I have spent this week assisting in running a shelter for homeless families at my church. I am writing this the day after Thanksgiving; there are so many thoughts swirling around in my head that I want to share with you, that I don’t know where to start. So, I will start with this; community, what is a community and what does that word mean to you? My sweet daughter has learned about communities in kindergarten this year, so this word is one that we should all know. It is my hope that the word is one that will become…
Browsing: Mixing Bowl
Instead of writing about my dissatisfaction with the state of the world and the human race, I’m going to take a cue from the upcoming week and instead, be thankful. As much as I despair, I am thankful, as heavy as my heart is, it does fill with joy when I see good shine through, and shine through it does. I am thankful; I am filled with gratitude for the good, for the hope, for the peace that I pray will come to this world. I am thankful that I live in a country where I am free to wonder,…
Campaign ads, debates, whiny politicians; and we have not even begun 2016 yet. As I write this, our local elections will be held tomorrow. We have several candidates for the Board of Supervisors and School Board who have no one running against them, does this mean we are happy with the status quo, or that we just do not pay attention? I am going to go with the latter. We are a nation of head buriers. We are; we love to bury our heads as far down as they can go, it is amazing that any of us can breathe.…
I have just returned from my last field trip to the pumpkin patch. While I will not miss the itchy, scratchy feeling from the hay, or the multiple trips to the porta johns, it was surely bittersweet. My babies are growing up; gone are the days of field trips to the library, post office, and now the pumpkin patch. The hordes of screaming children racing up and down the rows trying to find that one perfect pumpkin, the dusty, dirty air getting in and on every surface, the sharpie in my back pocket so that I can write each of…
As I lounge on my couch, in my comfy clothes, legs stretched out on my husband’s lap; I am weary while watching the news. I am exhausted, I am heartbroken, I am disgusted, I am sickened, I am tired of this world that we live in, what in the world has happened to humankind? We are, without a doubt, on a dangerous path. We seem to be numb, we are gunning each other down in mass shootings, and we do not even blink an eye, the ocean is devouring our coasts with each passing storm, we keep denying climate change.…
I made it through the first week of school. My darling girl bounced happily onto the bus that first day of kindergarten and never looked back. I, of course, was having an internal war that rivaled the most bloody and violent thing you have ever seen. The night before the first day of school I was an anxious, blubbery mess. I just knew that my sweet girl was going to cry getting on the bus the first day of school (I give her no credit at all). I tossed and turned and had terrible nightmares that she would be riding…
The Lashleys have just returned from our very first trip out west, and it was quite the adventure. It was our last hoorah before school started, and a grand adventure for the children to talk about for years to come. My brother lives in Washington on the lovely and magical piece of paradise known as Whidbey Island. My mother had been planning a trip to see him and impulsively invited our little family along. Unfortunately, it was spur of the moment and my darling husband could not come with us, so I traveled with my mother and the children. I…
I have debated for days whether or not to share my horrifying experience with you all; but I quickly decided that I must. Some may be shocked, others disgusted, some sympathetic, I do not know how you will feel; I just know that my house was thrown into a tailspin last week and I have managed to make it through to the other side. Let me share with you what happened. It all started about three weeks ago, my sweet girl began complaining of her head itching (some of you already know where this is going), I chalked it up…
If you recall, a while back I informed you all that we had gotten some chicks. We purchased four little fluffy babies at Boulevard Flowers back in March and were happily tending them in a plastic tub that was sitting in the corner of my den. Now, I am a tad OCD and having little baby chicks, as cute as they were, living in my house was almost more than I could handle. I literally vacuumed daily, cleaned out their living quarters almost by the hour (the smell), and dusted by the minute, chickens love to scratch you know. Unfortunately,…
Summer is moving right along – too fast. I am desperately trying to hold onto these last few weeks of summer, which has been one of the best summers we have had so far. My darling girl will be starting kindergarten in just a few short weeks. I just cannot get rid of the anxiety that is swirling around me like an invisible tornado. My sweet, little, angel-faced baby is going to big school, and a chapter in her life and mine will be closed forever. As parents, we get caught up in the day-to-day. We get up, fix the…