Like moving, I think this kind of review is something that is so beneficial that everyone should do it every few years. When we have moved in the past, we have gotten rid of a lot of dead weight, much of what we didn't need or use any more ended up at DI (Goodwill) or recycled. That's what I mean by the benefit. When else do regular people have the desire or dedication to sift through the inevitable accumulation of extra stuff that is collected when they put down roots? (Pregnancy, maybe. I'm gearing up for another little purge of my own here in the next few days.)
Well, in reviewing and trying to give a sense of order to the past few years of our family life, I have gotten a renewed sense of optimism, funnily enough. Right now, I am managing to do more than put on shoes to exercise, but putting on my shoes still leaves me short of breath. It has done me good to see pictures that show that things get back to normal after pregnancy, or at least that they can.
Another thing that stood out for me after reviewing thousands of pictures is how many pictures we have that I love and how many of these show our two children being sweet and loving toward each other. They are kind to each other every day, but there is also conflict. While I don't take pictures of them in conflict, there is still enough proof of their loving relationship that it makes me think that it will continue. They are 5 and 2--how's that for extrapolation? Yes, I may be stretching it, but it still leaves me with that impression.
We are sick this week. It started at Gabe's birthday party. He had a lot of fun, but did seem a little cranky. When the dust settled on Sunday, we took his temperature and found him fevered. It's been on and off fevers and general malaise all week. We went to the doctor yesterday for a pre-scheduled well-check visit where the doctor said he was fine, but/and he is down again today.
I was reading a little yesterday before going to bed and I came across Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk, Of Things That Matter Most. In the talk he points out the wisdom and importance of slowing down, especially when our lives face "turbulence." Combined with a podcast I listened to recently about a method to establish bonds between troubled adopted children and their adoptive parents--I want to say attachment parenting, but that may not be right...
Anyway, with the combination of these two bits of informational input, it occurred to me that when our children or other loved ones are laid low by illness or something else, it really is an opportunity for us to serve them more closely and re-forge the bonds that hold us together. I've always maintained that being sick serves us in making us grateful for our health, but now I'm thinking that the appreciation for health is very small change compared to the challenging opportunity we have to really serve our loved ones and re-establish those important connections that hold us together.
Now, I'm going to go hold my sick (baby) boy, who is two years old.
