Unspoken

When I was a little girl visiting my grandparents in Pennsylvania, when Sunday morning rolled around, we could be found at a little country church called Stone Bridge Church of the Brethren.  I could write pages about that place--the nostalgia rolls over me at the mere thought of it--but tonight what I recall most vividly is how, when the preacher (my great-uncle Harold was the first one I remember there, followed by the one who is still there: the faithful Brother Harry) asked for prayer requests, along with the "Carson's rheumatism flared up" and "Ethel's aunt passed away Wednesday; please remember the family" type of requests would come a more mysterious one.  It never failed; before the preacher stopped looking around the small congregation and began his earnest prayer, someone would slip a hand up and say simply, "Unspoken."  The preacher would nod gravely, and somewhere in his prayer would lift the "unspoken" request up to the Lord.

Here's one thing about unspoken requests: they're enough to drive a child wild with curiosity!  WHAT was Susan talking about with her unspoken?  Was something scandalous going on?  Did she know something that no one else did?  Why couldn't she just say it--whatever it was?  But no matter how much I might have wished to discover the secret of the unspoken, I never did.  God knew, and that was enough.  :)

********

Tonight I find myself reflecting on these last few weeks of blogging, and I discover so much that has been left unsaid.  I don't have any "unspokens" in regards to deep, dark secrets that I only want God to know because I'd be ashamed if anyone else found out; but there is much that has occurred that has not been recorded fully--and in some cases, never even mentioned--here on the blog.

A few of those things are big and significant: my parents' 50th anniversary, most of all, but also the homeschool convention we attended earlier this month, and some thoughts I've had about Josiah's 11th birthday.  I'm still enough of an optimist to think that I'll somehow find the time in coming days to write about those things!

~ my mother and my daughter - June 9 ~

Besides those biggies, there are countless "smallies."  Moments of everyday life that seem endowed with special peace and beauty.  Moments of frustration.  Moments of laughter.

Life, plain and simple.

Though we've settled into our summer pace of fewer deadlines and more relaxed schedules, life is still busy and full; and the variety of activities we've been involved in have often taken my time when I would normally blog--and what's more, have used up my words, leaving me ready for solitude at the end of the day.  I haven't been very talkative online.  But behind the silence, here's a peek at what's been going on...

********

Remember the concept of WOO?  Window of Organizing Opportunity!  Like I did two summers ago when I wrote that post, I've been enjoying the break this year from our regular school routine and have grabbed the chance to do some extra projects around the house.  Moriah's room, Tobin & Shav's room, my room, the upstairs bathroom, the cellar, the porch have all benefited greatly from some extra time and attention...and other rooms have, too, in lesser ways.  My spices are organized, too; and doesn't life just seem a little brighter with an organized spice cupboard?  ;-)

********

Our garden is starting to produce; and besides the stuff we're eating fresh (lettuce, cilantro, green onions, basil), we're also getting enough peas to freeze some.  Only 9 pints so far, but it's a start.  Since shelling peas is my favorite garden job, I never complain about that task.  :)  I've discovered, however, that it's even more fun to do that when the work is shared--not because I can get out of doing as many peas myself, but because the conversation and laughter that flows while we sit with bowls of peas in our laps is a treasure much more precious than any amount of peas in the freezer.

One night our neighbor Gabi wandered up the hill; and although we told her she didn't HAVE to help us, we were glad when she did.  :)  She told us of her earliest memories in Venezuela, and the boys told her their earliest memories, and we talked of other things as the cool evening air swirled around us and the sun sank low.

Another evening I walked over to another neighbor's house and discovered Wilma in the garden picking peas for their supper.  Since I was hanging out outside to watch my boys in our swimming pool, I offered to shell the peas for her--might as well keep my hands busy while my eyes kept watch!  I was delighted when she took me up on my offer, and it turned out that my kids and some of Wilma's all gathered around my chair, and we did the work together.  Working TOGETHER is a big theme of my life and parenting right now.  Of such times are memories made!  :)

********

Speaking of the sun...  (I was, wasn't I?)  ;-)  It's so nice to go outside at 9:15 p.m. and still have light in the sky.  :)

********

Besides housework and garden work, I've also been blessed by some friend time recently.  On Thursday, Sally invited my tribe over for a morning of play and a delicious picnic lunch together.  She had a couple of nephews staying with her; they happened to be about the ages of Josiah and David and happen to be chess players.  I think maybe eight games of chess were played that morning.  :)  I love going to Sally's because it's the kind of place where a body can kick off shoes and put feet up, and a soul can relax and not worry that one's child is going to mess something up.  Not all places are like that.  :)

*******

Speaking of Sally, this past school year I had been teaching her son Paul some piano lessons; but although Paul showed GREAT potential, I was simply not able to devote as much time to teaching him as I would have liked.  This is just not the season of my life for me to try to take on piano students.

