my eyes on, though that is a sentimental moment for sure. I will make a point to seek out the mother of the bride’s face as they dance. I love to see the bride and her dad, but I melt at the sight of seeing a mom realize that full circle moment of seeing her groom dancing with her baby. And so it was last evening as I watched my dear friend smiling through glistening eyes as she took it all in.

This wedding was a great reminder of our own promises we made, as this month, Mike and I are celebrating 40 years together as a couple. As we drove home last night, we cranked up the oldies playlist and opened the sunroof to take in the clear star-filled sky just as it was some 40 years ago in January on the 19 degree clear night when we met.