Good morning Peeps, In the summer, we give ourselves permission to spend time with those we love... get togethers, reunions, road trips, barbeques, beach parties, slumber parties. Its probably the biggest memory building time of the year... and I almost missed it. I was immersed in catching up on projects (sssssoooo far behind after Dooleys death) and I had my nose to the grind stone. The phone pierced my writing bubble and I surfaced from the massive mounds of projects to grab my phone. I have a dilemma. All the drivers in our family will be gone and I have to be at an alpaca event at the same time I need to deliver our foreign exchange students to their school, said my cousin Barbara (the mother of my nine kids.) I could hear the angst in her voice. Is it possible for you to join the family at Santee Lakes on Friday night? We are having a picnic in the park and watching a movie at twilight. Then you could sleep at the ranch and drive the students to their school on Saturday morning. Its just five minute from your condo. I paused, glancing at the massive list of incomplete projects. I know that Barbaras love language is acts of service so if I helped her, she would feel loved. Love trumps duty and Im so far behind, one more day wont make a difference. The age old war between family and duty ping ponged in my head. I never like to shirk responsibility but maybe I could find a way... Ill be there, I declared and now I knew that sleep wasnt an option tonight. Monday was the deadline for a huge project (that I cant talk about). But heres the funny thing about making the right choice; even if its hard, you reap rewards for putting first things first. The picnic and movie in the park was jam packed with delirious joy. Giggles, hugs, warm love, chocolate chip cookies, potato salad, lawn chairs on the green, shared secrets, catch up talk, but the BIGGEST TREASURE was the discover of brand new friends!!!! Oh my goodness... I met two of the worlds brightest shining stars, Klaudia (from Poland) and Teresa (from Spain). I collect quality friends (not easy to find) and these two girls were instantly family. I knew I had to find a way to orchestrate more time with them and take them and our cousins on adventures in our fine city. So I crammed in more late nights so I could grab more time with these precious kids. I often say to the cousins, This is the GOLD in life, this MOMENT right here! These are the treasures that we work for. This is the prize at the end of the race. I took them bowling, on a peanut butter and jelly picnic (their first taste of PBNJ) on the lake at sunset, sleepovers, tours of the city, late night games, birthday parties with candles in the watermelon, and as much fun as we could cram into the little time they had left here in the USA. When I said Goodbye and put Klaudia on the trolley, she couldnt stop crying. I knew that a lifetime friend was now in my new treasure chest. I am very conscientious and I have a habit of work, work, work. I am living my dream and love my job, so thats a good thing, but sometimes I forget to lift my head and make time to grab the gold that is laying right on the table. These kids are growing up soooooooo fast and I want to seize every minute before they get too busy to be with me. What are you doing to seize the gold that is laying around you? What do you have planned with those you love this summer? The GOLD is the stuff the makes your pencils dance across the paper. Passion infuses art with zest and energy that you never achieve unless youve learned how to mine the gold. Talk to me... whats your gold? How will you draw it?
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:43:07 +0000
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