New Seasons

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

We have been going through a very trying time in our home.  The past few months have exhausted us as my husband’s mom, Jan, underwent surgery, recovery, and finally went to be the the Lord on March 10.  I’ve known her since I was 18, and got to know so many neat things about her life over the last few months.  She had Alzheimer’s disease, and it was painful to watch as she slipped away from us.  It was frustrating and took a lot of time and energy, mostly from my husband and his sister.  I helped more toward the end, and it makes the loss even more profound.  There’s a lot to reflect on and many stages of grief to cycle through over and over agin.  I feel so bad for Steve, and I personally am experiencing the loss so much more than I ever would have expected.

To add to that, a few days before her death, our youngest, Hannah, discovered our bird dying, likely from flying and falling.  It was devastating and traumatic, and is still haunting her.  I usually have Steve hold a dying pet, but it happened precisely as he was about to meet with Hospice across town to sign over his mother’s care, so I earned a new motherhood badge that day.

Meanwhile, our month was peppered with celebrations.  Rachel turned 17, and we all went to Colorado Fondue.  During Spring Break, Steve, the girls, and I took a much-needed trip to St. Augustine.  March is home to multiple family and friends’ birthdays, including Hannah’s.  She turned 13 at the end of the month, and we celebrated with a family outing to Medieval Times and a dragon/medieval themed party with her friends.  Steve and I marked our 24th wedding anniversary, and Infinity was in full swing.

With the indoor percussion season drawing to a close and spring in the air, I am looking forward to the summer before us.  I just found out yesterday that next year’s marching band is set to run full swing beginning with upcoming percussion auditions and the traditional Spring Icebreaker.  Justin will March with the Boston Crusaders drum corp starting in July, and there is an in-person Percussion concert scheduled.  

The days are getting longer, but the years feel shorter.  It is good that the Lord is in charge of them all.  I struggle to understand the concepts of birth and death, making something out of nothing and ceasing to exist.  Though I believe in souls, I have a hard time wrapping my head around it right now.  It all feels so much deeper and personal now.  It reminds me of the verse I Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;  then we shall see face-to-face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

At Jan’s memorial service, our pastor encouraged us to lament our loss.  Lamenting is “a passionate expression of grief, often in music,  poetry, and song form” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lament).   So, I find it a “God thing” that the verse on my mind is from the book of Lamentations.

God is faithful in bad times and good, in celebrations and in grief, in happiness and sadness, in sickness and in health.  Great is His faithfulness!

Looking Back

I haven’t written in quite a while for a couple of reasons.  I’ve diverted my attention elsewhere (mostly crafting and visiting Dollar Tree 😂)) and haven’t really known what to say.  It is a very stressful and divisive time in our world, a time with a lot of lose-lose situations.  I find that as I have analyzed and  evaluated various decisions and opinions that sometimes both “sides” are right AND both “sides” are wrong.  People like to believe that their way is the only way, but the reality so many times isn’t even in the middle.  It’s just not there.  We live in an imperfect world and are imperfect people, but this year seems even harder.  It has clearly pointed out that we are all coming from unique places, yet fighting common battles.  It is hard for us to listen to each other and see “all sides of the coin”.  When we do, we realize that little is “black and white”.  There is always something else to consider, and oftentimes that means that there is never truly a “right” way.

My niece asked a very wise and innocent question of my sister recently.  She wondered, “Mom, what’s the least important job?”  Sarah couldn’t really come up with an answer, and neither could I the next day.  It’s an interesting question, I realized, because one, it depends on what you value and like, and two, every job in some way contributes to the livelihood of other jobs.  So, if posed as a personal question that affects your life, you might be able to answer this thought provoking question, but if phrased as this eight year old did, the answer is “none”.

So, if you’ve made it this far, I’ll tell you the real reason I started to write tonight.  My oldest child will be 21 tomorrow.  Unbelievable.  This weekend, an amazing thing happened.  My husband happened to have a  VCR arrive at the house.  He’s been wanting to find one for a while so that he could watch his senior video from high school.  Ironically, he had finally just obtained one, and pulled out one of the other few videocassettes still in our possession - Justin’s first and second birthdays.  Wow, almost exactly 20 (and 19) years ago to the day.  My “baby boy” right before my eyes again.  My mother’s heart is so full.  💜

Blessings,

Jenny

Thrown In The Deep End

Advancements in technology and industry are generally designed to do one of two things:  provide a higher quality or more pleasing product or improve efficiency.  Dare I say that I am awfully tired and disorganized considering how much time I am supposed to be saving with the plethora of technological developments over the last 20 years?

This period of time dubbed "the pandemic", "2020", "these unprecedented times", etc..., has resulted in polar levels of activity.  For many, we had to slow down and almost stop.  Life was cancelled.  But for others, there was much work to do in order to "beat the coronavirus" and create a "new normal".  

