Project 365, Week 36

Each week is unique but then there are some that stand out among the rest and you know you will always remember. This was one of those weeks, in the best of ways. 

September 3

Post-work, I enjoyed a little reading and snooze out in the late afternoon sun. And then even better, my best guy pulled up a chair in the shade and we chatted.

September 4

I have started driving Aiden to mid-week again now that Amanda is gone. I really enjoy getting the hour car ride with him but its too far for a drop off, so I stay in the area. This church campus is up on a hill and out on the patio on a warm summer evening, the sunset is breathtaking.

September 5

The kickoff of football season!! I half watched, half worked through a photography class online.

September 6

Amanda got her phone at noon and called me as we excitedly and nervously set the weekend in motion. She and Sarah (who is at a college just 45 minutes away) road-tripped to Connecticut to be part of a fun surprise on Avery's behalf....

September 7

She spent the night at Sarah's house and then arrived at our house Saturday morning, once Avery was at work. We talked for a while, very happy to see each other and then we got to work making a couple desserts. At 11, she left to spend some time with Jason and we went to Aiden's soccer game. 

AND THIS HAPPENED!! (I'll post more about it soon.)

September 8

Sitting in church with my family makes me very happy. What a gift!

Amanda shopped our house for items she was missing, packed up her things and then we had to say goodbye. It was SO good to have her home but it was also very brief. She is loving school and thriving there, and we were amazed how much growing she's done in such a short time. She's right where she's supposed to be and that's a good feeling.

The day beckoned me outside and the dog and I meandered around the neighborhood.  There were some things weighing heavy on my heart, ways that people I care about are hurting. 

And also, I was walking without pain, the temperature was perfect, the colors were vibrant, the aroma of wild grapes was in the air. I wondered how life could be any sweeter.

We get to choose what gets our focus, which looks much more like a warrior than a Pollyanna (no discredit to her...I love that movie). We can see and experience pain and also live the hardest parts of our lives with a joyful rebellion against the darkness, as Katherine Wolf puts it. Hope can crowd out despair even in the hardest of times.