Written in August of 2008
I Play IN the water fountains NOW!
Yep, I don’t just watch the children play in fountains!
Now, I jump in and run and laugh and squeal and play tag and dance…. It is Pure JOY!
Psalms 31:11” Then he turned my sorrow into joy!”
The other day (34 days to be exact!) I went to our family doctor for a routine check up.
She gave me an EKG after I casually mentioned I was having little stabbing chest pains.
The EKG came back abnormal.
I was sent to a cardiologist.
The echo cardiogram showed I have a heart disease.
The disease is called Cardiomyopathy it is a serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and doesn't work as well as it should.
What a WAKE UP CALL!
It was like the alarm went off
and
for the first time in 10 years
I didn’t push snooze!
Now I pray each night to be able to jump out of bed
– thankful to face the day and all God has in store for me.
So you may be asking yourself how did I start playing IN water fountains.
Well, for the last few years our family has spent a few days at a local Hotel
just 20 miles down the road. It is a time to build memories
O.k. it is a time to rest, not make up the beds, cook, clean,
or have to get in the car to go anyplace :)
God is good and helps us build memories too!
You know as wife and mom I can’t leave the office at night after a long day
So to get my mind off the daily stuff
I have to get AWAY from the daily stuff. :)
Why do I choose to travel ONLY 20 miles away?
Well, I only hear maybe two “Are we there yet's!” :)
This trip is not for sightseeing or touring.
It is for REST and TIME with my family.
In fact the best vacations for me are the ones when
we NEVER even LEAVE the hotel.
The meals are awesome at this hotel
and I do not have to get in and out and in and out of the car as we travel to restaurants! :)
So as you can see it would be a waist of money
and
MY ENERGY
to fly someplace to just stay IN the hotel? :)
We order room service breakfast and/or we bring breakfast snacks
so we don't even have to get up and dressed until 10:00 a.m.!
Our little girl enjoys swimming in the indoor heated pool
and
my husband and I enjoy sitting in the hot tub and watching her swim.
We play hide and seek in the Lobby.
We each bring our favorite board game
and play games until our eyes will not stay open any longer.
The hotel staff is amazing and they even remember us from year to year
and more importantly our six year old remembers them…
Get ready Get set:
Our little one packs for a week.
As she packs and re-packs she asks me questions like,
“Will that nice man who helps me count my piggy bank money to buy my new baby (stuffed animal) be there?
Mom, will that man who always makes me laugh when he calls me cu tie pie be there? You know the one who teases me and tries to take my stuffed animal away?” He always says he is going to keep them but then he ALWAYS gives them back!
Mom will that man who helps us with the luggage and lets me ride the luggage carrier be there?” Mom can I ride the elevator up and down and up and down and look at the lobby down below me in the see though elevator. It makes my tummy jump up and down! I think to myself – Oh yes and it is a lot less expensive and exhausting than an amusement park – not to mention cooler!” I remind myself to take advantage of all the FREE FUN ideas she comes up with! “Oh mom, do I, do I, do I get to play in the BIG water fountain outside the hotel?” “Mom will you PLEASE get wet with me this year mom, it is soooooooooooo fun! Half listening I reply, “Yep, I bet so, sure that sounds like fun.. ”
Friday, May 1, 2009
I Play IN water fountains NOW! part 2
DID I just say, “Sure, I will play in the water fountain!?!”
Oh my, goodness how do I get myself into these messes of saying yes half listening to her
Like saying yes to jumping on the trampoline in the heat of the day
or getting McD for the third time in one week for her.
This is why my mom said, “we will see- instead of yes
but HEY I always knew she really meant no!”
Sorry about the digression
my thoughts just flow like a kite in the wind sometimes.
Anyway back to the problem at hand.
I think how do I get out of this?
I really do NOT want to play in the water fountain.
Or do I? It is FREE FUN after all.
But WHAT will everyone think?
Everyone being all the strangers that will watch me
Do you have ANY idea how many fun things I miss by worrying about what people
I DO NOT EVEN KNOW will think.
But the Fact is I WILL get WET for goodness sakes!
I might even catch a cold. :) and is that water safe? Where does it come from and is it cleaned? Where are all these negative, practical thoughts coming from?
It is like they are messages from people in my life when I was 6 years old
For goodness sakes WHY do these HAVE to's – CAN'T do's – DON'T have TIME to do
thoughts always flood my mind.
Ok but really now I will drip all over the lobby and elevator…
The promise is made:
Oh my, I tell myself, “Just get a grip and start LIVING LIFE again!”
So Inside my heart and soul, I PROMISE myself and my little girl,
I am going to play in the fountain this time!!!
Get worried:
Stop being behind the camera of life:
And while I am making all these big changes I am going to promise myself I am going to be IN the pictures we take during this vacation. Yes I know I still need to loose 50+++ pounds. I am going to keep blocking those nagging of thoughts out of my mind THIS TIME...
The picture taking plan goes well… I get my husband to set the camera on timer and he jumps in the shots… I am in dozens of photos FOR THE FIRST TIME with my family!!!
