Sculpting Our Lives!

Yesterday, Jim came home very excited about a subject for my Blog. He was helping Thadeus re-roof their house, and as he stood on top of the roof and saw the life they had "sculpted" he expanded. He saw their freshly mowed yard with a very orderly garden. A group of peach and apple trees, a neat shed that stored the bikes and family stuff, and he felt gratitude for the beauty of Liz's life. And he wanted me to write about it. Then he went on to explain how Jenn and Josh are doing the same things. "Sculpting" their lives in New York. Painting the new apartment they just moved into, organizing, calling us for advice, and again, Jim expanded. He saw the beauty of Jenn's life.

And while I cannot write Jim's story, I felt great elation at his growth. Sometimes as parents, we want our children, even though they are responsible adults, to always do things the way we want them to because as parents "we know what's best". Our parents were that way, our parents' parents were that way, and so we carry on that unbearable torch. But last night I heard Jim talk about the beauty of his daughter's lives. I heard him see with an eye that in the past has been guarded and protective. I saw his break through of expecting and seeing good things in the lives of his daughters. And for a while we dropped the torch. I wish we could say that we will never pick the torch up again - but time will tell. But in this moment, the beauty of their lives and the beauty of their choices makes us stand in awe. And if we can hold back and never ever again tell them what we think they should do - we know they will be alright. For they are stunning in their beauty and in their brilliance.

Jim's excitement over my blog made me realize that my Journey of Joy has impacted him in very profound ways. In ways that I could not have anticipated months ago when I began. In the beginning, he was very skeptical of my "blogging" and now, he always reminds me, before I go to bed, to blog if I haven't already done so. Often he wants to read my blog, and it makes him smile. Occasionally he reads and is perplexed. But always, he is happy that I am writing. Happy that I am looking for Joy and happy that we are on this Journey together.

I am happy that we have "sculpted" this wonderful life together. Grateful that we are co-creators in this dance of life. Life is good!

Here's to the Journey!