Twirls 'n Curls

Retrieved from: https://busybeingjennifer.com/give-thanks-free-chalkboard-printable/ I'm sitting here on Thanksgiving night, 50 feet from the beach in a beautiful Mexican vacation home, listening to one of the worst windstorms I've heard in at least a decade. As with many rentals, it's obvious ours isn't cut out for this kind of weather. The wind is howling around and through the windows, rattling the glass and creating a noise similar to a tea-kettle whistle, with rain seeping in through the edges. (I'm also, I should add, typing in the dark at the kitchen table, trying to provide support to a scared, tired kiddo who doesn't like the storm any more than I do. Apparently, even paradise has its rainy days.) It's yet another reminder of a powerful lesson I've been learning, or re-learning, recently: Embrace life. All of it. The good, the bad, the funny, the downright ugly. It's all there anyway. We can hate it, and become bitter. We can ign...

The other day, I was scrolling through some pictures on my phone when I thought, That looks like it was so much fun!  After which, I immediately thought, Wait a minute, stupid, YOU were THERE - YOU took the pictures!  That's when I realized, we do a lot - I mean, A LOT of stuff. Work. School. Volleyball. YoungLife. Drama Class. Voice Lessons. Improv. Family Nights. Church. And the list goes on each week. (Don't even get me started on the animal shelter and Rubix Cube Club!) And while I feel I do a good job of being fully present in each activity and event as it happens (that's something I've had to work at), I don't always make the space to pause and reflect on all that's happening. It's like I take the picture and move on. Sometimes, we need to mourn the end of something, before we can really move forward with our lives. Other times, we need to give ourselves a break after completing a difficult task. Or maybe we just need pause to celebrate the good th...