As the end of the first month of my “retirement” draws to a close, I am returning to the blog. I don’t read many blogs, and the ones I have read are usually witty or informative, or best of all, a combination of the two. Frankly, last week I didn’t feel very witty and it seemed like the news was all bad.
While we celebrated Lyle’s 13th birthday last week, I found myself gently mourning his childhood that is rapidly passing me by. There is a delicate balance to be sought between celebrating the now, cherishing the past and anticipating the future. The first tooth appearing is replaced by braces and the whisper of whiskers, and they in turn forshadow driver’s license, graduation and grandchildren. If we are lucky.
Services on Ash Wednesday remind us that we are born of dust and to dust we shall return. That lesson was reinforced all too clearly by the sudden death of a young girl in our community, and further still by the even larger tragedy of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Images from of the destruction caused by water damage on their coast hit so close to home for the many families on the Gulf Coast affected by hurricanes and the resultant surge of floodwaters. Human suffering on such a large scale is so difficult for me to watch when I am unable to offer any help or physical assistance. What I can do is offer prayers for those I cannot aid in any other way.
1 Corinthians 13:7 “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” My prayer is that the people who can help will be moved by love and compassion to help; that all of us will endeavor to be more compassionate with one another, not knowing what burden another is carrying; that we will practice random acts of kindness towards each other and that we will enjoy the now with all that we have. Amen.
And, now that I have firmly established that I am going to live in the now, I offer up a prayer for all of the teams and players who will be participating in the NCAA basketball tournaments. May they be blessed with safe travel and their players remain uninjured. May God especially bless the Baylor Bears women’s team and the Gonzaga Bulldogs men’s team with trips to the Elite 8 and me with tickets. Amen.
Laura Alford @ Old Hwy Six West 
Very thoughtful piece and well written.
Thank you. Please note that Mark was not paid for his commentary!
I will hold my comments about how God supports the Tarheels, as that is why the sky is Carolina Blue.
As for other blogs, I use the Firefox app “Stumble Upon” and it randomly sends me to a lot of wonderful craft blogs. The problem is that there is not time to carve a drink can into a box, make a faux-wrought iron picture from toilet paper rolls, and explore other crafts. I am saving up toilet paper rolls, though, and aluminum cans.
Katherine, in my bracket, I have the Zags playing the Tarheels in the finals. For real and for true.
Where did you learn to write like that?
Love
Dad
It’s all that money you spent on my education!
That was lovely, Laura. Keep them coming.
Some days it’s a way to break the ice that forms on the keyboard.
Super .
Well, the Lady Zags made it to the Elite 8.