Graduations

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 138: Today, I am grateful for graduations. 

Graduation Day is a special event in a person's life. When my Grandparents and Great-Grandparents were young, making it to 8th grade was a big deal. The real work of keeping food on the table sometimes did not afford the luxury of a classroom education that extended to 8th grade and high school. 

That was the reality for several of my Grandparents and Great-Grandparents. On the Bess side, hardship when GG Albert Bess took ill and never recovered. 

Great-Great Grandpa Albert (William A.)Bess died at age 43, leaving behind Great-Great Grandma Adelia Ethel (Johnson) Bess, 36, with seven living children. Great-Grandpa Alva was almost nineteen and the oldest of the seven. The rest were girls ranging in age from 16 1/2 to 3.  

This is a verse he knew well:

"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path." -Psalm 119:105

The year was 1917. I cannot imagine the responsibility he must have felt. No wonder when he spoke of his sisters it almost held the warmth of a father. He graduated from big brother to something more. I know he traveled to find work where he could, as it was reported in the Lutesville, Mo, newspaper. 

GG Alva graduated from brother and son to husband when he married Great-Grandma Hulda. He was 24 years old and she was 18. Her family was in the Kankakee area and that is where they raised my Grandpa Vernon. Grandpa Alva graduated from husband to father... and then great-grandfather to many. Much of his family came north to the Kankakee area, but Lutesville and the Clubb Creek Church were always "home" in his heart. 

I remember a time when they moved to the Lutesville area (near Cape Girardeau) for a season. I remember the big Bess bunch converging upon the home where they lived with an elderly man who was blind. (I think we called him "Uncle Bob", not to be confused with Uncle Bobby Bess.) "Uncle Bob" was warm and welcoming to all of us. He had what I remember as a big home, and we filled it! It was a huge slumber party. The love, laughter, and fun overflowed. Uncle Bob loved to hear us sing "Jesus Loves Me." Great Grandpa & Great Grandma were caregivers... so the family went to them. I have a double-wedding ring quilt that ended up with my Mama when "Uncle Bob" graduated to heaven. It is a treasure in my home. 

My Great-Grandparents returned to Illinois and were surrounded by family for the rest of their  days. I remember their last chapter was spent in a lovely high rise facility for Seniors. It was perfect for them, but it was unsuitable for large family gatherings. The torch of hosting big family gatherings was passed on. In a sense, that was another graduation. 

If I had to sum up GG Alva in a sentence it would be this: "He was always grateful." GG Hulda was always welcoming. Grandpa Bess would give them 10 grandchildren. Seven sisters and three brothers at the final count. Twenty-three Grandchildren (plus 3 bonus that came with Uncle Dave Maisonneuve) and countless Great-Great Grandchildren. 

For many years, it was Mama Ina Mae and Aunt Judy who shared hosting the family at the holidays. Now, when gatherings happen in this season, it is the cousins taking the lead. Another generation of cooks graduated to making the plans, and washing the dishes. There is still laughter and plenty of noise in the kitchens and every other corner suitable for gathering.  

Life is full of chapters and moments. When one chapter ends, another begins. 

For our local MHS seniors, today is their day. Graduations matter. They are a beautiful reason to celebrate accomplishments, the journey, and the relationships made along the way. 

Today, I am grateful for graduations. 

Lullabies

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 136: Today, I am grateful for lullabies. 

There is something about humming and singing that calms an anxious or upset child. It is something woven into our cultures and our souls recognize the soothing melodies that whisper love and safety. They hold family history in the songs passed down from generation to generation. They are often a part of bedtime routines and midnight resets when a child wakes up in the middle of the night. 

This scripture reads like a lullaby from our Heavenly Father:

"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." -Zephaniah 3:17

He quiets us with his love. 

It also says that he will exult us with loud singing. That part of the verse feels more celebratory. We are loved and He wants us to know it. He hears us in our distress and in our delights. 

I remember times when a lullaby started out louder to match the cries of an upset child, and then bringing down the volume as they quieted and returned to sleep. Oh, the sweet memories of that season. We were often exhausted, but there was nothing like it. 

Isn't it good to know His love is like that? It is like a lullaby. 

Today, I am grateful for lullabies. 

Put It Down

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 135: Today, I am grateful we can put yesterday down. 

"Yesterday it is heavy. Put it down." 

Great instruction that is small enough to write on a rock. The scripture includes several passages that remind us to leave yesterday behind. It is history with each sunset. 

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. -Isaiah 43:18-19

I think it is a plot from the enemy of our souls to keep reminding us of yesterday's failures and struggles. We learn more from our mistakes than we do from success. Success can lead to pride; failure leads to innovation. We don't want to aim for failure, but we do not want to be weighed down by it either. 

