Most memorable point of the commencement speech…
These last four years have been different for all of you. For some it was a cake walk, for others a challenge. Some of you spent that time been bullied; others of you might have been the bullies. And if you were the bullies, you need to prepare yourself right now because karma is a boomerang. ~Bree Elrod
So many faces here I love. Congratualations, Class of 2013! Go forth and conquer.
Mama Kat is feeling my pain this month, realizing that May is so busy it needs a Bucket List all of its own.
My May Bucket List
~Retrieve Daughter #2 from college and move her home for the summer sighing all the while with the realization that she is now half way through college.
~Rush to make sure the kids I am responsible for at school have solid plans for the summer and the next school year so that they might be safe, cared for and happy.
~Quietly observe the anniversary of my mom’s death still surprised that I can’t just get in the car and buzz out West to see her.
~Spend Mother’s Day with my husband and kids, giving thanks for them the whole day long.
~Understand that no matter how old or capable we grow, we all need a mother.
~Scramble to find housing for Daughter #1 in a city we don’t know that is 4.5 hrs away.
~Clean my house from rafters to basement preparing for big graduation bashes.
~Plant my boot firmly in my son’s behind to make sure that he turns in enough homework so there will be a graduation.
~Watch the youngest of my children walk across the stage, be handed a diploma, and step into his future.
~Plop into a cushy chair on the patio and drink a tall, frosty glass of lemonade while reflecting on all the wonderful things that have happened in all the wonderful Mays of my life.
~Let go of the things I didn’t get around to knowing I did the best I could, that this is all anyone can do, and that it is enough.
~Dream of June.
A company advertised free pallets on Craigslist. When I got there I discovered they were not the traditional slotted pallets, but I went ahead a grabbed a few even though I wasn’t sure what I would do with them.
We used the pallets to form box structures by closing them in along all four sides with roofing boards from the old playhouse. One of the pallets had a bottom in it so we set it on top of the other two. One has a couple of boards running the length of the pallet. We left those to set potted plants (yet to come).
At our old house strawberries grew profusely; but I can’t seem to keep a plant alive here, let alone grow a single succulent strawberry. The garden center recommended a plant stimulator called Myke’s which I put into each hole I dug for the strawberry plants. Kansas State research recommends 2% organic material, so we added compost as we filled the beds with soil.
Once we got the plants into the finished beds I sat back and dreamed of the first berry that would grow in our little plot. My heart sank as I read the K-State site for additional tips. They recommend plucking off all flowers….as in all potential yummy berries…for the first year so that the plants can put their energy into developing runners. Sigh. But those runners lead to “daughter” plants, and that can only mean summer 2014 shall be the summer of the strawberry! Right?
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:25
Despite Mother’s Day, May is a hard time for Mother’s. There are so many extra school activities. There are graduations and confirmations to attend. There are summers to plan. Gardens to plant.
Today I am praying for refreshment for all who are dehydrated from all the watering they’ve been doing for others. Let it pour.
At my 7th birthday party my friend Laurie gave me a book titled Laurie and the Yellow Curtains about a little girl who had a playhouse decked out in all that a little girl could dream of, right down to those yellow curtains. Much as I longed for a playhouse, it was never going to happen. Still, I read that storybook time after time and dreamed.
When I had a little girl of my own, I knew that I wanted her to have a playhouse where she could spin tales of the grown up life she would lead. We found a kit to build just what I had in mind at a local lumber yard and got down to business. Just as I had imagined, our kids spent many happy hours in that little house.
I noticed it today as I puttered in the yard. The house that was once a part of everyday play has faded into the background unused and overgrown. Time has taken its toll and the playhouse, now ramshackle, looks forlorn.
The porch is buried in ivy, and one of the side railings is completely missing. The roof, once straight and proud, is now scalloped from rot and the nibbling of squirrels. The wood is rough and weathered. No one has crossed the threshold in a decade. Even so, it is hard to let it go.
The little playhouse bore witness to the childhoods of my children. In it they hatched schemes and dreamed dreams. It served them well, but the chapter of our playhouse years has passed. This afternoon I took these final photos of the old place. Later, my husband disassembled the roof, and salvaging what we could, we used those boards to build a rustic raised bed for the garden.
Life goes on. We either learn to change and adapt to a new purpose or we outlive our usefulness. It will be fun this summer to see how many strawberries grow in the new raised bed out back. Somehow, I think they will taste extra sweet.
Thanks, Laurie. I loved the gift of this book. It spoke to my imagination.
