when i imagine a place called grateful lodge, i imagine wide open spaces, rich smelling oils, music rich in harmony, windows, water to sit in, good food and drink, unlimited pillows, crisp sheets…
well, we were at a place that met some of these criteria and i am pretty sure met all my kids’ criteria for a grateful lodge. (by the way, it wasn’t actually called grateful lodge except very sincerely by micah.) after all, why not? places to jump, snacks to eat, water to slide and swim in, memories old and made new again.
thanks to friends, we took off for a couple of days and a night to hang out.
then the shadows grew long and we wandered through the flint hills to make our way home.
• • • • • • • • • • •
STOP THE PRESSES! HOLD YOUR HORSES! as i was just putting eliza to sleep, i was reminded of putting her to sleep at the grateful lodge which then reminded me of all the other hard parts. so, as a discipline to not just remember life through rose-colored glasses, let me also remember the screaming in the car, me using every bit of self control to not take away the privilidge to even step foot in the pool, holding eliza’s body still with my leg and my hand over her mouth since it was 11 at night and she was screaming, the coffee maker not working, not putting enough sunblock on, getting hit repeatedly by a grumpy and not-enough-sleep-or-protein micah, me making threats that i knew would never come true, oh boy. so, yeah, i will now look at the photos of us smiling and remember what was good. and what was good even in those hard parts.
prairie daze 
oh don’t remember that!
ugh.
it makes all the good so much more worth it.
and you have just made me realize something about my scott….protein.
hmmmmm….maybe this is (one of) his problem.
so where was this?
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Wow! It looks like you had a blast. So happy for you. As for your final paragraph? I’m impressed with your commitment to confession. BUT!!!! I’m even more impressed and deeply inspired by your commitment to live out one of my all-time favorite scripture verses:
“…if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, blog about these things.” Phil. 4:8
You do that all the time. You choose to find that speck of excellence — you choose to find what’s worthy of praise — and to think of these things — not blindly, but with eyes wide open. I love it. WAY TO GO!
I love you!
Dad
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was this for me?
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Those pictures are totally what summer is all about for me… being with my family on these fun vacations, traveling to water (which was some cool fresh-water lake somewhere up north), staying in a cabin, eating “summer food” (oreos, fritos, plums, grapes, ham salad sandwiches, etc), …
As for the harder parts, that totally reminds me of my summers growing up as well. This all sounds very, very familiar and part of a enriching summer to me!
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Okay, while the page was loading I saw “crisp sheets” and found myself drifting away thinking about my own bed sheets hanging on the line this sunny day…. aaahhhhh….
Your pictures make me want to find a pool somewhere hot and beautiful like where you are! Gorgeous!
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Glad I’m not the only mommy that has held her hand over a screaming child’s mouth at night in a hotel. :) Way to focus on the positive and remember the fun, but still be honest and transparent.
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OK, I’ll admit I was relieved that I didn’t have to wrestle my child to sleep, but the experience would not have been as rich if everything had gone smoothly. The wrinkles made me grateful for the crisp moments?
Spin on.
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I heard that you had gone to Grateful Lodge and was a bit surprised, actually. I wondered how that went for you. I expect that your kids only remember the fun they had, and that’s what counts.
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