I learned a peach cobbler short cut during this visit and about pureeing the celery for stuffing... both excellent kitchen tips.
Cousin time:
Irony everywhere... even in hindsight.
Showing posts with label retrospectacles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retrospectacles. Show all posts
The Decade Challenge: November 2009
Following a successful football season, we planned for more family time and togetherness. My brother and sister in law opened up their lovely home and hosted us for Thanksgiving.
I learned a peach cobbler short cut during this visit and about pureeing the celery for stuffing... both excellent kitchen tips.
Cousin time:
Irony everywhere... even in hindsight.
I learned a peach cobbler short cut during this visit and about pureeing the celery for stuffing... both excellent kitchen tips.
Cousin time:
Irony everywhere... even in hindsight.
The Decade Challenge: October 2009
When was October not for football? Whenever it was for the fair instead. This was a year where greater effort to connect with both sides of the family was made. Those were always good years, until they weren't or someone ended up "dead " to the other (not really dead... only "dead to" each other while little dramas blew over. )
Still... we focus on the good, the lovely. It is a choice... absolutely... and essential.
I don't have the attention span required to enjoy a full football game- just clue me in during the last two minutes of the 4th quarter and let me see how it ends. Until then, I like to find stories through my lens.
I always wonder what he did:
This fella also looks for the story through his lens:
And another trip to Fernandina... working up momentum to move there, I bet...
Only a few more stops along the way and we would write a chapter there to never forget.
I don't include archived kisses out of wistfulness, instead as accurate memory- the good with the bad, unflinching at the facts... sometimes, it was easy enough to believe...
Everything changes - Sandy Bottoms no longer exists... in its place now, The Sandbar
Still... we focus on the good, the lovely. It is a choice... absolutely... and essential.
I don't have the attention span required to enjoy a full football game- just clue me in during the last two minutes of the 4th quarter and let me see how it ends. Until then, I like to find stories through my lens.
I always wonder what he did:
This fella also looks for the story through his lens:
And another trip to Fernandina... working up momentum to move there, I bet...
Only a few more stops along the way and we would write a chapter there to never forget.
I don't include archived kisses out of wistfulness, instead as accurate memory- the good with the bad, unflinching at the facts... sometimes, it was easy enough to believe...
Everything changes - Sandy Bottoms no longer exists... in its place now, The Sandbar
The Decade Challenge: August 2009
August's archives are scant, too. And I know why - I remember me then... I was more fully present in those moments. Phones didn't work as well out on the islands, and using them as cameras full time was still a while away. We built sandcastles and combed the beach for horseshoe crabs, we visited friends and spent a lot of time outside. We went to the tiny Gullah library housed inside the elementary school and drove into downtown from time to time.
This has always been one of my favorite photos because it reminds me of the little blue boats I used to love to ride at SixFlags as a child. It only needs a bell.
I miss early morning beach walks. One morning, just before the sun rose, I heard a sound in the water. I had been watching one spot in the clouds for the sun to break for what felt like an eternity, but the sound caused me to look away. It was in that exact moment, of course, the clouds were finally pierced through by the pink gold glow of sunrise. But the sound had been a shark. The first one I've ever seen 'in the wild' not attached to a fishing line or being bludgeoned to death with a hammer. It has always stuck with me how the shark was cutting across the tidelines, instead of swimming parallel in the way we most often see them depicted.
The back river was another place I would see a shark in the water. Our friends from church had us over and took us out on their boat. I had never thought of sharks living anywhere besides the ocean floor. Turns out they're everywhere...sometimes even on land.
Long before adult coloring books became a trend, my inner child has been given free reign to surface and remind me how to play. This castle was one of those times...
Whether sharks or sunrises, each new day holds a story worth looking for. I didn't miss the sunrise that morning, I was just slightly delayed. Delays can add depth to my story, let me not forget.
This has always been one of my favorite photos because it reminds me of the little blue boats I used to love to ride at SixFlags as a child. It only needs a bell.
I miss early morning beach walks. One morning, just before the sun rose, I heard a sound in the water. I had been watching one spot in the clouds for the sun to break for what felt like an eternity, but the sound caused me to look away. It was in that exact moment, of course, the clouds were finally pierced through by the pink gold glow of sunrise. But the sound had been a shark. The first one I've ever seen 'in the wild' not attached to a fishing line or being bludgeoned to death with a hammer. It has always stuck with me how the shark was cutting across the tidelines, instead of swimming parallel in the way we most often see them depicted.
