The first flakes fall and I measure out dry beans. I ladle them into a bowl, cover them with water, and start the soaking. There will be company today.
The timing feels less than ideal. We just returned home from vacation yesterday. The suitcases are still packed. The laundry is calling me. But it is snowing, and snow visits at its own leisure here, sometimes not at all.
My refrigerator is as empty as it gets. Stale from more than a week of neglect, I’m hard pressed to find milk that shouldn’t be tossed and a few condiments worth keeping. But there are dry beans and ground beef, a chili in the making. So we make.
We should be doing school today. An entire week without any sort of rhythm and structure, while their parents were gallivanting thousands of miles away, has left my kids a little out of sorts and tired. But it is snowing. And snow does magical things for kids’ spirits. Maybe parents’ as well?
Several years ago my husband and I spent a day at a theme park with some friends of ours. A day with no kids, we were free to eat and ride (and go to the bathroom) whenever we pleased. Parents, you know what that kind of freedom feels like, right?
We were at the park gates bright and early and minutes later a friend of mine was standing in line for a waffle cone. A waffle cone? This early in the morning? We chided her enthusiasm. Parents will do crazy things when they get a little freedom.
We let her enjoy her treat alone and planned to come back later in the day, at a more reasonable time, for ice cream. But you know how the story goes, right? We never made it back to that side of the park. We never got to try the ice cream.
As we made the long, dark walk to the car, we considered that maybe trying the ice cream while you have the chance, even if it’s closer to breakfast than it is lunch time, isn’t such a bad strategy at all.
Sometimes missed opportunities preach the loudest.
So I soak the dry beans. We are having a sledding party today. The laundry can wait. The luggage can be unpacked tomorrow. We’ll feed 27 friends chili and cocoa and we’ll sled for hours and laugh long because the snow is here. Today.
It’s easy to live from a fear of missing out. Toss that one to the curb, friends. But we can break schedule, be a little unreasonable, to make the memories right in front of us.
Maybe you need to soak the beans or eat the ice cream for breakfast today? I know I will be.
Katie, your words are always an encouragement. But this post, these words, on this day – they hit home. Thanks for sharing.
Brittany
When I write the words and they land right where they need to on a completely different day, different month, different year, it’s my favorite, Brittany. Because only God. <3 Wishing you a Merry Christmas!
I can’t tell you how much this post speaks to me today. Thanks for this one, Katie! <3
So appropriate! Sometimes, we need to live in the moment, to enjoy the opportunities the Creator gives us and to be thankful. We could obsess over the undone laundry and the piles of dishes, but people matter, opportunities matter. Thanks for sharing! – Amy
http://stylingrannymama.com/
Great lesson! It snowed about 4 inches here the other night and in the morning I thought, “oh I will take my daughter out later.” (She has never been in the snow.) But by the afternoon rain came and the next day the snow was gone. What was I doing that was so important I couldn’t enjoy the snow? I have no idea!
I love this message so much! You’re right. Sometimes we need to break free of the schedule and make the memories that are right in front of us. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Katie!