Summer Past

Ah yes summer was had by all 🙂  It was warm and delightfully slow.  We got a great big pool and the kids lived in a tent all summer long.  The ‘not so annual’ ladies tea was back on after a summer off last year and all four kids got tanned and taller.  This was also a summer of ‘not knowing’ in many areas of life.  I will touch on the most personal one pertaining to our immediate family.

“To not know is to be ‘squeezed’ by life. One does not get to decide a lot when in a place of ‘just not knowing’; not when we arrive or how we got there, nor in the biggest area we will desire control, the exit of such a place and time. By the grace of God one can still be and do alright in this reoccurring ‘part of life’. Patience stands out to me as a definite requirement to ‘BE well’ in the squeeze, but when one looks at the listed fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-2…3 (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control) it is evident they are all perfect for such a time. I personally can see how they do add endurance to ones walk and stem the seemingly relentless tide of desired tantrums… Even when I can see so very little else, I can see how in this place that is completely unlike a ‘comfort zone’ Jesus can yield growth in areas like faith, hope and love. I want to decide daily, through Christ who strengthens me, to hold on to that. I want to daily decide to be in the squeeze WELL.” ~ME

(Tea party 2015)

JULY

“Every summer has its own story.  Living, loving this one!
Working hard and playing hard. We are homeschooling all summer again too catch up and keep up on the changes in education that have come our way but we are having fun whenever we can!” ~ME

July was too full of the newness of summer to let the unknowns be at the forefront of our minds.  There were slurpee runs to our local coop gas station to be done, ice cream cone stops at Sig’s Café, new hair styles to be learned as we tried to keep the girls locks up and contained in the heat and endless hours spent cooling right off in the unheated back yard pool.  Picnics and meals on the back deck, birthday parties at castles, sleepovers with cousins and friends, an exciting francophone day camp down the road for the youngest two and days in the park spent learning sportsmanship as a family (frizbee, 500, soccer, baseball etc) made summer seem endless.  The younger kids attended a daily vacation Bible school and the older two got honored with the opportunity to be leaders of this same vbs this year!  And every night, even through some big thunder storms, all four kids climbed into our tents in the back yard to sleep the sleep of truely played out children.

Indeed we worked hard too.  Their Dad and I tried hard to finish painting the exterior of our large old house.  I made curtains for both of the older kids rooms.   Homeschooling was flowing through it all and the kids and I made a real effort to daily have a French lesson.

AUGUST

I spent much of August specifically eagerly waiting to find out about the coming school year, and whether or not we were permanently enrolled in our community school.  Thus this quote near the end of the month;

“Sometimes uncomfortable situations can take so long (like years) to resolve, or questions to be clearly answered that one realises all the STRESSING they could have been doing about it, or maybe did do about it, was so much more dramatic then the finale. I find though, if I take the time to be thankful about good endings and celebrate them with even some of the energy I could have put toward stress and worry I will be greatly and beautifully moved… I don’t think I have ever looked back and ever said, ‘boy I wish I had stressed and worried about that more’. So much of life is out of our control… to have even a little patience and self control over ones behavior through the waiting is a blessing.” ~ME

I was so happy to hear at the end of the summer that we are indeed going to stay in our communities lovely school.

August’s end also meant reality kicking back in. As school, and September, fast approached I tried to get us back into responsibilities that had nicely been put on pause for our holiday.

“With successfully booking many appointments for the kids, the dog and myself this past week, not to mention ordering half a bison for the freezer, and filling the house with school supplies it sure felt like summer is nearing it’s end. However, it also felt good because I realized I had successfully done so little of this planning and organizing ‘stuff’ this break and that, to me, meant a real holiday was truly had.”

We got as many appointments in the city done as possible, even getting our Riddick (the fox terrier) groomed afresh.  We cleaned up the house and yard, gathered school supplies and organized our clothing for the approaching changing of season… and then we waited in a mixed sense of loss (over summers end) and excitement (over returning to school)… such is the emotionally complexity of Autumns’ expected arrival.

 “August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.” ~ Sylvia Plath

At the very end of our summer my eldest told me it was a great summer, long and slow.  I was pulled back to memories of such childhood summers I would describe that way too, where freedom and very little real plans ruled the day.  I am thankful to offer my crew real ‘time off’.  I got much joy out of our 2015 summer too.

TTFN

Always

Lady Mac an Rothaich