the gift of another day

I woke up this morning to see a glimpse of my Love in the dark preparing for a 4 mile run at 5:30am.  My alarm went off at 6:01 and I hit the snooze a couple of times.  The front door opened later and I heard my Love meeting the needs of the dog and positioning the fan in front of the open sliding glass door.  I got up to join him and poured us each a mug of hot coffee timed to brew before the day begins.  My Love took a seat next to me on the couch and then graciously moved to the one adjacent to me.  A shower would come later.  I think about the time we have been blessed to have our days start this way this past year.  With my Love's job location changing this summer, our days might look very different.  I am thankful for the gift of another day like this one.


Between sips of coffee, my Love got started on praying aloud for our friends far away.  The list is growing.  Bundle Boy came bounding down the stairs a few names in.  The clock read 6:37am.  A happy smile came out from behind the hallway.  "There isn't a 7 yet, Buddy!" my Love says.  We put a clock in his bedroom a few weeks ago in an effort to teach him when it was appropriate to get up from nap and out of bed in the morning.  Bundle Boy glances at the digital reading on the DVR.  "Yes.  There is a 7 at the back," he says.


Bundle curled up on the empty space on the couch next to me.  Thank you Lord for another opportunity for our son to learn to start his day talking to You and reading your Word.  I choose to thank you on the mornings our quiet time is uninterrupted and when we have distracting company.


My Love started again.  Prayers said aloud for adoptions and pregnancies and soon-to-be big brothers.    Prayers said for new jobs and new churches and soon-to-be wives.  Halfway through, my Love handed the list to me.  Prayers said for big changes and approaching goodbyes and house moves.  Prayers said for grieving families and health problems and lost souls.


We grabbed our One Year Bibles and opened up to read April 2nd on today April the 26th.  Discussion is prompted while in Luke 9 and 10.  Reflection is made upon finishing in Proverbs 12:11.  God's timing is perfect.


I start thinking about my day, what we will do.  Perhaps the library?  Our books are due today.  My Love asks if we are going to church for Bible study.  I had forgotten.  I am thankful this morning for the other half of my brain.  I start getting myself ready.  Bundle Boy gets started on a rerun of Curious George over a cup of milk, dry Multigrain Cheerios and some cut strawberries and bananas.


My makeup is finished.  The phone rings.  The other family with kids won't be coming to Bible study today.  I decide to keep the kids home since I am in charge of childcare for the study.  Babydoll sleeps in until 8am.  12 hours of solid sleep.  Praise God!  The night before she was up for 2 hours awake screaming every time we put her in her bed after holding her.  One hour of which was spent downstairs with me around midnight playing with her big brother's toys.  Sigh.  I choose to thank You on the hard sleepless nights (prompted by festering arguments AND a restless needy baby) and the quiet ones that last well into the morning.


My Love started ironing his clothes for the day after a haircut and a shower.  I dressed the kids.  I took out the blender.  A friend said she was mixing ingredients into her son's whole milk to get him to drink it while weaning.  I added strawberries and bananas.  She didn't like it.  Luckily her big brother did.  Goodbye Daddy.  God bless your day.


I dress myself in exercise clothes and take out the sit-and-stand stroller.  We hit the road with dog on leash at 8:45am hoping to beat the heat of the day.


Big Brother wants to walk.  He runs from the top of Emerald Chase Dr. down to the creek without stopping, without falling.  He hops on the stroller.  We walk through the woods, back across the creek at another point, and through the tunnel under the road.  Brother points out all the "tulips" along the path.  We see butterflies and fuzzy bumblebees and dandelions (and a post is coming on that soon).  The sun is out in the 70s already and the wind is blowing cool on my face.  I wish I brought water.  I start up a big hill walking on my toes moving slowly.  I accidentally kicked the banister a couple weeks ago trying to push the carseat box old baby gate out of the way with arms full.  I think I broke it.  It still hurts.  We reach the top and are in search of a playground my Love told me was further up the path.  I decide to make a turn at one point not knowing how much longer up the path the "new playground" is.  We stumble upon the empty green playground we frequent.  Perfect.  We'll find the other playground on a cooler day.  This one was completely shaded in this 9 o'clock hour and has a bench to rest on.  Brother urges me to play with him.  I ask for him to play alone so I can relax.  He sings to himself while climbing up the slide, "Count your many blessings name them one by one..."  I thank the Lord.

Furry Firstborn is equally tired and lies down in the bark while tied to the bench.  He starts rolling around to cool off and I thank God for the little wormy things that fell from the shade trees above and are now filling the hair under his belly, behind his legs, and throughout his tail.  I think about how I just brushed him last night.  He moves to one side as I watch him play and there in the bark is a shiny gold coin.  "Bundle Boy!  Come look at this treasure."  He picks it up and brings it to me.  A 20 euro cent found on a playground on the east coast of the U.S. of A.  He turns it over to find an image of the Brandenburg Gate.  Thoughts of our years in Germany come back.  Many friends we had prayed for that very morning.


Thank you God for forgotten plans that were then cancelled.  Thank you for a baby who slept in and well through the night after a terrible one the night before.  Thank you for sunshine and warm weather and patches of shade and bursts of a cool breeze.  Thank you for a dirty rolling dog that revealed treasure and memories of friends from long ago.


I nursed Babydoll on the bench and cherished every minute.  She didn't hardly need me at all at bed time last night.  Down to two feedings a day.  We are almost done with this phase of infancy.  

Brother picked up an empty Diet Coke can and a lost white winter glove abandoned on the playground.  He reaches for a shopping bag stored under the stroller and I thank God that my son doesn't think he is too good to do God's dirty work.  Later he picks a few dandelions and I think about the post I am to write soon.  We smell them and yellow dust sticks to our noses and we laugh.


I load up the kids in the stroller and we say goodbye to the green playground.  Almost to our neighborhood, I bow out of the way as I see a tiny green caterpillar dangling in midair floating toward my face.  I stop once out of the way and point it out to Bundle Boy.  We watch it dance in the air for a few minutes.  We thank God for his beautiful creation and stare in amazement.


I push the stroller up one more hill into our cul-de-sac and see the growing seedlings that I hope to write about soon.  Babydoll goes down for a morning nap (which she is stirring from now) and Brother and I take a seat with tall glasses of water and a bowl of leftovers from the Easter veggie tray.


I thank God for the gift of another day.  A day to learn to be thankful in all circumstances.