Happy Valentine’s (Mon)Day!

This weekend, I was delighted with the sweetest surprise from a dear friend that came at just the perfect time ~ a blog she wrote about my son and me back when Gavin was in 8th grade. 

Not sure where you are in the stage of your life. I am right smack dab in the middle of launching two champions who are both in their early twenties. 

( A wise woman always said it that way and so I adopted this “faith confession” years ago ~ raising champions. By faith and by God’s grace, that has been my number one aim in life: to be the best version of a godly wife and mom possible…..then after that, everything else. 

Well, as you know if you are a mom, you watch your kids learn to ride a bike, skin their knee, or in my case, as they grew older…jump way too high on the trampoline (in your opinion) and you just decide, I can’t watch and at some point, my best bet is to pray and pray a lot for all the adventures these boys end up engaged in from skateboarding to surfing to navigating college and relationships and jobs and well ….launching. 

Incase you are still in the throes of motherhood with little ones or know someone who is 

OR 

if you are like me looking back on what’s done is done and praying it was enough and where it wasn’t, trusting God to make up the difference

OR

if you are further down the road and want to take a walk down memory lane looking back over precious moments that were so good many moons ago, join me in enjoying this blog from my friend like I did for some good feels on this Happy Valentine’s Day….

What do you think about when you think of home? 

Do you have warm memories that bring you thoughts of laughter, good food, feelings of being loved and cared for? It’s possible that wasn’t your experience as you grew up and passed from childhood into adulthood. Our  past does not have to define our future.

A woman is the heart of the home. Through loving hands and loving heart the very nature of God himself is expressed. He was the first one to create a beautiful place for his own creatures to enjoy. It’s in his heart to make a place of comfort, warmth, happiness and then say, “Enjoy. It is for you.”I believe that a woman reflects this aspect of God’s essence. God has mysteriously placed in women this ability to reveal the love and nature of God in her home for those she lives with.

I’m thinking about all this because yesterday was Valentine’s day.

As I gathered with a group of my 8th grade students to lead our weekly Toastmasters group, we were all sitting around eating our lunches and talking. Unexpectedly, Gavin pulls out of his lunch bag an appealing, heart-shaped cookie, smothered in pink swirly frosting. We all stared, enviously.  “Whereʼd you get that?” someone asked.“My mom and I made them last night,” Gavin answered, a little sheepishly, but mostly with pride (Go, Adrienne!) “Wow,” we all looked with admiration at the desirable cookie.

When our kids were young and all at home and around, creating special moments was natural in the flow of our lives. As children turn into young adults and have many other centers of interest and activity, it’s challenging to create the gatherings that have meaning, warmth, and memory because everyone has his own plans. To stop and say, “Hey, it’s important that we get together,” is sometimes resisted because of the busyness of our lives. But gathering around significant days carries with it a unique kind of regeneration. 

My French-Canadien mom used to say, “It recharges your batteries.” I can see the truth of what she meant–-gathering together for the special moments renews us–in who we are, in our identity, in what makes us laugh, in what is important. We leave with a sense of wholeness. Mom is the key. Itʼs the mother who can make a difference. 

All this to say, I pushed through. I came home from school and made chocolate chip cookie bars that I cut out with a heart shaped cookie cutter and frosted (white with pink sprinkles!). Judith helped me put together some hors d’oeuvres, we invited some friends, and made the time together an event.

As I reflect on the fun we had–the laughter, the conversation-, the renewing-Iʼm grateful that we took the time. And, I think Gavinʼs special treat is what made me take the step forward yesterday to make sure that I didnʼt let my last moments slip away where I could still be involved in creating some pink cookie memories  for those that I love.  

~written by Trish Currie for ParentWisdom

Thanks for reading along with me and walking down memory lane.

Blessings,

Trish

Trish Currie

coach@trishcurrie.com

HAPPY MONDAY!
XO,Adrienne