Plucked

Today I plucked a stone from my heart. 

I held it in my hand and examined it as a casual observer would.  It was shiny and sharp; obsidian condensed.  Obviously igneous in origin ( formed at some point in my volcanic past),  it felt heavy in my hand.  Looking at it and feeling its dense burden, I  understood why it had held a prized spot on my internal shelf for so long. 

Then I set it down gently to the side of my path. 
The gentleness surprised me.  I have long thought that when this moment came, I would fling this old hurt far away or pulverize it to dust.  But today, today I found I had lost the associated fervor and animosity and so 
I set it gently down.

 Peace and confidence rushed in to fill the void left from my plucking and I found myself standing in the gym with a huge and goofy smile on my face.


Forgiveness. A profound and en"lightening" everyday miracle. 




 

You gotta laugh

I was working with a new student yesterday and we (the assembled adults) were trying to  figure out how to get him out of his wheelchair.  In case you have never had the experience, each wheelchair is unique in its lever and its belts and whozawhatisits and thingadings.  I was working on a lever, trying to find the ever so secret button to release it, when my eyes met the student's eyes and he started giggling. And then we all started giggling.

Then giggling turned to laughing and laughing turned into more laughing.

I can't even imagine what was going through his head. I know I would have been thinking:
"These are the people in charge??"
"Why does the short one keep talking? She should be concentrating on the chair!"
Etc.
Etc.

My heart was filled in that moment of laughter and I was so grateful, so very grateful to that student for sharing that moment with us and for his simple, yet wise reminder that sometimes in life, many times actually,
you just gotta laugh.

Grace and kindness in an awkward situation-this kid truly is a miracle.   Luckie me, I get to see him everyday.

Summer

  I was at the convenience store yesterday and overheard the following conversation.

Child to mom, " I am so glad you make us wait until the last day of school for our first slurpee."
Mom to child, " Slurpees are the start of summer. What kind are you getting?"
Child to mom," I think I want blue because before I had a Coke one and it was good, but it wasn't blue and I like when my teeth to turn blue and then Dad knows when he sees my blue teeth that it is really summer and blue is like the pool and the beach and a Coke one is just brown and... but I know I like the Coke one but I think blue, yes blue.  I am going to get blue."
Mom to child, " Blue it is."
Child to Mom, " What kind are you getting?"
Mom to child, " Blue of course, I don't want you to be the only one with the cool blue teeth!"
Child to Mom,as he took her hand, " It is going to be so great!"


I was on my way to get my usual unsweetened ice tea,
but I had to circle back
and get a blue slushee.

The kid was right. It tasted like summer! 

(my blue teeth weren't a huge hit in my graduate class, but I could tell, they were just jealous.)


The ability to celebrate the everyday- what a great gift for a mom to give to her child.
The ability to celebrate the everyday- that is my wish for you on this Tuesday morning.