Month: July 2013

I have so enjoyed having Jean Marc spend time with me this summer…

His smile, his honesty, his hugs, his sweetness, his willingness to tell stories about his Daddy….

I love every bit of him….

We did a lot of running around and it is fairly common for my phone to ring while driving. I have a blue tooth sync system and so the kids can listen in on the conversations. After each conversation with a family member, Jean Marc would say, Aunt Trish, it happened again, you didn’t say I love you….

Now I grew up in a home where we did not often speak the words and yet as adults we have practiced and gotten more comfortable with speaking our love to one another. But I must say, it is not an everyday phrase that I put to practice…

I asked Jean Marc if I had to say it for it to be true? Could it be that I love them even if I don’t say it each time?

His words caught my heart and silenced my soul…

He said, Aunt Trish, we say it every time in my family. I am glad we do cause it is the last words my Dad heard me say!

And with that honest and meaningful answer, I want my love to flow freely and generously in words of I love you and big hugs.

I hope I never encounter a call again where life is forever changed through a sudden loss of a family member, but if it does, I hope I can say the same, I love you were some of the last words they heard me say!

I invite you to be generous with your words of love and your display of affection towards those you love. Even if it isn’t very common in your family, it never hurts to start now and just tell them that Trish said it is really important. I wish I could say it one more time to my sweet brother (Jean Marc’s Dad). But I will take it as a lesson learned and carry what Len taught his family forward. I love you are words worth speaking often!

 

This sweet niece of mine says it often…..

So often as a matter of fact that I have started to ask her what are you sorry for?

She smiles and realizes that she is using the word when she really doesn’t need to apologize….

I have come to realize how important the words i’m sorry really are….

I am quick to remind my niece’s and nephews they are words that should only be used when you really have something to be sorry for….

Sometimes I feel like sorry has become an empty word…

And yet, when used in the right space, I find it is a word with great power and invitation to forgiveness….

And so, I believe we should only use the words I am sorry in a complete sentence….

I am sorry for….

I love when I can hang out with her and we smile and grow and learn together. She smiles now when she says sorry when she doesn’t need to.

Then she says I am sorry for saying sorry!

I am keenly aware lately that life really does take a village…

I don’t think it is only limited to the context of raising a child….

I believe it is about living in community as well….

I recognize that I am involved in a variety of villages…

Sometimes I am a primary member and other times peripheral or passing through….

Today I am very aware of friends of mine who need a village to carry them through difficult times….

My college classmate has spent the last days searching for his Dad who is missing. I can’t imagine having to walk the fields and hang posters. Please become a praying member of Randy’s village. Pray for clarity, answers and a peace that passes all understanding….

My sister in law’s brother-in-law has recently learned of his brain tumor. He faces biopsies in the coming weeks and likely chemo and radiation. Please become a praying member of Josh’s community and pray for his wife and two teenage children, for relief from symptoms and that the tumor will not be cancerous and will not need chemo or radiation. Pray for peace, comfort and healing….

I know there are so many people who would benefit from prayer, presence and community to surround them. It is my prayer we will be courageous village members. That we will move into difficult places and bring words of hope, comfort and understanding. It is my hope that we will love other people well and that we will know at the end of each day, that we have served our villages well!

 

 

These words have echoed through my mind often since Saturday morning….

I had promised my sister that I would be available to do anything she needed the day of the wedding…

In my mind I didn’t anticipate so much needing to be done….

I arrived at the salon by 8 am and the list was started…

By about 930 i could feel my anxiety rising…

I was working alone and I began to wonder if everything would get done….

I began to worry about how my injured Achilles tendon would act with working and walking quickly….

I longed for a perfect day for Janneke and Arlene, a day with no worry…

But my list included some pretty critical last-minute things…

I began to feel the power, and in this case fear of my mind overtaking the joy I had anticipated for the day…

I stopped at the house to pick up a few things and my sweet niece Sonta was there. We chatted about the day and I showed her my list…

In her sweet 15-year-old voice she said, “let’s go Aunt Trish, we got this !”

We got this….her voice was confident, her words clear, and her doubt non-existent…

I could feel everything shift within myself….yes, we got this!

And we were off….

The day was full….

It went from busy with one thing to busy with the next…..

It was full of what had to get done and once in a life time moments…

It was full of huge smiles, beautiful connection, a wonderful variety of people and lots of love!

It was full of beauty which was at risk of being robbed from me because of fear and anxiety about how it would all happen.

I was reminded of the power of my thoughts.

A simple phrase said by a brilliant girl framed my day for good…..

You were 100 percent right on Sonta….we got this!

Sweet Sonta, I now hear your voice reminding me of how you have moved through 15 years of living with such grace and ease. You have encountered many difficult moments and they have not defeated you. You have learned to embrace what is hard and overwhelming with three simple words. You have  reminded me of what can be done if I choose to believe in the power of mind and the action of doing.

And now, I have a day to live full of unknown, adventure and routine.

I got this!

Try this link to take a glimpse…

http://web.photodex.com/view/p64xkxm4/61366

 

I am back to writing…

My niece is married and I have a new nephew by marriage….

My mind is tired and my heart is full….

I have not been alone at home for a good two weeks….

It was wonderful and together we all had a very good time!

I wanted to share with a glimpse into the lives of two very happy people…

Two people who are starting a life together with energy, passion, love, commitment and faith….

Two people whose smiles bring hope to this world!

Click on the link below and enjoy!

Just a glimpse….