Nice Matters
I swiped this pic from my friend's Facebook page (Hi Lynne!), because I've always liked the way it read. Nice Matters. Not matters that are nice, but the absolutely irrefutable fact that being nice really does matter. Case in point: yesterday's incredibly crazy airport experience. I left my daughter's house for the airport yesterday morning about 10:00, for the 2 hour direct flight home from Tampa. Easy peasy. About half way there, I checked my phone app for flight info and saw that it had been delayed an hour. So she ran an errand, and we proceeded on. After another check, it was delayed again, so we ran another quick errand and had lunch. This went on through two more delays, and...
The Long Hello
Today's the day. Today's the day when I pack up all my stuff and am escorted to the airport, wishing my eyes were equipped with windshield wipers. Not that I really need to see the road, however, since I've not only lived here before, but have also made this particular trek from this particular house way too many times. I don't use the word 'hate' all that often. It's such an extreme word, and its meaning has been watered down almost as much as its counterpart 'love.' (I mean, I'm not all that fond of liver and onions, but hate? I don't think so, so why say it?) However, there is one thing I do hate: leaving this house...even though I love (and I do mean love) going to my own. It's...
On Crying Out and Hanging On
What a great day! They don't call the world (or land) o' Disney the happiest place on earth for nothing, let me just say. One of the things I love best about these days is all the hand-holding and loving-on I get to do. Right now, I'm about the best thing since either Elmo or Justin Bieber (don't get me started), depending on who you're talking to, and I plan to sop it up like a biscuit in gravy until that gravy train dries up, or they both get to be about 21, whichever comes first! This trip, I loaded some classic Disney read-along stories/activities on my iPad for Lilli. She took a particular shine to Dumbo, so I knew we would be headed to spend some time in the new section of Fantasy...
There’s More to Mickey Than Meets the Eye
Today is our long-awaited, "after Brody is born, we'll go to Disney World" trip. Praise God. We've talked and talked about it. And it's not like we haven't been before, mind you. We are a Disney family. We've been pass-holders, my daughter's family are all pass-holders, and we've made that trek from Dallas to Orlando, Des Moines to Orlando, and, over the last several years, Tampa to Orlando, many times. My grandgirls are pros, and yet, it still holds a magic over all of us. You know, old Walt had a vision. A BIG vision. It still saddens me that he didn't see the dream of Disney World realized in its fullness before he went on to his greater reward. He was just one man, a cartoonist, who...
The Need for Rest
You know, this morning I'm tired. Between sweet baby-lovin,' and sweet toddler-lovin' and guidin' and disciplinin,' and disrupted sleep, and a battle against the evil Florida allergens, I find myself sitting in this chair, just plain pooped. And my poor daughter is in worse shape than I am. At least she has age working on her side! I guess it's a good thing it's Sunday. The Sabbath. That day we're supposed to drag our exhausted and weary selves to the foot of the Cross and just be. Just rest. Just be still. I know that today, however, will be the same as yesterday and the day before that and even the day before that. Children don't go by any sort of calendar. They don't play by our...