Through the eyes of another

Sometimes it takes a fresh, objective eye to open your own to something that is right in front of you.

I had the pleasure of making a new acquaintance recently, and in the midst of our conversation she complimented my son and mentioned that he seemed very 'self-possessed.' I made some comment in response, at which point she elaborated on what she had meant, thinking I had misunderstood. She said he appeared to be self-confident and of a thoughtful sort, to which I agreed.

But, of course, I looked up the word as soon as I had opportunity. Just to assure myself that I really did have a full grasp of its meaning. Below is the definition from the Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

self-pos·sessed adj
confident and in control of your own emotions

When I read this, I very nearly laughed out loud.

Not once before this moment had I heard anyone describe my son with any word that implied any sort of hold on one's emotions. Oh, how I would LOVE to share this with my son's former preschool teachers - I'm sure they would appreciate the irony.

He has come a long way. As have I.

May I always remember where we have come from ...

... and never lose sight of where we are going.

The Great Book Quest of Summer 2009

With the advent of summer has come the much anticipated summertime bedtime schedule. We have been putting the kids to bed a little later and allowing them some individual reading time before lights out. I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to see my 7-year-old plugging away night by night at her chapter book.

But, for the past several nights, the 10-year-old has asked to use his reading time to play with his action figures -- because he has nothing to read. Nothing to read?? Yikes!

So I mentioned to my husband this crisis and suggested perhaps we should get these kids to the library soon to find the boy some books.

Lo and behold! This morning while I was at work, I received a text message indicating that my dear husband had ventured out with the children in search of books. Which turned out to be more of an adventure than planned, as they had to visit 3 libraries before they found one that was open on Fridays -- budget cuts. Hence, the "Quest".

Yea for Titus not giving up! (I would have gone home after finding the second branch closed.) And not only that, but remembering my recent offhand remark that I have been wanting to read Peter Pan, what did he bring home for me? Why, Peter Pan, of course!

Did the boy find something to read? Hmmm. Let's see ... 4 Far Side books, 3 chapter books, and 1 Calvin & Hobbes. I think he will be covered for a few days.

Welcome to Austin

I have lived in Austin for 17 years. On Monday I visited Barton Springs Pool for the very first time. I also have never seen the Congress Avenue bats.

But, lest you think I am a poor excuse for an Austinite, I have:

• been to the State Capitol,
• seen an IMAX movie at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum (on whose location I used to park when I was a graduate student),
• strolled through the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center,
• canoed on Town Lake (a muggy, fairly forgettable April afternoon),
• shopped and dined at Central Market,
• been to the top of Mount Bonnell (where my husband asked me to marry him - sure, it sounds cheesy, but was, in fact, an unplanned, spontaneous moment),
• ambled along the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail (I don't jog. I amble.),
• attended a book-signing at Book People (This was fun - Mo Willems gave an animated reading of "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!" and the kids were thrilled to meet him and get their book signed.),
• visited the Zilker Botanical Garden,
• enjoyed (i.e. sweated profusely) at the Children's Day Art Park in Symphony Square many a summer.

But I have now totally digressed from the original purpose of this post.

The reason I finally ended up at Barton Springs on Monday was that I was given the opportunity to play tour guide to the wife and children of a professor being recruited by my department at the University. I was happy to do so for several reasons, not the least of which being that 'work' for the day meant spending time doing fun things with my kids instead of sitting in my office.

Now, I'm not sure if this is the best way to entice someone to move here -- "Welcome to Texas! It's 101 degrees - let's spend the day outside!" But, we shall see.

We began the day with a trail ride on horseback at Bear Creek Stables. This activity had the potential to be either super fun or super not, given the heat. Happily, there was a steady breeze and ample shade, and all parties involved reported being quite satisfied. My youngest was so enchanted that she is now begging to go to their summer camp. You should have seen my tiny little child sitting atop that big ol' horse like nobody's business! My eldest was certain that he got the best horse of the bunch and afterward proudly declared that he now has 'riding experience'.

After the horses, we headed back downtown to hit the pool, stopping along the way at P. Terry's for burgers and some tasty fries!

Of course, I had heard that the water at Barton Springs was cold, but there simply is no preparing oneself for the shock of it. Almost too cold to be refreshing. (Almost. It's 100 degrees, people.) I laughed because while wading through the water, I noticed goosebumps on the arms of nearly everyone I passed. It was so cold, in fact, that my son really couldn't (or wouldn't) bear it, and sat on the edge most of the time watching the scene at the diving board. (Don't feel bad for him - he was content.) Emma wasn't too fond of the slippery bottom of the pool, but soon found her footing and had a great time with her new friends. Not once did I hear her comment on the water temperature.

And eventually Jared made his way into the pool -- right about the time we needed to leave -- and proceeded to protest the very thought of having to depart this wonderful place. Now, isn't that just typical?

To cap off the day, we were invited to attend a riverboat cruise on Lake Austin and had an enjoyable evening hobnobbing with the faculty. (Not generally a fan of hobnobbing -- still, it was a good time.) The kids had the most fun, running rampant on the boat and helping themselves to the free-flowing sodas and array of desserts. Emma was in tears at the conclusion, not wanting to leave the boat or her new found friends.

I do not know if the family was sold on Austin. I know I am.

