this boy...

This boy is enjoying his last days of childhood.

He mows lawns and sings in church choir.

He plays X-box and hangs out with his girl.

He teases his little brother

and tells me he loves me.

I can not imagine being 18 years old and making such

a major decision. He has signed up

for 6 years of military service. Six years

is a long time no matter how you slice it, but at 18

it is HUGE! 

I admire his courage, his willingness to leap

forward into real life. 

And I hope he will be happy with his choice.

I hope he will appreciate the amazing opportunity

he has to learn and do meaningful work.

This boy~ he makes me proud.

~♥~

with open hands...

Every day I receive gifts. The world offers such beauty, 

so much opportunity, so many choices.

I am learning, through this journey, how very much our choices

 and our attitudes define us. 

I am striving, every day, to open my eyes, my hands, my heart. 

I am choosing to be grateful for the gift of letting go. 

My son will soon spread his wings against the wide, wild sky.

 His life will unfurl before him. And I will know that we have loved him well, 

that he has been raised to be honorable, caring and brave. 

He will take his own path out into the world, but our love

 will follow him, buffet him against storms and trials, 

remind him that we are here, a heartbeat away,
always lifting him upward and onward.  

~♥~

thanks a lot...

Fear is a part of the parenting experience. 

From the first moment we hold our newborns

and ever after we have some level of concern

about our children's well-being. 

Worry is fear's troublesome voice that whispers

in our ears and paints ugly pictures of what might be.

My son's Navy journey thus far has stirred this nagging voice.

As a mother of four I thought I had nearly mastered worry

and fear. It is a matter of survival and sanity, to come

to some sort of truce with with these destructive thoughts.

But, oh, the prospect of my son in boot-camp, 

in an extremely challenging school, on a ship,

working on a nuclear reactor, so far from home!!~

These thoughts have awakened my fears more than

I care to admit. 

But here I am admitting and facing my fears. 

And I have found an anecdote, a tried and true 

balm for my trouble spirit. 

I am focusing on GRATITUDE, on paying heed to the 

good and beautiful things in my life. I am 

actively appreciating the gifts that surround me-

the blessing of a sunny morning, my parrot's chatter,

the sweet sound of my children's laugher. 

I have been reading 

One Thousand Gifts

Like the author of this book I have begun a list

of one thousand gifts. One of those gifts

is the opportunity offered to my son by the US Navy.

Gratitude enriches my life, slows my thoughts, stills my heart

so that I might see the blessings of my life.

Fear fades. Worry hushes.

My heart is filled with quiet joy.

~♥~
Click HERE to follow my list of 1000 gifts.

the power of thoughts

I find myself fighting doubts, wondering if we have left a "T" uncrossed, 

an "I" undotted as my son's boot camp departure inches nearer. 

 You see, today's Navy is over-manned.

Recruits find themselves under the microscope, as the Navy

 can well afford to accept only the best. 

Even with an ASVAB  score in the highest category 

my son has to toe the line. The Navy disqualifies 

many recruits for seemingly small things. I understand 

this though. With recruits and potential recruits lined 

up for jobs, it is the logical thing to take only

 the cream of the crop. 

This being said, I have to have confidence in my son. 

He is determined and a hard worker. 

His test scores have qualified him for one of

 the military's most challenging educational

programs~ nuclear propulsion. 

He had an incredible opportunity. 

And he is thinking BIG!

So, I will do the same.

 I owe it to my son and to myself to think BIG!

~♥~

"Who are we? We are children of God. 

Our potential is unlimited. 

Our inheritance is sacred. 

May we always honor that heritage

 - in every thought and deed." 

-Russell M. Nelson

the funny thing about time...

What's the deal with time? It seems to go in jerks and fits,

not in some nice, flowing linear path. 

See that sweet boy? He's my future sailor and I could swear

I took that photo last week. How did he get to be a high 

school senior? We were on cruise, off the coast of Mexico.

My sailor boy loved that ship. He was seven and he and I explored

the ship together. I was so happy that he seemed to love the sea 

and ships as much as me. 

So he will eventually spend a lot of time at sea, working hard,

but hopefully also appreciating the majesty of the world's oceans.

Time is a strange concept. As the days tick past and boot camp

looms I sometimes want to rush forward. I want to be

on the phone getting that "I'm a sailor!" call at the end of boot camp. 

But mostly I am savoring these days while my son

is still here, still, in some ways, that grinning boy on the big

cruise ship, my buddy watching the sun rise off the starboard deck.

All the while, the clock ticks...

the "d-word" revisited...

A few posts back I mentioned the "d-word"... danger. 

We live in a dangerous world, as is evidenced by the current
 tragic situation in Japan. My heart goes out to the people
of this country. They are showing such grace and resilience

in these unimaginably trying circumstances. The losses
are incalculable and now a nuclear disaster seems to be inevitable. 

The U.S. military, and particularly the Navy, are deeply involved
in rescue and recovery aid at this time. They are doing noble work

and they are in danger. I pray for all involved in this situation,
 victims and rescuers. There are so many heroes~
 the people of Japan who are helping one another, 

all of the brave aid workers, the military personnel,
the nuclear workers who are trying to avert a total reactor melt-down. 

So many are in the danger zone.
I pray for good news, for safety,

and I pray prayers of thanksgiving for heroes unsung.

~♥~