Last week I received a call on my cell phone from my longest-time and dearest friend.
We both have busy families with children similar in ages. It's unusual for us to call each other unless we're in the process of making plans. Our communication is usually via text or email.
So I was quick to answer when I saw her number come up on my caller ID...even though I was walking out the door.
I said, "Hello?"
No one answered, but I could hear static noises and a sound like wind blowing in the background.
"Hello?" I said again.
Still nothing.
A third time I said, "Hello?"
Again nothing.
Scott said, "You've said 'hello' three times...she most likely can't hear you."
Just as I was about to end the call I heard faintly in the background, "I don't have time for this! Go poop!"
This immediately made me laugh as I realized she had just butt-dialed me while letting their dog out. I hung up and couldn't stop laughing.
To make sure this wasn't something more significant than an accidental butt-dial, I called her back a few minutes later. She didn't answer and I had to leave a message. I told her I assumed it was an accidental call, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't something more.
Later that evening I received a text from her apologizing for the "butt-dial" and that she was letting the dog out before she went to the high school to hear her son sing in a program and had inadvertently dialed me.
Needless to say we both got a good laugh out of it.
But as I continue to reflect and giggle about this accidental phone call I realized that it brought me more than a good laugh for the day.
This call brought pure JOY!
JOY in the fact that I have a "butt-dial friend!"
A friend who no.matter.what.else is going on in life, we somehow connect whether it be via text, email, phone calls, in person (which is the BEST) and yes...even butt-dials.
It's a comfortable, relaxed, pick-up-right-where-you-left-off kind of friendship.
It's just a beautiful thing.
Wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple...and "butt-dial friend"...kind of day.
peace.
jeanine
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
NOT PEACEFUL OR SIMPLE
The title of my blog, "peaceFULLYsimple" is how Scott and I and the kids try to live our lives in a hectic world.
A few of the ways we attempt to do this is by...
* trying not to over-schedule anyone in the family
* keeping Sundays a day of church, family time, winding down from the week before and preparing our minds, bodies and hearts for the week ahead
* when discerning over important decisions we determine whether-or-not we feel peace over our choice and if it is simple...meaning does it unnecessarily complicate life? We do this for individual decisions and decisions for our family.
* Sports or extra curricular activities are not allowed if it requires Sunday attendance, especially Sunday mornings. Scott and I typically will not even attend a meeting if it happens on a Sunday.
Of course there are always exceptions to every rule. But for the most part, this is how we try to live individually and as a family.
Did you see in the paragraph above that I wrote, "exceptions to every rule"?
This week is one of those "exceptions".
Except for on Monday, there is/has been something every.single.night this week, through the weekend and into every.single.night next week (except for one) and through the next weekend.
This is not a good example of our family motto of, "Seek peace and simplicity...FULLY."
But it happens and we will roll with it, knowing that this stretch of exceptions to the rule will be short-lived. There is an end in sight. I know this because it says so on my calendar, right around June 9, where the words, "LAST DAY OF SCHOOL" are written, followed by lots of exclamation points. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This time of year is track practice and meets, finding somewhere for Faith to go for the latter because she strongly dislikes going to meets, field trips, birthday parties, sleepovers, Wednesday night church programming, weekend youth retreats for church, band concerts, visits to next year's advancement to middle school, meetings, 4th grade sleepovers, etc., etc., etc.
It's all good stuff.
LOTS of good stuff.
So when I have the opportunity, I will enjoy the silence before each round of busyness kicks in.
And when it does, I'll be ready for it.
Wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.
peace.
jeanine
A few of the ways we attempt to do this is by...
* trying not to over-schedule anyone in the family
* keeping Sundays a day of church, family time, winding down from the week before and preparing our minds, bodies and hearts for the week ahead
* when discerning over important decisions we determine whether-or-not we feel peace over our choice and if it is simple...meaning does it unnecessarily complicate life? We do this for individual decisions and decisions for our family.
* Sports or extra curricular activities are not allowed if it requires Sunday attendance, especially Sunday mornings. Scott and I typically will not even attend a meeting if it happens on a Sunday.
Of course there are always exceptions to every rule. But for the most part, this is how we try to live individually and as a family.
Did you see in the paragraph above that I wrote, "exceptions to every rule"?
This week is one of those "exceptions".
Except for on Monday, there is/has been something every.single.night this week, through the weekend and into every.single.night next week (except for one) and through the next weekend.
This is not a good example of our family motto of, "Seek peace and simplicity...FULLY."
