I Want To Leave More Than That

As you can see, Chloe is still not feeling very well, but her uncle sent her and Brett some Harvard gear.  Chloe refuses to remove her sweatshirt and Brett wants to know what the heck the big deal is about Harvard.  Chloe was home again today since we woke up to 5am throwing up.   It provided me with time to clean the house and the guest house.  I have visitors coming this weekend and want to make sure everything is neat and clean in the guest house.  I checked the bathroom to make sure there were plenty of supplies.  My mom stays there often and as it turns out, there are better supplies in the guest bathroom than in all of my house.  Thanks Mom.   I also located a large portion of my missing  cleaning supplies over there.

After cleaning the houses, I scoured the outdoors for dried flowers for my dried flower bouquets for Chloe's Medieval Feast and Faire coming soon.  I signed up to make all sixty but a kind mother volunteered to help me.  Tonight I sat on my porch and made fifteen bouquets that I will then hand off to the next mom.  She said if I provided the supplies she would assemble the rest.  She is a blessing.  I'm not sure the bouquets are turning out Martha Stewart approved and most definitely not pinterest either.  The description merely stated "dried flower bouquets" and so I added some fresh rosemary for fragrance, a brown lunch bag and some random ribbon as the raffia was playing hide and seek and I was losing.

I re-stapled the plastic to protect the chicken coop from the cold front and especially the tiny chicks.  I went to check on them after dark and everyone was sleeping including the babies who were huddled under their warming light.  Soon they will be big chickens and Thadd will threaten to take them to the processing plant.  I think the next thing he is going to want me to learn is how to process my own chicken.  Stay tuned for my family becoming vegan.

My brother called me this evening to tell me I likely would not see his grandmother-in-law again.  She suffered a stroke and is in the hospital in Mexico.  She is in her 90's and has lived a beautiful life.  She is the kindest woman I know and has a legacy of sharing God's love everywhere she goes.  This Thanksgiving and Christmas I spent with her and consider myself so extremely blessed to have been in her company.  Often times you would think she was asleep in her chair but as you approached her lips were moving and she was praying.  She would open her eyes and pray for you.  I remember when I first met her and she visited one of my past houses, it was covered in century old oak trees.  She walked to each of the trees and prayed for them and thanked God for planting them there.  She could make any plant grow and thrive and has such a love of God's natural world.  As she fades from this world to the next I am happy to call her my grandmother, too.  Heaven is filled with so many amazing people who have left the earth so recently.  I know she will be welcomed with celebration.

During my cleaning session today I was able to reflect on so many things and remember so many wonderful people who I have known.  Many people who have left this life are inspirational people with a strong legacy.  I pray to be one of those people some day.  When I fade from this life to the next I want to be remembered for being something more than just a mom, teacher, wife, and friend.  I want to be remembered as having a light that shone brightly so that others might feel God's love(with a hint of sarcasm!).  Reflection is good.  Cleaning, not so much.

Chloe wasn't feeling great today, but I was very productive and I stayed in my jammies all day.  Now I will continue painting her minstrel costume is hopes that it  turns out as planned.  I am thankful for knowing people who are inspirational in their everyday lives.  People who live differently so that I might see God's love.(Day 59).  Goodnight Friends.