Memorials, Parties, People, Frog and Toad

Hi, friends!

Two weeks ago last Friday, September 25th, was the first anniversary of Dad’s death. Also I went to a funeral. For a 14-year-old. So that was awful. And a great, upbeat way to start this email, right? You’re welcome.

Um, but going to it was also good. In some ways it wasn’t a bad way to spend the anniversary, reminding me that despite the sadness of death, there are things much more tragic than the death of an 80-year-old. :(

Though I didn’t get a chance that day to post anything about Dad, a couple weeks ago I posted this picture on Instagram. I’m holding space for both. My heart is breaking for the 14-year-old’s family, and also I’m sad that Dad died so suddenly and unexpectedly last year, and John’s grandfather this year. Both/and, not either/or. (Or is it both both/and and either/or? Haaa.)

This is one of my favorite pictures of him, from the end of May 2018. Ironically, when I took a trip down to say goodbye to Mom.

I miss you, Dad. I wish you could’ve gotten to spend more time with your grandkids, and could’ve met your great-grandsons.

Parties

Then on Saturday and Sunday I went to an outdoor birthday party for my brother, and hosted an outdoor birthday party for my five-year-old. I’m a big fan of the casual get-together right now. Getting to see people! In person! Laugh! Talk! I had so much fun, and yes, overall the weekend was exhausting, but WORTH IT. And Kendra Adachi’s advice when overwhelmed, to remember what matters to you? So helpful. An elaborate party to prove I’m an amazing mom and hostess isn’t what matters to me. (At least not when I stop to think about it, heh.) Something my daughter enjoys, and celebrating her life and birth, connecting with friends and family? That’s what I want to do.

People

People as a spiritual discipline or practice, as a mental health tool… Oh! Community, that’s the word. :) You can’t really… use people as a tool. They don’t fit into boxes quite like that. But they are majorly helpful and save my life, just the same. To modify slightly from Ruth Haley Barton in Sacred Rhythms, “I commit to practicing these rhythms, as much as I can, in community, out of desire for God.”

A few weeks ago, people saving my life was doing drive-in church, it was walking to the playground with my family again, it was Zooming with sisters, it was working through a course in my Simplify Days membership (not open for new members right now, but I recommend, though it’s expensive). I guess it was also the above-mentioned funeral and parties, come to think of it.

People are awesome. Well, sometimes. But even when we’re not awesome, wow, do we ever need each other.

“It is impossible to overstate the importance of community in the spiritual transformation process. This is not the same thing as the Christian busyness that often accompanies church life; it is about quietly sharing the journey with others who are also drawn to deeper levels of spiritual transformation that enable them to discern and do God’s will.”

“As you conclude your initial work with your spiritual rhythms, it is of utmost importance that you realize that you cannot do this alone. None of us can. Within your commitment to the larger faith community, the church, seek to identify at least one other person, if not several, who shares your desire for God and is willing to walk the path of establishing spiritual rhythms with you.”

-Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation by Ruth Haley Barton

Frog and Toad

Well, maybe I shouldn’t italicize that. I’m talking about the series of stories, not just one book title. Eh.

I love Frog and Toad. I didn’t grow up with it. The first time I ever heard any of the stories was in 7th or 8th grade, from another church’s youth pastor at a summer camp for multiple churches’ junior high groups. He was the main speaker for the week, and he would often begin by reading aloud to us from Frog and Toad.

It worked surprisingly well. Junior high or not, Frog and Toad might not be “cool,” but good stories, read well? Turns out Frog and Toad totally are cool.

Anyway, that’s all beside the point. :) Frog and Toad is one of my favorite things to read aloud to the girls, because we have a collection with lots of stories, and they’re so well written, they never get old. I like to try to do the voices. I think of Frog and Toad as kind of the O. Henry of children’s literature. Deceptively simple, often a bit of a twist at the end, charming. Classic.

*(What we have is Adventures of Frog and Toad, which is an omnibus containing Frog and Toad Are Friends, Frog and Toad Together, and Days with Frog and Toad, each of those containing 64 pages and five stories.)

Instagram Roundup

I wrote a little about how the church calendar saves my life.

And then I also posted that favorite picture of my dad.

Today I posted about bullet journaling.

Your Turn

Obviously, the first and most important question is: Did you grow up with Frog and Toad? If you didn’t, have you remedied that yet? Which story is your favorite? Either way, what are some of your favorite early readers or children’s stories?

How have other people been saving your life? Have you found any ways to get out and socialize? Or to get away from your kids, as the case may be? Do you lock yourself in the bathroom? (Or instead do you run screaming out the front door? ;-P )

Love in Christ,

Marcy