Warning: This post contains references to suffering and pain. That’s life. We’ve got to deal with it.
Do you know what I wish? I wish I had all the time in the world to dink around on this blog. I could, quite happily, spend the entire day writing about the people in my life.
Like that, I wouldn’t have to deal with them. 😉
(Note the winky emoticon! I was kidding! ONLY kidding!)
And yet, isn’t that why we spend time online? To escape from the drudgery, the gray day, the screaming kids? To find inspiration somewhere—anywhere!—that we just can’t seem to find within ourselves?
Cuteness break!
I was starting to get a little heavy there.
One of the main reasons I wish I had more time to blog is that I have friends on the blog that aren’t on Facebook, (I’m thinking of you, Barbara! And a few others to boot), and so they don’t know that, for the past week, I haven’t been quiet.
In fact, I’ve been posting every day over there because {gulp} I’ve taken on Project 365.
A photo a day for an entire year.
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| My husband makes candles. I know! I should have told you. |
Otherwise known as Grab That Camera.
I am loving—and fearing—the accountability.
That’s where I got the title of this post. A storyboard is a tool used by movie studios to tell the story before the movie’s made. If I think of my life as a documentary—and it is my story, after all—I am more inclined to look for beauty and truth.
Beauty and truth and quirkiness! Because who wants to take herself seriously all the time? Not me, and not my kids. It’s hard enough being a law enforcer, but I know—and I see this in my husband’s antics, too—that being playful with them, being goofy, laughing…
Takes the sting out of their being corrected.
If you’re a parent, you know this. There’s a ton of correcting.
Which gets really old but it has to be done.
Unless you’re, like, raising brats or something.
Which is why sometimes, I’m sorry to say, there’s great sorrow mixed in with the beauty, and as hard as it is, I thank God for the pain.
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| A Day in the Life of a Mom of a Teen |
For crying out loud, (Ha! Pun intended!), who takes a selfie when they’re weeping?! Obviously I do, because I was curious to see what my sorrow looked like. I am like Emily of New Moon, wanting to look objectively at such strong emotions and hoping that, in doing so, “all the bitterness will die out of my grief.”
(Have you read the Emily books by L.M. Montgomery? We just got done listening to the first book on CD and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you, Sarafina, for introducing me to her!)
Anyway, going back to the story—the storyboard story. I will say that sadness takes me down a notch, which for a prideful gal is greatly needed. Sadness makes me vulnerable, which in turn makes me need God more. Sometimes I forget the extent to which I need Him! Or rather, I get so caught up in all the silly distractions that I forget…and I fall…and He picks me up.
Again.
He leads me through the darkest valleys and brings me, eventually but always always, to the joy and peace that had gone missing.
End of story? I hope not!
Not yet, anyway.
Thank you for thinking of me. When you are away from here, I don't think of you as being somewhere else. I'm like a baby who still plays peak-a-boo and when you're gone, you're just gone, as in not on the Internet. I assume you're living life, which in fact you are. I get your life. I get it well. On most days my days are just like yours minus the sad selfie because I don't have the guts to take a selfie much less one of me sad.
I will try harder to keep in touch. I think we all need more touch even if we can't actually hug or hold a hand for a minute. I think we're all very lonely amidst the chaos of our lives.
I'm glad you pointed out the loneliness factor, Barbara. I realize now that this is a large part of why I go online–seeking fellowship among like-minded friends and as an escape from feeling cooped up.
Sometimes no matter how many people are in the house, we can really still be alone.
Those teens can really drag a Melancholic down, can't they? Makes me glad I'm just a *little* more Choleric than Melancholic. 😉
When my kids were little and there was no internet, we walked to the park or met some other moms and kids for a playdate. We went to LLL meetings because there were women and children there. We joined a Catholic homeschool group even though I wasn't Catholic. We talked on the phone. A lot. No one does that anymore, it seems. Stupid phones are too small to hold under your chin as you multi-task. But everyone is busier and no one has time, so the internet *can* be a great boon to those of us who get lonely. It can also be an addiction–I don't know why we're not better able to control it. Is it because it is essentially infinite? If we're still not "fed" we can keep looking?
Also, it's January and you live in Minnesota. Get some sunshine and a Vitamin D supplement!
Your husband has a great hobby! Those are awesome candles. Teens are interesting people. Their minds are not fully developed and their hormones are causing what is left of their sanity to go out the window. Plus it is January. Hang in there!
I love those candles!
The picture of you crying broke my heart. Truly. I don't know why, maybe it's because I understand it (my oldest turns 14 in a few weeks…it's a very different thing raising teens, we are learning). I find I don't share pain well with others. Except God. It's such a personal thing…it leaves me too wide open. Vulnerable as you said. Love you sweet Margaret…you're amazing 🙂