What can we do differently today? It is a lovely choice we get to make every morning. What things do we want to repeat because they worked? We can keep doing them. Yesterday's lessons are valuable, but they were never meant to weigh us down. 

Today, I am grateful we can put yesterday down. 

Elastic

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 134: Today, I am grateful for elastic. 

I do not think in all this time I have been grateful for elastic! How can I have missed this wonder of the sewing world and so much more? All of the celebrating that goes on in May often involves sweet treats and other caloric items. 

Elastic is equally helpful if we are losing weight in preparation for vacation, summer and swimsuit season. Honestly, it is the magical quality that lets us stretch and shrink and still be able to fit into our clothes that makes it truly a wonder in modern fashion. It allows us stretch for comfort when we need it to stretch. It pulls in items that would be too big, too. 

No zippers to snag in the wash. No buttons to lose in unknown places. It lasts well beyond the garment sometimes. Elastic is truly changes many of our days and we take it for granted. 

Whatever our day brings, elastic keeps us comfortable. Its flexibility provides self control, even when we do not. When we win at dieting, it adjusts. When we lose control it stretches. Oh, the very daily battle of self-control is real. 

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." -1 Timothy 1:7

His spirit of power, love, and self-control are accessible to us. Sometimes we use it. Sometimes we don't. It helps us stay calm, cool, and collected. It helps us be courageous. It helps us stretch. 

Today, I am grateful for elastic.

Sunrise on New Seasons

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 133: Today, I am grateful for sunrise on new seasons.  

"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day." -Proverbs 4:18 

New seasons is one of the rich delights of Midwest living. The scents of dawn in the spring floated through the window this morning as the sun peeked over the horizon to mark a new day about to begin. 

Our seasons are distinct. They are not hot and hotter. They are not cold and colder. Each one is full of special things that only come that season. Each one gives us a peek into the next before the change is made. Within the seasons, each sunrise marks a new day. 

Spring is in full glory and summer is around the corner. Seedlings are showing the promise of what is to come. The light of dawn breaks through each morning with new sprouts, new flower buds, and a hope that is renewed each morning. This year, we have actually had a Spring. We did not skip from cold to hot. 75 degrees is still my favorite. 

It is a day of celebrating our Morton 709 District retirees. Some have taught and served in support positions for more than 30 years. Others are in the 20 year zone. They will see the dawn of a new season when the school year ends. It will be a great afternoon with some special people. We will miss them but wish them well in their next chapter. 

Today, I am grateful for sunrise on new seasons. 

Reminders to Slow Down

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 132: Today, I am grateful for reminders to slow down.  

Me: "I'm so overwhelmed." 

Also me: "I want to expand the garden, get chickens, start beekeeping, bake my own bread, learn fermenting, grow cut flowers, and be completely self-sufficient."

One of the things that is promoted in the current age and celebrated is going faster and faster. There are some things a machine cannot do. It can be exhausting, stressful, and discouraging. 

This image made me laugh; then, it made me think. There is something in us that longs to grow, build, and create things that take time. Sustaining life happens with the humble labor of human hands. 

That labor is sometimes hard. When there is abundance you get to save it and share it. I find it interesting that the pickled things so many cultures have made staples of the local culture and diet are being affirmed as "good for the gut" in a season when so many suffer. It was adopted as a way to store food and eat through the winter. 

In the mayhem of May, the need to slow down rises. Plant the gardens and the crops, celebrate moms and graduates, attend weddings, anniversaries, and remember on Memorial Day. Some holidays are double-booked with other events. We crave porch and patio time. We long for simpler times. This scripture is easy to memorize and is the perfect mantra for May. 

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." Ecclesiastes 3:1 

Slow down when you can. Keep a list for the "someday" things. On my list is making butter.  

Today, I am grateful for reminders to slow down.  

Tutus

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 131: Today, I am grateful for tutus. 

I saw this picture yesterday and it stuck with me. 

"Life would be better with more tutus."

What is the message in a tutu? It is light, whimsy, dances, and sometimes sparkles. As fashion cycles, there are times when crinolines are necessary to get the desired look. They are always in style in ballet and in the five and under crowd. 

Mama loved the fashions of the 1860's. I cannot imagine them every day, but fancy full skirts with crinolines are certainly grand when the time and place is right. They are great for dancing. 

"Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre." -Psalm 149:3

I think we can learn a lesson from the little ones who dress with no inhibitions. They wear what they want, when they want as they fill the days with play. The world needs less tablets and screens; it needs more tutus. It needs more of the thing that makes your soul sing and your feet feel lighter. 

Today, I am grateful for tutus.