But it happens and we will roll with it, knowing that this stretch of exceptions to the rule will be short-lived. There is an end in sight. I know this because it says so on my calendar, right around June 9, where the words, "LAST DAY OF SCHOOL" are written, followed by lots of exclamation points. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This time of year is track practice and meets, finding somewhere for Faith to go for the latter because she strongly dislikes going to meets, field trips, birthday parties, sleepovers, Wednesday night church programming, weekend youth retreats for church, band concerts, visits to next year's advancement to middle school, meetings, 4th grade sleepovers, etc., etc., etc.
It's all good stuff.
LOTS of good stuff.
So when I have the opportunity, I will enjoy the silence before each round of busyness kicks in.
And when it does, I'll be ready for it.
Wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.
peace.
jeanine
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
LETTING GOD
So often I would like to keep my children close to me and not send them about their days.
Today was one of those days.
Both of my kids have something significant to do today. One needs to work on resolving issues in a challenging class. The other has several days of state-wide testing.
My heart is focused on the fact that one child is his own worst critic and is beating himself up over performance issues. Along with my daily words of, "Make good choices...do something nice...and know that I love you," I also added, "Remember...you are NOT defined by a grade or a teacher's interpretation of you."
My heart is also focused on state-wide testing and the amount of visual focus that will be required to efficiently take these tests. These first days of testing will be reading. Reading is not challenging, but a large quantity of reading in a specific amount of time can be visually challenging...and exhausting. She was worried about not doing well. Again, my message was, "Make good choices...do something nice...know that I love you...," and this time, "...and if you do your very best you will have nothing to regret."
I may have physically dropped them both off at school today, but my heart and mind has not left either of them for a second. Even while focusing on my tasks of the day.
I've been praying for one to have confidence in himself and courage to resolve whatever it is he needs to resolve. Praying for him to never feel like he's not good enough. I've been praying for the other one to also have confidence in herself. Praying for her to have extra endurance to meet the challenge of additional visual effort that will be required of her over the next few days.
Today is scheduled to be a long one for everyone in our family. Each of us has something that will not bring us home until late evening. A day like this makes my feeling of not wanting to let go even more difficult.
But I must.
So I will let go...and let God.
Wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.
peace.
jeanine
Today was one of those days.
Both of my kids have something significant to do today. One needs to work on resolving issues in a challenging class. The other has several days of state-wide testing.
My heart is focused on the fact that one child is his own worst critic and is beating himself up over performance issues. Along with my daily words of, "Make good choices...do something nice...and know that I love you," I also added, "Remember...you are NOT defined by a grade or a teacher's interpretation of you."
My heart is also focused on state-wide testing and the amount of visual focus that will be required to efficiently take these tests. These first days of testing will be reading. Reading is not challenging, but a large quantity of reading in a specific amount of time can be visually challenging...and exhausting. She was worried about not doing well. Again, my message was, "Make good choices...do something nice...know that I love you...," and this time, "...and if you do your very best you will have nothing to regret."
I may have physically dropped them both off at school today, but my heart and mind has not left either of them for a second. Even while focusing on my tasks of the day.
I've been praying for one to have confidence in himself and courage to resolve whatever it is he needs to resolve. Praying for him to never feel like he's not good enough. I've been praying for the other one to also have confidence in herself. Praying for her to have extra endurance to meet the challenge of additional visual effort that will be required of her over the next few days.
Today is scheduled to be a long one for everyone in our family. Each of us has something that will not bring us home until late evening. A day like this makes my feeling of not wanting to let go even more difficult.
But I must.
So I will let go...and let God.
Wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.
peace.
jeanine
Thursday, April 17, 2014
"I DO"
Twenty-one years ago today I married the man of my dreams.
It was a beautiful sunny day that day with temperatures reaching the mid-70s. My daddy took me out for breakfast before we got ready to go to the church and he said to me, "The Lord made this day just for you."
It was a wonderful day!
The guest list totaled 507 and a little over 400 people attended.
I know...that's a lot of people! Large families, lots of out-staters and long-time small town can result in not knowing where to stop the guest list.
And most of those people came offering much more than congratulations and looking forward to a good party after the wedding ceremony.
See, Scott had been through a lot in the months leading up the wedding, having a cancer diagnosis and surgery seven months prior to the wedding and a repeat of both of those six weeks prior to the wedding. We were looking at months of chemotherapy just two weeks after saying our vows.
I say "most of those people" because something happened the week of the wedding that I didn't learn about until a few years later.
