Today was Wesley last day of school. School was dismissed at 10 a.m. after an end-of-year-awards ceremony. We scheduled a party with a few of Wesley's friends. I had a hard time deciding where would be the best place to hold the party. Our backyard would be the easiest and least expensive. But I feared that it wouldn't be entertaining enough for the kids. So I considered going to Pump It Up or the Main Event but I couldn't justify the expense. So we planned it for our backyard but I still worried that the kids would be disappointed that all we had to offer was pizza, snow cones, and a wide-open backyard with no play equipment.
Well, was I wrong! They didn't care that there wasn't any organized activity or a fancy jungle gym. They just played their own made up games and had a blast. But most of all they enjoyed being with one another.
It reminds me that just being with people can be so rewarding. While the kids were playing, the mothers sat and talked to one another. Today the bonds of friendships between the kids and the mothers became stronger. All due to a simple party in our backyard.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Boxed-in
My house is surrounded by hedges of boxwood. They are healthy well-established shrubs that will probably last for years and I should be very happy with them.
But I'm not! They make me feel, well...boxed-in. Their evenly-trimmed square shape gives the feeling of tightness and ridged conformity. They convey closedness not the openness I'm trying to live. I have lovely windows that open out into the world and let light in but when I look out I see these shrubs that make me feel constricted.
I'd like to get rid of them and plant something with a more free-form shape. Or several different plants that would bring in some interesting diversity. But it seems wasteful to dig up these healthy plants and a needless cost to try to replace them.
So I guess I'll learn to live with them for now. This will give me some practice in accepting things as they are and perhaps I can transfer the learning experience to my relationship with some people in my life who I feel are ridged and boxed-in. If I can accept the shrubs why not those people--both are glorious creations of God.
But I'm not! They make me feel, well...boxed-in. Their evenly-trimmed square shape gives the feeling of tightness and ridged conformity. They convey closedness not the openness I'm trying to live. I have lovely windows that open out into the world and let light in but when I look out I see these shrubs that make me feel constricted.
I'd like to get rid of them and plant something with a more free-form shape. Or several different plants that would bring in some interesting diversity. But it seems wasteful to dig up these healthy plants and a needless cost to try to replace them.
So I guess I'll learn to live with them for now. This will give me some practice in accepting things as they are and perhaps I can transfer the learning experience to my relationship with some people in my life who I feel are ridged and boxed-in. If I can accept the shrubs why not those people--both are glorious creations of God.
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