I HAD a goal...

So...

I HAD a blog goal. 

I really did. 

It was to blog at least once every two weeks. But...

Life takes over.

Some goals go by the wayside. 

This one sure did.

Know why??

Because life here and now is pretty cool and very much consuming.

The good kind of consuming, not the "Oh, dear heavens! I can't! I just can't! All I want to do is curl up in the fetal position and cry myself to sleep because the UGH of life is completely overwhelming me!" kind of consuming.

Not that one at all.

This kind of consuming has been made up of traveling, playing with babies, much walking, exploring, volunteering, resting, cooking, reading, meeting new people, having amazing conversations, and so many other things that fill the soul and restore the spirit.

This is the kind of consuming I desperately needed.

And was given. As a gift. 

I have a few small stories I would like to tell.

 Here is the first.

Two weekends ago I was in Lyme Regis, Dorset and met an incredible woman called Anne. She is 85 years old and still hiking up and down the steep hills of the coast every other weekend. She does it in order to remember all the times she had spent there with her husband of 58 years. He died 18 months ago. Lyme was his favorite place on earth, she said, and they had traveled a lot in their lives, so he could say that with confidence. 

Lyme Regis... The town he loved. 

A small glimpse of the steep hills she still walks for him.

I was waiting for a bus, come to find out later the WRONG bus, when I met Anne. 

I'm so thankful I was at the wrong stop.

Anne was precious. We talked for at least a half hour. 

We fit SO much in that small span of time.

We talked of life's adventures and the uniqueness of different cultures.

She told me her life story and she inquired of mine. 

Anne made me realize that life is VERY short and VERY special. I have always known both of these things, but something about sitting and sharing a bus stop bench with Anne on the coast of Dorset, England made it truly come alive and solidify for me. 

These were her words to me about my current adventure...

(I typed them into a note on my phone after I left our shared bench so that I would always have them to reread often and remember the truth in them.)

"You are a quite sensible and brave young woman! I admire your spirit and fire and wish I had had the forethought when I was young to take advantage of life. We are only given one, you know. Good on you for refusing to grow stale! You are a remarkable young lady and I am better for having chatted with you. Your parents must be so proud!"

Oh, Anne!

YOU are the sensible and brave one. 

Your story and openness in a very closed off world will spur me on forever. 

I am the one that is better for having chatted with you. 

Thank you.

Life IS short. We DO only get one. 

I am so cherishing being consumed like this.

Set up for story two:

Every Monday and Thursday I take care of my two nephews and my niece while my sister-in-law goes to work. They are great days! 

Now... it isn't easy at all to look after three under the age of four, not at all, but my goodness is it SO worth all the tough stuff. 

When they giggle. 

When they ride their scooters together and want you to chase them.

When they climb on you like a jungle gym. 

When they dance in the kitchen to the same song on repeat while you cook dinner.

When they sit in your lap and you read stories together.

When their cheeks and nose are bright pink and their eyes are sleepy and smiley from nap time.

When they splash and play in the bubbles at bath time. 

When they smell clean and fresh enough to nibble.

When their little bellies peek out of their tight pajamas.

When they want you to sing them to sleep at night.

When they ask you in the morning if you missed them while you slept.

Yeah, it's worth the tough stuff.

On the two days I have them Hope and I walk the "big boys" to nursery school in the mornings and pick them up in the afternoons. 

One day we picked them up, came home and ate a snack, then we all put on our wellies and set out for the "nature trail." The "nature trail" is actually a very small path behind their school that leads to a giant green field. To the boys it is a true nature trail; full of slugs and snails, exotic plants and flowers, rocks and stones of every shape and size! 

It's a big deal. 

Story two:

It had rained that morning and the ground was extremely wet and muddy. 

They ran. They giggled. They fell down and got soaking wet and royally muddy.

The boys held hands and marched in their high-knee finest singing 'Colonel Hathi's March' (a.k.a. the elephant song from The Jungle Book!!) at the top of their lungs. 

Hopey rolled around like a turtle on its back trying to figure out how to stand up in her giant wellies until one of the boys would run over screaming "Rescue the precious!!" 

It was pure joy to watch.

And watch I did. 

I stood there most of the time just watching them.

Pure innocence and unadulterated joy.

I was so jealous of them.

For myself and for the rest of the world.

We have forgotten how to play. 

We have forgotten how to love the little things.

We have forgotten that there is joy even in the dark and dreary days if you look for it.

We have forgotten that the mud will wash out of our clothes and the sun will shine again.

It was such a great afternoon. 

We got home and took off our wellies and left them in the front garden. 

As soon as we got inside both boys stripped down to their pants. 

(For all you Americans reading this, 'pants' means underwear over here!!) 

So, please imagine those chubby little legs and soft little bellies running around unclothed! 

*swoon*

Of course, Hopey had to follow suit.

Now imagine three little munchkins running around in nothing but their pants and nappy squealing and giggling with glee! I mean, COME. ON.  

Yeah, I am COMPLETELY alright with being consumed like this.

I think I'll stay a bit longer. 

No promises on the regular blog upkeep though! ;)