Pursue the Beauty!
reflections on the intermix of beauty, grace, and sufferingArchive for Little Things
Orthodox Mom
Both “Orthodox” and “mom” describe me, as they do countless millions of other women around the world. Born neither mother nor Orthodox, I became both by the grace of God. I’ll always be a mom; I’ll always be Orthodox. To separate the two is impossible. My son rests his head on my shoulder during Liturgy just as I rest my spirit on the prayers during playtime with him.
My heart found its home in the Church, even as my son found his home in my heart. Read the rest of this entry »
Dandelion Wishes
Originally published on April 21, 2007
Simple joys, richly held. Moments drunk to their fullest. Life tastes good.
This weekend I am babysitting a missionary family’s children so they can enjoy a much-deserved getaway. The two girls (8 and 6) and boy (2) are a joy; I do not know which of us wore the other out more. Our first project yesterday was decorating a stepping stone. This intriguing and not-very-intuitive craft involved mixing rock powder with water which hardened into concrete before we were ready. Hopefully the girls will not mind if their little tiles and marbles fall off. We had fun mixing it all up, dusting ourselves with the powder and exclaiming at the feeling of the thick pasty stuff turning rock-solid under our hands.
Before that was fully cleaned up (you know how it is) they were ready to help me make dinner. Once that was in the oven it seemed making chocolate chip cookies was the way to culminate the afternoon. We found (some) of the ingredients, the girls measured (some) sugar and flour into a bowl, their little brother kept asking to taste, and when we were half-way through the ingredients (serves me right for not being more organized in a strange kitchen) the realization struck: we do not have any chocolate chips.
No matter, my charges determined. Peanut butter cookies are just as good. Out came the jar, in went the spoon, and…there goes the mixture into giggling mouths instead of the bowl. I’m looking through a cookbook trying to figure out what changes to make when one is doing peanut butter instead of chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately, they seem to call for half as much butter, less sugar, less flour…I was too busy to figure out why. Since the butter, sugar and flour were already in the bowl, it seemed guesswork would be best. The point was the fun anyway, not prize-winning cookies.
The end batter product did not look or taste like any peanut butter cookie dough I’ve ever made but…the girls were proud. The baked cookies had to be some of the ugliest I’ve ever had to claim as mine but…they taste good.
After dinner we went to the park to climb, run, roll the soccer ball to little brother, play in the sand and walk by the lake. On a whim I plucked a dandelion already gone to seed and showed it to my buddies. The little boy seemed entranced. Knowing he is great at imitating, I blew hard and then offered it to him. His little cheeks puffed out and his breath ruffled the gray fluff but none flew away. I blew again–he crowed in delight as seeds went soaring on the breeze. Time lost its hold. It was beautiful.
It took us a long time to get back across that meadow. My little man wanted to stop and pick every single dandelion and blow. So did his sisters. One called out, “I wish…I wish Natalie was my big sister!”
Though it can’t be all the time, I am happy to play the role when I can. Is it even legal to have this much fun? And I guarantee you that I enjoy my volunteer “big sister” days far more than those I’m hired for. Anything one gets paid to do somehow becomes work. That must be why I enjoy writing only for non-profit ministries. Oops, I think I hear Jaden calling out. Best go make sure he’s sleeping before I get some rest myself.
