Summer 2012 - Never throw out anyone.

I'm sitting at my kitchen table with talk radio on, surrounded by boxes and bills, coupons and cords.  I have my computer, my camera, and my phone scattered among my grocery list, coupon organizing book (which is shamefully unorganized), trash pile, pile of things to file, pile of things to go to the basement, and pile of things I need to make calls about.  Why does health insurance stuff always require phone calls to make it right???

Has your summer been absolutely over whelming?  Is there anyone out there like me who is wondering where summer went and what I did with every day that is now past?

When we started the summer, Lily didn't like water (other than her bath), she could roll over (but nothing more), and we'd barely started pureed vegetables.  Now, she love the pool and the lake (especially if she can skinny dip!), she's pulling herself up on everything (and then getting frustrated that she's stuck standing and can't go anywhere yet), and she's chowing down on food off of my plate at every meal.  She barely had 2 teeth in May.  She's working on tooth #8 right now.

I didn't read much this summer, but I did read enough to find a quote that I really like, one worth sharing:

People, even more than things, have to be
restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed;
never throw out anyone.

I read this quote in a little quote book we have titled, "Wise Words for Fantastic Fathers."  I'm not a father, but I figured I could probably still benefit from reading it.  And it turns out I did.  I love this quote.  Though the book credits Audrey Hepburn with the quotation, a quick check of Snopes.com shows Sam Levenson as the true author.

Whoever said it, I think it's something worth remembering.  I spend a lot of time last summer working on restoring, renewing, reviving, and reclaiming furniture and other things to fill Lily's nursery.  This summer, Chase and I spent a lot of time on relationships - restoring, renewing, reviving, reclaiming and redeeming relationships with each other and those around us.  This summer was well spent.

Relationship work is hard.  It's harder than physical work in some ways, because there are few external ways to measure success.  And trying to "measure" relationship almost negates that there is relationship - it's not about how many times Chase empties the dish drainer or how many meals I make - it's about the heart attitude behind the actions.  And yet success is so obvious when it's achieved.  Others can see the success of physical work:  a yard neatly mowed, a house freshly painted, a house neatly cleaned.  Relational work often seems hidden, behind the scenes, and yet so crucial, so essential to living a fulfilled life.

It's taken a lot of time - time I typically would have spent blogging and doing other things that revive my soul.  As things settle into the fall/school year routine, I plan to return to the activities I set aside.  It feels good to be back!  I will remember the summer of 2012 as the summer of working on relationships, not the least of which has been mine with my Maker.

My theme song for the summer.  Enjoy:   Redeemed by Big Daddy Weave