Summer Gratefulness

My last Monday of freedom, as I jokingly called it today, has been spent thus far in my pajamas while I folded and put up two laundry baskets of clothes.  The next basket sits in front of me, waiting...

The weather out is cool, and I'm forcing myself to fold and hang, fold and hang... because I don't want those clothes piled up when I head back to work on Thursday. 

A little work for a little peace of mind...

This summer has gone by too fast, as they always do.  So much we had hoped to get done, so much we had hoped to do as a family...

and now it's time for early mornings and homework. 

Much too soon...

Life is like that.  A vapor, right?  Here for a little while and then gone.  As I look back over the summer, I see lots of things that we did.  A trip to the beach, a trip to Texas and back to pick up Wallace.  Memories made... and laughing so hard our bellies hurt.  Books read and swimming and riding the golf cart.  New opportunities and sad goodbyes.  Two Vacation Bible Schools, where I learned that His grace is sufficient even to get me through preschool crafts and a lesson on love when maybe my heart wasn't as full of love as it should be.

And this week, counting the gifts... what a perfect culmination for this summer. 

Gifts of endings- memories and the sense of accomplishment; gifts of beginnings- new school supplies and new opportunities to grow and new people to learn, the excitement of all things new.  Fresh watermelon as the juice drips down your chin, fresh air to breathe after a summer rain, fresh water to tube in and feel like a kid again.  My Mom (her birthday was this week), The Sound of Music, my gift of sand in the jar sitting in my office window at work, reminding me on those tough days that it won't last forever.  Caleb's bedtime stories that go on and on but make me smile, him almost as tall as me but still my little boy somedays.  Gifts high such as my pictures on the wall, gifts far away such as my family in Michigan and North Carolina, who gathered for a week and let me in on the fun for a couple of days. 

Yes, this summer has flown by... and so has 2013.  But I'm so grateful, grateful for all that I expect from the future.  I know I've not been promised tomorrow... but I have been promised a future...a  good one.  And while I know there will be troubles, looking at them as growth opportunities and praising Him who works all things for good will get me, will get us, through. 

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