I wrote this “end of the year letter” back in December. Yep. This is my life. I found this filed away in my notes on my iPad. It had its funny moments, so I thought I’d share it with you anyway. Besides, I need to chronicle these life moments, yeah?
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YMCA…the song, not the place. Wafts of pizza, nachos, and cotton candy tickling my nose. A hundred or so small children rotating counter-clockwise, tiny skates on each foot, some clinging to the wall with an “Oh crap” look plastered on their faces. The poor things are eying the rink like it’s covered in banana peels.
Today is Pete’s 11th birthday and we’re spending a few hours at Skate City before ending the sleepover party of all parties. FIVE extra kids spent the night, but it was quieter than you might think. We have an X-box and a really nice TV. I didn’t hear a peep except for the occasional cheer floating up the stairs from the basement, and the raucous cry for more popcorn.
Being able to zone out and write at a skating rink is a testament to my 15 years as a mother and 40-ish years as a reader. It’s a gift. I would have preferred an extra arm or two, but you gotta be thankful for what you have, right?
With all of the recent tragedies in our life I thought it would be a good exercise for me to look over the past year through eyes of gratitude, and who better to share it with than the people we are most grateful for?
2014 was a crazy year for us as a family. That seems to be our pattern, so same story, different year. I won’t bog you down with all the minutiae, but let’s just say we’re now referring to the first half of the year as “before” and everything since as “heaven.” Okay, I’m exaggerating a teensy bit. Our year was split in half by our move away from the hood in Denver to lovely, safe, small-town Lafayette. Our parents were thrilled! We found a townhouse five minutes from our jobs, 12 minutes from church, and 13 minutes from Boulder. The daily commutes are over! YAY!
(Insert limbo music here) I guess I’m a little easier to distract than I thought. Can I just say it’s really nice not to be out there holding someone’s hand, waiting for them to pull me down as soon as they can’t maneuver past a dog pile on the rink? If you’re still in that stage, let me sprinkle some hope on you:
Someday you’ll be able to be a sideline mom too.
We’re also known as the keeper of the drinks. Here’s a tip for you: Always bring a Sharpie. No, I’m not a germaphobe, but a lot of my mommy friends are. It also saves time when the kiddos come flying off the rink, chests heaving, sweaty palms extended towards their Dr. Peppers. Oh! And keep your feet tucked under you to escape the toe-crushing wheels of the uncoordinated. I’ve learned my lesson.
Yesterday was celebration Sunday at church. We focused on all the amazing things God has done in us and through us as a church family this year. I got to report that SEVENS served over 4,800 meals and distributed more than 15 tons of food through our SEVENS food bank this year. I don’t have numbers for how many pairs of socks and hand warmers we handed out, or how many cups of Starbucks we shared with our street friends in Boulder. Those things are hard to track when you don’t care about tracking them.
What I can tell you is it feels good to know that people were warmer, less hungry, and a lot less lonely because we hold ground there. Ministry-wise, we are keeping on keeping on. We are clinging to our dream of having a mobile outreach center/mobile showers and laundry facilities. It will happen. Someday.
Pete just skated up to me with a grin on his face. “Mom! They’re playing our song!” We have a song? I begin the process of tuning out the background noises until I can narrow down the tune. Apparently, Radioactive by Imagine Dragons is our song. I love that kid. He makes me smile. 😉
Where was I? Oh yeah, Mobile Outreach Center. Benny has been talking it up and we have some locals getting excited with us. We know we’ll have lots of opposition as well. A lot of the Boulderites would prefer we not help the homeless unless it’s to help them be less visible.
That’s as far as I got. The end.
Except it wasn’t. Our story continues. Things got worse before they got better. I’m actually still waiting for things to get better. Sure, I’ve had some wonderful people and things enter my life in the six months since I wrote this, but if I’m honest – and I always try to be – things still kind of suck. Never fear, I have a death grip on my gratitude. I recite at least one thing a day even if it’s just to myself. Things will get better. See? That’s my one thing for today. 😉
Remember Doogie Howser? The world’s first blogger? Yeah, I used to admire how he could sum up an hour of drama in a few witty sentences. (Hats off to the writers.) I’m still working on that. Ha! I’ll settle for posting things in the same year as they’re written. And friend, if you don’t know who Doogie Howser is, you may be too young to read this blog. 😉
What have you left unsaid? Unwritten? It’s not too late!
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