Notes

Dear Momma, 

I really love you.Thanks 

to you I think I am getting 

into a groove with my 

school work. I am looking 

forward to a freetime 

infested day tomorrow 

where I work hard then 

I play hard. You are the 

best of mothers.

P.S. I enjoyed talking politics 

with you today. I love 

you. Sleep Well!

Love,

Emma Jane

Dear Daddy,

I really enjoyed watching

the debate with you. As USA 

citizens I feel people have

an obligation to vote, or

at least inform themselves,

and many people skip both.

If only God gives us a better 

leader than we deserve...

Dear Momma,

I really enjoyed watching 

the debate with you. I

have no idea how people

will vote for a person

who is mean to people

and will not answer critical

questions. I feel sure the

devil is laying another trap

for our nation. I feel 

like people should at least

inform themselves. As to people

who will not vote, I feel they

must be either acting stupidly or

wickedly. I love you.

Love,

Emma Jane

So it begins, the girl is old enough to talk politics. Opinions bloom. And she shares. Most nights we find a note tagged to the bathroom counter, a token, a small vulnerability. Each says the same: Who am I in the world? We watch, trade secrets, and hold tiny pieces of each other like agates collected on the beach.

Gratitude:

6112. Jane's notes.

6113. We celebrate the birthdays of extended family. The party, it's where we share stories that have encouraged our faith. Something greater than the stories springs up between them.

6114.  Aunt Rosie takes family pictures of our great big family. Somehow, the whole day comes together with tranquility uncharacteristic of getting eight people properly dressed and smiling pleasantly.

6115. Friends come over to share an evening. We visit and have our favorite things: delicious food, a library of books, the love of Christ, the ebb and flow of small children, conversation that fills in the cracks. They even bring pie, TWO. Blueberry. Bliss.

6116. My parents visit dear, dear friends in Minnesota for their 40th wedding anniversary.

6117. Nighttime temperatures dip and threaten to freeze. The children traipse to the garden between dinner dishes and bedtime and pick it clean. 

6118. A long week ends with everyone on the same page and tired but content, jewels of our home.