Where I'm At

Yesterday Brother Shaw told me there's a Nova Scotia saying that says, "Stay where you're at and I'll come where you're to."

Here's where I'm at today:

For some reason the new camera orientation class at The Camera Store was cancelled Saturday but Ken and I went down to the store anyways, and we bought a new camera bag for me.

I'm hoping it's just the right size for my camera, my wallet, and my cell phone so that I'm not trying to carry around a camera bag and a purse at the same time.
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It's probably for the best that I'll have to wait a couple of weeks for the DSLR class. The more I use my camera the more questions I have, and therefore the longer I wait the more valuable the class will be. However, close-up photos have been instantly better.
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Especially for subjects that will stay still like my favorite roses in my backyard. Too bad most of my subjects are in constant motion.
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This morning I had a bad dream. The kind you have to fight your way out of and wake up from to make sure it's only a dream. Then, soon after I woke up, I heard Steven in the bathroom and I remembered we had committed to running together every morning for the next 2 weeks to train together before football tryouts start on July 28. I really didn't wake up feeling like a run, but I dragged myself out of bed and off we went. We did my 5K route. We've never gone for a jog together before, and it turns out we are perfect running partners because our strides are almost the same length. Steven is stronger on sprinting than long distance, and he's pretty sure that sprinting is more important in football, but we think that endurance will be a factor by the end of the 2-hour tryouts every night for a week.

When we got home Steven ate 4 breakfasts, and I went upstairs and did a little crying in the shower because my dream came back to me. Where were the running endorphins? Not chasing the sad feelings from my dream away! What I dreamed this morning was that Chloe had died as a baby and that it was the anniversary of her death. It was crushing.

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Focusing on picturing her 7 year old face in my mind helped.

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Moving on.

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This coming week we have nothing calendared, but we have a long list of things we want to do this summer, thanks to Auntie O's visit last week. Milly's mom sat down with my old Martha Stewart Kid's magazines one night last week and made a list of fun ideas to do with Milly the rest of the summer, and Chloe couldn't stand not having a list of her own, so she started one herself. We're going to Calaway Park, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, the library, making treats, going to a splash park, doing crafts. . . and that's just this week.

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We do have one thing calendared on Thursday: Steven has an interview with the Bishop to receive his Faith in God Award which he has worked on over the past 4 years - saving memorizing the Articles of Faith for last. The interview is also going to cover preparing to be ordained a deacon on August 10th. I'm really excited about Steven's upcoming ordination - he's so ready. Ken and I both marvel and the growth we've seen in our boy in the past year.

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I remember a long time ago a mother, who was further along in mothering than I was, remarking to me that 'there is nothing more thrilling than normal growth and development.' As I watch my kids grow and develop there doesn't seem to be anything normal about it, miraculous seems like a better word to describe my wonder. She was right about one thing: it is a thrill.