Time In A Bottle

Emily at 11 - Seven years ago.

Leah and Daniel with my nephew's dog, Alice,

taken when we were building our house in the summer of 2004.

The children posing on our property in 2004

on what is now one of my walking trails.

I am acutely aware of the passing of time, for many reasons.

I just celebrated my 46th birthday two days ago. At breakfast when my elderly age was being commented on, I realized that I had known my husband half of my life. Wow! That's a long time to be with someone. I only had three years with my dad but have been blessed to share 23 years with the same man. I thank God for that blessing.

We are in prep mode for Emily's graduation party which is next Sunday. That's just over one week to pull it all together! Usually by now my gardens and landscaping around the house have long been weeded, pruned and cleaned up. Enter (so-called) spring of 2011: cold, snowy, rainy and generally miserable! So, I've been waiting to get out there and this week was the week. My back is a little sore today but the shrubs have been pruned, weeds have been pulled, dead plants removed. We are now in the process of putting down new mulch.

Of course with all that yard work to accomplish, the house and garage haven't gotten much attention. That will be the focus today and tomorrow. Even though it's a cold, rainy day today, I want to get out in the garage and clean it, although with three dogs and lots of dirt in the great outdoors, I'll probably leave the garage floor until later.

Anyone wondering about my fabulous eating plan? Hmmmm... Is birthday cake one of the food groups? That's been my downfall lately. Emily baked me my favorite cake: my mother-in-law's famous "Kay's Rhubarb Cake". Soooo yummy! Then Daniel decided he needed to make me a cake as well: vanilla cake with orange buttercream frosting. It's delicious and beckons me to have a piece more than once a day. So much for going sugar free! Both cakes are almost gone so there's hope for me yet. If I hadn't been walking with my sister and in a gardening frenzy, I'd probably be in real trouble!

Yesterday the children got out our video recorder and started watching old family videos on it. Talk about being made aware of the passage of time. There are loved ones who are no longer with us on there; my children as babies, toddlers and little children... Seriously, if it wasn't so cute, it could have brought me to tears. I realize with my head that my children are a gift from God, on loan, for a time. All the while, however, they are growing and maturing and if things work the way they're supposed to, they will grow up and leave our home. My heart just needs to catch up with my head, I guess.

So that's where I'm at. Preparing for a new phase in our family, with our eldest daughter graduating and going to college. Not only is she 18 and graduating, she's even met and begun dating a young man. We like Trent. He's respectful, mature and very kind to our precious girl. He's enlisted in the Marines and will be leaving for basic training tomorrow. He's got a bright future ahead of him and who knows, it may include our daughter.

It's a lot of change in a mighty short span, but with God's very real presence, we march onward with anticipation and maybe just a twinge of longing for days gone by. I guess it's a good reminder to me: Wake up! Don't miss these precious and fleeting days. I say that frequently, but as I just celebrated my 12th bonus birthday (that's what I call my birthdays ever since my cancer diagnosis) I can't help but be grateful for the gift of life, chaotic and challenging as it may be.