holding it in the right light

Kid-raising has upped its game lately.  (Doesn't it always?)  We have an age continuum that begins at two-year-old with very strong opinions and ends with eleven-year-old with very mature interests, with two independent thinkers in between.

We have what seem like a million kid needs that we can't possibly meet, especially not all at the same time.  Feeling like not enough crops up far too often, which hurts because our hearts' desire is to cherish and shepherd these kids the best we can while also serving where we are.  

Sometimes, the heavy side of the current stage can try to steal too much of our focus - but we don't want to let it.

We want to find joy in reflection, in looking back at the moments when our family was together in presence and purpose, when each family member was yielding for the good of the whole.

We had a little bit of a get-away last weekend, organized around an appointment at Children's Hospital (which tends to be our travel agent of sorts).  We dreamed up an idea for a fun meal, a night excursion, and the zoo; and then we counted down the days until our adventure.

In the midst of our itinerary, though, there was some illness, some tantrum-ing, some rule-breaking, some exhaustion. Because, even during the fun times, family is work.

But as we were driving home and talking about the events of the last 24 hours, we smiled and laughed.

Maybe all that we hyped up the weekend to be wasn't what ended up actually being.  But if we hold the experience in the right light, we can make good memories out of it yet.

So we enter a new weekend, ready to catch the light.