Conversation overheard

Background: Tomorrow our son has a much-anticipated play-date with a new friend from the gymnastics team. Past experience with his sister is that when he has a friend over and she does not, she can be a bit, um, shall we say, pesky.

So the conversation went like this:

Jared: Um, Emma, tomorrow when Nathan comes over and we're in my room ... can you try not to keep opening the door and closing the door and ... uh, bothering us?
Emma: [innocent, bewildered look upon her face - no audible reply]
Jared: Really, Emma ... you know how sometimes when I have friends over, you come and open the door and say, "Hi!" real loud and then close the door?
Emma: [nearly inaudible acknowledgment of this behavior]
Jared: Okay, Emma ... please?
Emma: [delivered with a straight face, flat affect, and only the slightest hint of a smirk in her voice] And no putting naked Barbies under the door?

At which point I couldn't help but to interrupt the negotiations with my laughter. And so it was agreed - no naked Barbies.

She's subtle, this one, but you've got to admire her ability to put the 'pesk' in pesky.

A brief trip down Memory Lane

Before we were married, my husband shared an apartment with two other college students. Over the years, I have always enjoyed hearing a good Matt & Al story from the past. They (the stories) are most amusing. One of these former roommates we see quite frequently; the other, having moved out of state, much less so.

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to have lunch with the latter former roommate. And, as it always must be when old friends are reunited after a long separation, the conversation was full of reminiscences and 'Remember that time...?' and 'Remember that cat...?' or some other such perfectly random utterance.

After spending this short span of time with his dad's old roommate, my son enthusiastically declared, "I can't wait 'til I have a roommate!" and set about questioning his dad as to how he could acquire one.

What sold him? Was it the tales of rubber band fights, stray cats, potstickers and dumplings, the belch-producing combination of Gumby's pizza and root beer? Or was it the swapping of favorite The Far Side/Calvin & Hobbes strips over burgers & fries? Or was it simply the charming experience that is Matt? I do not know, but somebody better sign this kid up.

Let's hope that when the time comes, his experience will be as sweet, and the friendship as enduring.

Bible Camp

Well, after months of preparation and coordination and much prayer, Bible Camp 2009 is officially behind us.

I am a little tired.

But my heart is full. There is simply much too much to share.

Here are a few of my top enjoyments:

At the end of the last day of the camp, my husband noticed a little girl crying. Upon checking with the girl's teacher, he found out the reason for her distress - she was sad because Bible Camp was over. This touched my heart so much, to know that this little one had such an enjoyable time at camp that its ending moved her to tears.

One dear sister who I had not met previously, came from out of town to attend the camp for the first time. She drove by herself with her two children (a 5-year-old and a 5-month-old) and came in faith because we did not know until the last minute where she would stay. Her first day was difficult, to say the very least, and culminated with her becoming lost, unable to find her way back to her host's home, and sitting stranded in a Whataburger parking lot. This very same sister, later in the week shared with us how happy she was and even told us, "Here, I feel spoiled!" If this isn't the God of all comfort, I don't know what is.

From the front foyer of the meeting hall where we held the camp, I could see directly into the Pre-K boys' classroom. Seeing ten active 4-year-old boys sitting attentively, enrapt, as their teachers shared with them the story of Ruth was priceless. Hearing them sweetly sing, "Wherever You Go, I Will Go" at the end-of-the-week celebration time was doubly so (if even pricelessness can be doubled!)

There is a couple who drive all the way down from Canada to bring their girls to the camp. I'm not sure how, but a couple of years ago, my daughter and one of theirs became fast friends. Though there is a 2 year age difference, somehow these two just fit together. Friendship can be a mysterious thing. When they first met and became enamored of each other, my daughter did not even know her name and simply referred to her as 'my friend'. And we all knew who she meant. This year, she again told me about having fun with 'her friend'. On the very day this family was to leave town to make the long journey home, her parents took the time to bring their daughter by our house so that these young friends could have just a few more precious moments together. This surely cherished my heart.

One of my son's good friends moved with his family to Belize 2 years ago. Last year and this year, his mother brought him to Austin for the Bible Camp and we had the privilege to host them in our home. This year, she also brought her nephew - another sweet and delightful young man. A grand time was had by all! They swam, they bounced, they played basketball, they played laser tag, they memorized verses, they ate pizza, they had sleepovers. My favorite thing was hearing these three boys giggle - that's right, giggle. (It is a rare phenomenon, this giggling 10 year old boy - if you happen upon it in the wild, be sure to tightly tuck the melody away in your heart.) There will be tears tomorrow morning when these treasured friends depart.

Most definitely, though, my top enjoyment was in allowing the Lord to be the I Am. In every situation that arose, He more than abundantly supplied His grace. When we prayed, He responded and met our every need in His Body. I count it the highest privilege to have had the opportunity to serve Him in such a small way. May He guard the good deposit received by each of these little vessels this week!

Where I have been

I know, I know ... you all have been wondering where I have been lately. All three of you. Waiting patiently for a new post.

In the past several weeks we have had, not one, but two visits from my in-laws (delightful!), I have become increasingly consumed with preparations for the kids' upcoming Bible Camp (starting Monday!!), not to mention the ending of the school year and, oh yeah, my (other) job.

More to come on all of these things in the near future. I hope.