The back river was another place I would see a shark in the water. Our friends from church had us over and took us out on their boat. I had never thought of sharks living anywhere besides the ocean floor. Turns out they're everywhere...sometimes even on land.
Long before adult coloring books became a trend, my inner child has been given free reign to surface and remind me how to play. This castle was one of those times...
Whether sharks or sunrises, each new day holds a story worth looking for. I didn't miss the sunrise that morning, I was just slightly delayed. Delays can add depth to my story, let me not forget.
The Decade Challenge: September 2009
Albums and archives say we went to Fernandina in September of 2009.
And at least once towards Fripp, but not all the way.
The islet with sits lefthand from the road.
Last I checked, both 'my' tree and bench still stand sentinel over moments and places I have deeply loved.
The Decade Challenge: July 2009
Life on Harbor was peaceful and laid back. It was every bit of 10 miles to 'the mainland' for groceries and gas. The area is home to many Gullah people and I enjoyed being surrounded by their culture. Being in a remote location meant less sometimes, but there were times that 'outreach' programs meant more...
On this day, we had a personal audience with Mr. Ronald McDonald himself. If I recall, there were a few more children who stopped in after we said good bye, but as a general rule, there wasn't a crowded, touristy vibe and most children were locals.
I miss my children at this age and being a part of their lives everyday. I miss days infused with curiosity and creativity. I hope the seeds of wonder & joy planted in those days spread like kudzu vine, someday wrapping around grandchildren's hearts and minds.
This secret handshake was revealed following our weeklong VBS activities, which included
water-fun, laughter and making new friends.
Hindsight peddles perspective and I see now that moving away from a place where we had started to make friends was... predictable and par for the course.
Lo & Maddie:
The Decade Challenge: June 2009
All but a few scant photos have apparently been lost to the archives or left undated in journals for June of 2009.
Of the few memory-joggers that remain, I recall many new homeschooling friends joining us at our (rental) house on Harbor Island and our joining them in their various living rooms and backyard environments, too. Many deep and lasting friendships were birthed in this season. There is so much to be thankful for.
This was also a season of spiritual growth for me. Like most anything involving people, there were some painful church-ianity moments, but the difference in these moments and some of the ones preceding them not only had I learned to expect them, I resolved to grow-up through them.
Still working on that daily, but as I look back on this time fractal, I can say that gratitude now pervades where bewilderment once loomed.
Most people know about starfish and their regenerating limbs, but did you also realize they can choose to surrender limbs to keep themselves safe?
Lizards with those little snap-off tails, too.
Safety, surrender and regeneration: all fitting themes for a new year celebration.
Of the few memory-joggers that remain, I recall many new homeschooling friends joining us at our (rental) house on Harbor Island and our joining them in their various living rooms and backyard environments, too. Many deep and lasting friendships were birthed in this season. There is so much to be thankful for.
This was also a season of spiritual growth for me. Like most anything involving people, there were some painful church-ianity moments, but the difference in these moments and some of the ones preceding them not only had I learned to expect them, I resolved to grow-up through them.
Still working on that daily, but as I look back on this time fractal, I can say that gratitude now pervades where bewilderment once loomed.
Most people know about starfish and their regenerating limbs, but did you also realize they can choose to surrender limbs to keep themselves safe?
Lizards with those little snap-off tails, too.
Safety, surrender and regeneration: all fitting themes for a new year celebration.
The Decade Challenge: May 2009
May 2009 was WinShape. How wrong could two people be? A dance was shared, commitments were made, communion taken. Let the rain equal foreshadowing. The best laid plans of mice and men... we meant it at the time...
In Waycross there was a family reunion/birthday party - we tried to foist our Jeff & Debby DVD's on everyone we could.
Danny Howe was still with us, Aunt Mary, Uncle Charles and Roy, too.
I miss them all but live in gratitude for the time we got to share.
I remember thinking that our turning around to see the smallest church, to get to take its picture, was a small but promising sign of all the good things surely to come.
Who could have guessed that the little church would burn down a few years later ?
Never doubt the poetry in life...
In Waycross there was a family reunion/birthday party - we tried to foist our Jeff & Debby DVD's on everyone we could.
Danny Howe was still with us, Aunt Mary, Uncle Charles and Roy, too.
I miss them all but live in gratitude for the time we got to share.
I remember thinking that our turning around to see the smallest church, to get to take its picture, was a small but promising sign of all the good things surely to come.
Who could have guessed that the little church would burn down a few years later ?
Never doubt the poetry in life...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)