Time passes here, and living life with the neighbors becomes more and more practical. Three days a week, I get a 6 year old ready and take her to school in the morning. This morning, I picked up a sick neighbor from work. Leah packs people into her car every Sunday and takes them to church. My roommates are always making grocery store runs, and sharing meals is just a natural part of the week. There are still new things to discover, and we still have fun events and outings, but more and more it is just relationship. We give and take. We get people out of binds and get ourselves into some pickles of our own. We cook meals for others and we enjoy those cooked for us. It's home.
Yesterday, Leah and I got some one on one time with a couple of the girls; she took the little one, and I had an outing with our 12 year old. It was beautiful time, and I remembered how important such time was to me at that age. Just as day-to-day relationship with the neighbors becomes deeper and more practical, so our thoughts about the kids and how to spend time with them becomes more intentional. How do we help a 5 year old learn to express emotions and deal with fear? How do we help an almost 13 year old transition into womanhood in a healthy way? How do we demonstrate important life skills to them? These one on one times will be a crucial part of that, and we hope to plan them more consistently.
I'd love to hear thoughts from any of you, memories of what were some of the most impactful ways adults influenced you when you were young. What sorts of things did they do with you? What words were most encouraging? What do you wish someone had done? Perhaps the sum of our experience will help us make a greater impact on these little lives. Feel free to leave a comment, or to email us at trailertales@gmail.com.
Again, we so appreciate those of you who faithfully read these words. Thank you.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
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