However, the VERY good part of all of this is that when I told Sally I didn't feel like I could continue to teach Paul, I gave her some suggestions of other teachers she might consider.  She got in contact with the one that I place at the absolute top of the list; they met this past week; and she will start teaching Paul in the fall!  I am ridiculously happy about that!!  :)

*******

Back to Thursday...and friend time...  Every once in a blue moon, I steal some time to go out with Julie and Misty.  Thursday night we headed downtown and sat on the roof of a local restaurant to eat dessert together and gab about anything and everything.  Since it had been so long, we had a lot to catch up on; and I guess we were out pretty late.  The next day David said to me, "I stayed up until 11:30 waiting for you, and you STILL weren't home!"  Really?  It was that late?  Oops.  :)

When I did finally get home, Jeff glanced up with a mischievous glint in his eye and informed me that he had spies who had been watching me.  What?  I had no idea what he was talking about.  Then he showed me a picture that someone had taken of me that night at the restaurant.  Whoa.  I was feeling a little weird about it all (even though I had absolutely nothing to hide!)  ;-)  until Jeff explained that one of the girls who works in the barbershop--a barber, by the way, whom I have actually never met in person--was eating at that restaurant. When she saw me, she recognized me only by having seen me in pictures.  She texted Jeff and asked him something about me being out and whether I was at that restaurant.  He replied in the affirmative, then she snapped a picture of me and sent it to him.  I knew NOTHING of all of this until I returned home and was confronted with the evidence.  :)

I find the whole thing completely hilarious; and every time I think about it, I start to laugh.  How random is all of that!

I guess it goes to show one thing:

You never know who might be watching.  You just really never know.

It makes me think of Numbers 32:23, which states a principle that I remember my mother drilling into our heads when we were young: "Be sure your sin will find you out."

It's a good thing I wasn't sinning on that rooftop!  ;-)

********

Josiah and David have been taking an archery class this month.  It was supposed to meet twice a week for three weeks, but three out of the six original sessions were rained out, so they still have three make-up classes to do.  Knowing their penchant for weapons, I thought they would both really love the class; but it hasn't been as big of a hit as I expected.  The main reason is because there were so many kids in the class and there were (relatively) few bows and arrows and Josiah and David had to do a lot of waiting for their turn.  After the first class, Josiah moaned, "We were there a whole hour, and I only got to shoot nine arrows!"

I reminded them that because they are homeschooled, they are actually a little bit spoiled.  They don't often experience the boredom of having to wait for a whole class to finish something before moving on to the next thing!

The next class went a little better because, as Josiah reported, he got to shoot 12 arrows that time.  The third class improved even more: "I got to shoot 18 arrows!" was Josiah's jubilant declaration when he got in the van.  If I had been a child in the class, I would probably have been able to tell you who said what to me and whether the teacher had been nice and how I had felt during it all; I'm sure I would not have been able to tell you how many arrows I shot.  But with Josiah, it's no surprise that the first thing out of his mouth each time was the numbers.  :)

********

About a year and a half ago, I wrote about a lesson God was teaching me: "When He adds, He also multiplies."  I thought about that post a few days ago when I--without any planning whatsoever--found myself with one-on-one time with a couple of my boys on the same day.  One of the challenges of a large (mine doesn't seem large to me, but some people think it is!) family is finding opportunities to connect individually with each child in ways that are affirming and uplifting to them.  Although Jeff and I try to intentionally carve out time like that with our kids, I'm also learning to keep my eyes open for unexpected moments and take full advantage of them.

Which is precisely what happened on Wednesday.  In the morning, Jeff took both Tobin and Shav out for breakfast and errand-running, leaving me at home with the rest of the children.  While Moriah napped, Josiah read a book and rode his new bike up and down the driveway.  I worked in Tobin and Shav's room--organizing, putting stuff away, changing sheets on the bed, etc.--and David kept me company.  It was incredibly interesting to me to observe him: he brought his bike inside and was riding it around the oval of our kitchen/living room.  Meanwhile, he was pretending that he was flying through space and visiting various planets.  He would go downstairs, ride around for a while, then come upstairs and announce which planet he had just visited.  Being a gifts-are-my-love-language kind of boy, he also brought me a souvenir from each planet; he went into his room, got out his special rock collection, and chose a rock "from each planet" to bring into Tobin and Shav's room to "give" to me (although, since my hands were busy with my work, he kept the rocks for me so they would be safe and wouldn't get lost).  :)  I loved seeing his imagination at work, and I loved being his buddy during that time.  :)

That evening while I was preparing supper, all the other members of the family were off in other parts of the house and yard; but Josiah was with me in the kitchen, helping me chop mozzarella cheese and green olives for the caprese salad we were having that evening.  I forget how we got on the subject, but we started talking about the differences between male and female communication styles.  I told him how so often, women love to get together, sit face to face, and talk and talk and talk (much like Julie and Misty and I did a few nights ago!).  :)  Men, on the other hand, tend to not face towards each other, but instead face in the same direction and busy themselves with something in their hands while they're talking (much like Josiah and I were doing at that very moment).  Our talk went on from there...

I certainly didn't wake up that morning and write "have a premarital counseling session with Josiah" on my to-do list.  :)  But I'm glad that the One who's really in charge of my schedule saw fit to give me those moments alone with my firstborn.

As these pleasant days slip by, I don't want to miss these moments!!