My mom is a daily church-goer, going to Mass most every morning. Earlier that week of our wedding she was coming out of church after attending morning Mass when an elderly woman my parents had known for years approached her and said, "Isn't your daughter getting married on Saturday?"
Mom replied happily, "Yes, she is! We're so excited and looking forward to the day!"
The elderly woman snapped back, "Well! I don't know how you can possibly allow your daughter to marry into such a horrible situation!"
My mom was confused and asked the woman what she meant by this.
The woman responded, "Allowing her to marry a man who is so ill and starting their lives together in such a way. I just don't think it's right!"
My mom fumbled for some sort of answer and when she finally got in her car, she cried.
How could this woman be so incredibly mean?
Well...like I said...I found out about this years later, after this woman had passed on, and was just as shocked by it as my mom was, especially since I had always considered her such a kind lady. It's funny to think that many of her adult children, who were friends and in the same social circle as my parents, had attended our wedding!
I'm not sure why this woman was so critical and felt the need to express it to my mom. It's really not important.
If only this woman knew that twenty-one years later Scott and I would be still doing life together...with two amazing kids to add to the joy of the journey. The challenges we faced early on and then throughout our marriage certainly were difficult...but with each one we grew stronger in our commitment to each other, to our family and to God. Had it not been for those challenges, I wouldn't be where I am today as a wife, a mother, a woman and certainly in my faith.
I won't lie and say that I haven't often wondered why God chose me to be Scott's wife and mother to Parker and Faith. I've wondered this more times that I can possibly count.
But then one day recently, while loading the dishwasher and not even pondering this question, God revealed the answer to me loud and clear..."I didn't chose you to be Scott's wife and Parker and Faith's mom. I chose them for you...so you would know me."
Oh if only that woman could see us all these years later.
I wonder if she would ask the same question she asked my mom 21 years ago on their way out of church?
Wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.
peace.
jeanine
It was a beautiful sunny day that day with temperatures reaching the mid-70s. My daddy took me out for breakfast before we got ready to go to the church and he said to me, "The Lord made this day just for you."
It was a wonderful day!
The guest list totaled 507 and a little over 400 people attended.
I know...that's a lot of people! Large families, lots of out-staters and long-time small town can result in not knowing where to stop the guest list.
And most of those people came offering much more than congratulations and looking forward to a good party after the wedding ceremony.
See, Scott had been through a lot in the months leading up the wedding, having a cancer diagnosis and surgery seven months prior to the wedding and a repeat of both of those six weeks prior to the wedding. We were looking at months of chemotherapy just two weeks after saying our vows.
I say "most of those people" because something happened the week of the wedding that I didn't learn about until a few years later.
My mom is a daily church-goer, going to Mass most every morning. Earlier that week of our wedding she was coming out of church after attending morning Mass when an elderly woman my parents had known for years approached her and said, "Isn't your daughter getting married on Saturday?"
Mom replied happily, "Yes, she is! We're so excited and looking forward to the day!"
The elderly woman snapped back, "Well! I don't know how you can possibly allow your daughter to marry into such a horrible situation!"
My mom was confused and asked the woman what she meant by this.
The woman responded, "Allowing her to marry a man who is so ill and starting their lives together in such a way. I just don't think it's right!"
My mom fumbled for some sort of answer and when she finally got in her car, she cried.
How could this woman be so incredibly mean?
Well...like I said...I found out about this years later, after this woman had passed on, and was just as shocked by it as my mom was, especially since I had always considered her such a kind lady. It's funny to think that many of her adult children, who were friends and in the same social circle as my parents, had attended our wedding!
I'm not sure why this woman was so critical and felt the need to express it to my mom. It's really not important.
If only this woman knew that twenty-one years later Scott and I would be still doing life together...with two amazing kids to add to the joy of the journey. The challenges we faced early on and then throughout our marriage certainly were difficult...but with each one we grew stronger in our commitment to each other, to our family and to God. Had it not been for those challenges, I wouldn't be where I am today as a wife, a mother, a woman and certainly in my faith.
I won't lie and say that I haven't often wondered why God chose me to be Scott's wife and mother to Parker and Faith. I've wondered this more times that I can possibly count.
But then one day recently, while loading the dishwasher and not even pondering this question, God revealed the answer to me loud and clear..."I didn't chose you to be Scott's wife and Parker and Faith's mom. I chose them for you...so you would know me."
Oh if only that woman could see us all these years later.
I wonder if she would ask the same question she asked my mom 21 years ago on their way out of church?
Wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.
peace.
jeanine
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