For me, this life interruption has been frustrating and refreshing at the same time.  I've gotten used to a slower pace and less commitments, so forgive me if I tell you that I am somewhat pretending that there really is no school.  I figure if I can't do the fun stuff, I shouldn't have to deal with the chaos of the not-so-fun stuff.  I obviously know better, but it has been a good coping mechanism thus far.  

Being that my first-born came into this world before a new millenium, I actually have memories as a mother of a time that was much less complicated.  I literally remember my husband pointing out an early version of a digital camera on the tram at Disney and thinking, "What?".  I think Justin was about 3.  We still had VHS (which of course were new to households when I was a child), high-speed internet was still up-and-coming, and the IPod was just starting to replace the Walkman.  Life was so much more advanced than the previous 20 years, and so "ancient" compared to now.

This week, I (while still gladly embracing most of it) am ready to throw it all against the wall.  I am so tired of a gazillion passwords and "not really single sign-on" portals.  While I appreciate the communication, I feel inundated with the repeated texts, phone calls, and emails.  I keep forgetting what the next lesson in my daughter's virtual class is about, and there's no book to pick up and flip through!  Just click, password, click, etc...  And do NOT even get me started on two-factor authentication!  I appreciate the extra efforts at security, but what a pain in the neck......

And since I've gotten started.......let's talk social media and news.  Like all technology, these tools can be real gifts.  I never would be able to talk to all of you or find my high school friends or feel like my sister is just minutes away.  But, as they say, you can have too much of a good thing.  It's easy to get overwhelmed with constant input and new information.  Talk about sensory overload!

Truly, as much as the internet has brought us closer together, it also has driven us further apart.  "We" ignore each other, and "we" are MEAN and argumentative behind our keyboards.  That part of it is really disturbing.  

Technology serves us well much of the time, but like us, it is constantly evolving and changing.  I guess that's what makes it so frustrating sometimes.  There's been a lot to adapt to in the last few months, and  my husband and I  are constantly talking about it.  We wonder what changes from this period in history will stick.  Will there always be masks, standing spots, enhanced cleaning protocols, and lowered capacities?  How long will it last?

I always answer this:  in the long run, people will keep what adds value, what makes life easier or more efficient but doesn't add so much cost or aggravation that the feasability of it fizzles.  Like most decisions, it comes down to risks vs. rewards.  We will not be able to be idealistic about it;  we will have to make choices.  But, we will move forward.  We may disagree about which direction to take or choices to make, but the reality is that every positive has a negative, and every negative has a positive.  It's all in how you want to look at it.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;  A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;  A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;  A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

10 Ways to Keep Kids Busy at Home

1. An obstacle course is a versatile and potentially cheap way to keep kids of all ages occupied.  It can be modified for different skill levels, promotes gross motor skills, and can be indoors and outdoors.

2. Bubbles delight kids of all ages.  Even an infant, can practice tracking as he follows them with his eyes.  Trying to catch bubbles promotes hand-eye coordination and exercise of the pincer grasp.  Bubbles can be created with everyday items in a multitude of ways and are a great avenue for experimentation.  For instance, bubbles can not only be be tiny or gigantic, but even scented!

3. Making puppets encourages creativity and builds fine motor skills.  Kids can then use the puppets for storytelling, which boosts language and can be a way to facilitate social skills learning.

 


4. Make a blanket fort.  Yes, this is what you used to do as a kid, and yes, it is still fun!  Forts are adventurous and provide a quiet space for reading, playing, and resting.  The best part - you already have everything you need right at home!

Pinterest Pick!

5. Keeping the balloon (or balloons!) in the air is just plain fun!  It also encourages hand-eye coordination and can be a super team-building activity.  As simple as blowing up one balloon or as complex as creating "racquets" or using a sheet or parachute, balloons are enticing to toddlers and reluctant teens alike.  (Make sure any broken pieces are thrown away!)

6. "Free art" is simply setting out art supplies and letting kids make whatever they want.  Many kids don't like preplanned crafts, and even those who do appreciate time to invent and draw.  This is a great activity to do with your kids and works best when you resist the urge to "help" - unless a meltdown is imminent, of course!  

 

 

7.  Hide-and-Seek is a classic, sure to bring out the giggles in its participants.  Played individually or in pairs, it offers a good opportunity to practice helping, problem-solving, and self-control.  

8.  Playing “store” or “restaurant” might require some imagination, but it is a well-loved pastime that is adaptable to different skill levels and attention spans.  From cooking and a specially designed menu to following the random instructions of a 2 year old, creativity is the goal at play. 

           

9. Freeze dance uses the power of music and movement to foster expression, confidence, and good listening skills.  It can even be done in the car to distract kids from the inevitable bickering!

                                                             

10. Follow the leader can be done anywhere, anytime, and allows for confidence building and leadership development, creativity, and practice taking turns.  It is a great distraction method to help kids refocus.