Random thoughts.

Well, we just watched the final game of the Little League World Series, and the US won again this year!!! The SE team from Warner Robins, GA beat the team from Japan in a walk-off homerun. Yesterday, Warner Robins beat the SW team from Lubbock in the US championship. I think the Lubbock team was trying to "save" their best eligible pitcher for the championship game and got behind early and never were able to catch up. What I thought was really cool, in the championship game, when the kid hit it out to win the game, the SE team was obviously ecstatic, but the Japanese team was crying, really hard, and the American kids and their coach went over to them and started hugging them, very classy. It's kind of sad for me, because the LLWS always signals the end of summer. I was telling my friend, Arlene, this morning that I always dread the start of school because it seems like once school starts, the year just flies by and next year, Barrett will be starting high school. I am soooo not ready for that! I know every parent says this, but, it seems like only yesterday when I was holding his hand and walking him into kindergarten. (He won't let me hold his hand on the 1st day of school anymore!) Our minister wrote an article in a local magazine that really hits home for me. It was entitled "Crying through the Joy" and was about he and his wife crying on their daughter's birthdays, even though they are thrilled she is growing up, they are sad for what is being left behind. He said, "We cry because we are losing what our children were in order to welcome what they are becoming." That was comforting to me because I have always quietly chastised myself for being sad that the kids are growing up so fast. I always told myself that I should be thankful to God that my kids are healthy and I certainly had no reason to cry. (Which, believe me, I AM SO thankful for my healthy kids) But still, with each passing year, I am a little sad, and this article kind of nailed how I feel. He talks about rejoicing over each new development, yet knowing that these things slip through our fingers in the blink of an eye, each new development is also tinged with a little sadness. Yes! that's it! He went on to say-"I think what we are longing for is something the Bible calls eternity. We are trapped in this tyrannical force called time. It grinds down everything and leaves only dust in its wake. For creatures designed to live in God's eternal presence, we find this time-bound existence painful.....We long in our spirits to be set free and live in God's renewed world where time cannot steal from us any joy, blessing, or person." AMEN! Dan.
2007 Soiree has come and gone another year. Lon is the youngest of 7 (yes 7!!) kids and every summer they get together for a reunion called "The Soiree". This year it was held at Lon's sister's house in Dallas. The kids always prefer to go to her house because she has a pool. When Lon & I married, the "little kids" were the children of Lon's sisters and brothers. Now, those "little kids" have kids of their own. My kids are kind of in the middle, with everyone being alot older or quite a bit younger, so when we go to Dallas, they just hang out in the pool and I don't have to listen to whines of "I'm bored." Anyway, this year was sad because Lon's sister, Jean, passed away a few months ago. Everyone seemed more subdued. Usually, we could count on at least one alcohol fueled, heated argument over politics or religion or both. Didn't happen. Oh well, maybe next year.
I need to go and get school supplies organized and get ready to say goodbye to Summer 07, so I better get off the computer. Hopefully, this won't be my last post until January! :-)