Not so fast
Well. Let's just go ahead and call it what it is. The new decade has thus far shown itself to be completely different from what anyone could have expected. Like, in a bajillion years.
Our winter, if you can call it that, was defined by approximately eleven tiny snowflakes that might not have even hit the ground. I mourn a year with no puffy snowsuit photos of my gigantic sons, no hard freeze to kill the weeds and bugs, no snow days to give our poor, overworked brains a break from the relentless vice-grip of learning.
Spring came early, and the buds have taken their time appearing. I'm late on the yellows this year, but have very much been enjoying the pinks and purples.
After about a week of mild sickness for Trey and me, Brandon got the flu. He always gets something at the end of basketball season. He set up camp in the man cave, while upstairs, we practically bathed in hand sanitizer. Thankfully, it didn't last too long and wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.
Trey has used the winter to mature and get even taller, as if he needed to. He is so much fun and talks like it's going out of style. He is helpful and funny and really enjoys time spent together. We have a really good thing going right now, which I am trying very hard not to take for granted. The only stumbling block is his treatment of his brother.
Aden has been reveling in travel basketball. His team improved by leaps and bounds over the course of just a few months, and they actually won a game a few weeks ago. It's becoming a brotherhood, something Aden needed and I am overjoyed that he gets to experience. His coach is amazing, encouraging and challenging Aden at every turn.
Who on earth knew we could love something so much? Two practices a week and all day on Saturdays, and we never dreaded a single moment of it. I ended up being scorekeeper, which helped curb my anxiety during games. So sad that it had to end.
But it did. Earlier than expected.
The world got sick.
And here we are, in the twilight zone.
Coronavirus started in China and was little more than a passing thought for a few weeks. All of a sudden, life comes to a screeching halt. Our precious basketball, snatched from under our nose. No tournament to watch. The boys' Christmas gift of a spring NBA game, gone. Schools closed for at least two weeks. No activities, no gatherings. No church! Easter drama - who knows? Social distancing enters our vocabulary.
And oh, the grocery store. Mercy. No potatoes, no meat, no beans, no water, no hand sanitizer, no cleaning products, no medicines, nothing at all on the paper products aisle. Whole aisle, wiped clean. Totally surreal.
Also surreal, the camaraderie in that place. People patient with each other, greeting strangers, offering kindness, thanking the employees, smiling at each other because apparently it takes a pandemic for us to start realizing we're all in this thing together.
I have felt burdened to pray for revival. There are moments I really think it could happen, against all odds, with the backdrop of the most hateful and divisive time I can ever remember. The Lord is mighty, and works very, very well when things don't make sense.
As my beloved pastor and father-in-law said in his YouTube sermon this past Sunday, sometimes God has to put us in a timeout. Well, if there's ever been a timeout, we're in one. Mandated by the government, no certain end in sight.
Work, Lord. Please protect us, Lord. And also, thanks for the time to slow down.
The world, in its sorrow,
The world needeth Thee;
Revive Thy disciples,
Beginning in me!
Endue us with boldness
Thy grace to proclaim;
O help us with power
To speak in Thy name.
Lord, send a revival,
And let it begin in me!
Our winter, if you can call it that, was defined by approximately eleven tiny snowflakes that might not have even hit the ground. I mourn a year with no puffy snowsuit photos of my gigantic sons, no hard freeze to kill the weeds and bugs, no snow days to give our poor, overworked brains a break from the relentless vice-grip of learning.
Spring came early, and the buds have taken their time appearing. I'm late on the yellows this year, but have very much been enjoying the pinks and purples.
After about a week of mild sickness for Trey and me, Brandon got the flu. He always gets something at the end of basketball season. He set up camp in the man cave, while upstairs, we practically bathed in hand sanitizer. Thankfully, it didn't last too long and wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.
Trey has used the winter to mature and get even taller, as if he needed to. He is so much fun and talks like it's going out of style. He is helpful and funny and really enjoys time spent together. We have a really good thing going right now, which I am trying very hard not to take for granted. The only stumbling block is his treatment of his brother.
Aden has been reveling in travel basketball. His team improved by leaps and bounds over the course of just a few months, and they actually won a game a few weeks ago. It's becoming a brotherhood, something Aden needed and I am overjoyed that he gets to experience. His coach is amazing, encouraging and challenging Aden at every turn.
Who on earth knew we could love something so much? Two practices a week and all day on Saturdays, and we never dreaded a single moment of it. I ended up being scorekeeper, which helped curb my anxiety during games. So sad that it had to end.
But it did. Earlier than expected.
The world got sick.
And here we are, in the twilight zone.
Coronavirus started in China and was little more than a passing thought for a few weeks. All of a sudden, life comes to a screeching halt. Our precious basketball, snatched from under our nose. No tournament to watch. The boys' Christmas gift of a spring NBA game, gone. Schools closed for at least two weeks. No activities, no gatherings. No church! Easter drama - who knows? Social distancing enters our vocabulary.
And oh, the grocery store. Mercy. No potatoes, no meat, no beans, no water, no hand sanitizer, no cleaning products, no medicines, nothing at all on the paper products aisle. Whole aisle, wiped clean. Totally surreal.
Also surreal, the camaraderie in that place. People patient with each other, greeting strangers, offering kindness, thanking the employees, smiling at each other because apparently it takes a pandemic for us to start realizing we're all in this thing together.
I have felt burdened to pray for revival. There are moments I really think it could happen, against all odds, with the backdrop of the most hateful and divisive time I can ever remember. The Lord is mighty, and works very, very well when things don't make sense.
As my beloved pastor and father-in-law said in his YouTube sermon this past Sunday, sometimes God has to put us in a timeout. Well, if there's ever been a timeout, we're in one. Mandated by the government, no certain end in sight.
Work, Lord. Please protect us, Lord. And also, thanks for the time to slow down.
The world needeth Thee;
Revive Thy disciples,
Beginning in me!
Endue us with boldness
Thy grace to proclaim;
O help us with power
To speak in Thy name.
Lord, send a revival,
And let it begin in me!
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