I used to think our little girl would grow up and say, “Wow, I sure did a bunch of cool stuff with dad. Mom, where were you?” I just wanted to cry each time I thought of her saying that to me when she was older looking through the photos. I would have to answer Dear I was BEHIND the camera whom do you think TOOK all those fun photos!” Then I STOP and tell myself – that is an EXCUSE and I can ask people to take our picture and I can give myself permission to be IN them.
Talking my husband into joining the plan:
So WE, yes WE, I have to talk my husband into this fountain playing thing with us, for support you know :)
The Plan of least embarrassment:
Here is the plan for how to do this and be the least embarrassed as possible… We will dress up, go out to eat a late dinner in the hotel and when almost NO ONE is around we will slip into fountain. :) I plan this so no one will stair, point their finger at me and laugh, gawk or even roll their eyes at me.
The fallen Plan:
The unbelievable happens, the child who wants to stay up until mid-night every other night falls asleep at 6:00 p.m. So we order room service and the plan dies…and hey anyway we all know the RULE: DO NOT WAKE UP a sleeping child…
The heat is on:
OK, it is day three and I still have not played in the fountain… we are going home in a few hours. Our little girl wakes up and remembers we missed the dress up party last night… HUM – momentum… so we all dress up… It is light outside now – VERY LIGHT and people are OUT and about… I am getting nervous. I almost chicken out when I realize I only have my rainbow colored underwear and my dress... you guessed it... is white! No one will notice I keep muttorting under my breath… My husband, notices the rainbow through my dress and says, “Those rainbow underwear are REALLY going to show through when you are wet!” I think, ”block out the negative comments, you CAN DO THIS”…I think, hum, Let's put a positive spin on all this and Praise God for the rainbows- For the rainbows after the STORMS of life... The Rainbow of Healing, Hope,Peace,Trust,Grace, Faith,Love and Forgiveness. “It is like God is reminding me, after the storm comes the rainbow of HOPE and NEWNESS of LIFE.
Oh my, goodness how do I get myself into these messes of saying yes half listening to her
Like saying yes to jumping on the trampoline in the heat of the day
or getting McD for the third time in one week for her.
This is why my mom said, “we will see- instead of yes
but HEY I always knew she really meant no!”
Sorry about the digression
my thoughts just flow like a kite in the wind sometimes.
Anyway back to the problem at hand.
I think how do I get out of this?
I really do NOT want to play in the water fountain.
Or do I? It is FREE FUN after all.
But WHAT will everyone think?
Everyone being all the strangers that will watch me
Do you have ANY idea how many fun things I miss by worrying about what people
I DO NOT EVEN KNOW will think.
But the Fact is I WILL get WET for goodness sakes!
I might even catch a cold. :) and is that water safe? Where does it come from and is it cleaned? Where are all these negative, practical thoughts coming from?
It is like they are messages from people in my life when I was 6 years old
For goodness sakes WHY do these HAVE to's – CAN'T do's – DON'T have TIME to do
thoughts always flood my mind.
Ok but really now I will drip all over the lobby and elevator…
The promise is made:
Oh my, I tell myself, “Just get a grip and start LIVING LIFE again!”
So Inside my heart and soul, I PROMISE myself and my little girl,
I am going to play in the fountain this time!!!
Get worried:
Stop being behind the camera of life:
And while I am making all these big changes I am going to promise myself I am going to be IN the pictures we take during this vacation. Yes I know I still need to loose 50+++ pounds. I am going to keep blocking those nagging of thoughts out of my mind THIS TIME...
The picture taking plan goes well… I get my husband to set the camera on timer and he jumps in the shots… I am in dozens of photos FOR THE FIRST TIME with my family!!!
I used to think our little girl would grow up and say, “Wow, I sure did a bunch of cool stuff with dad. Mom, where were you?” I just wanted to cry each time I thought of her saying that to me when she was older looking through the photos. I would have to answer Dear I was BEHIND the camera whom do you think TOOK all those fun photos!” Then I STOP and tell myself – that is an EXCUSE and I can ask people to take our picture and I can give myself permission to be IN them.
Talking my husband into joining the plan:
So WE, yes WE, I have to talk my husband into this fountain playing thing with us, for support you know :)
The Plan of least embarrassment:
Here is the plan for how to do this and be the least embarrassed as possible… We will dress up, go out to eat a late dinner in the hotel and when almost NO ONE is around we will slip into fountain. :) I plan this so no one will stair, point their finger at me and laugh, gawk or even roll their eyes at me.
The fallen Plan:
The unbelievable happens, the child who wants to stay up until mid-night every other night falls asleep at 6:00 p.m. So we order room service and the plan dies…and hey anyway we all know the RULE: DO NOT WAKE UP a sleeping child…
The heat is on:
OK, it is day three and I still have not played in the fountain… we are going home in a few hours. Our little girl wakes up and remembers we missed the dress up party last night… HUM – momentum… so we all dress up… It is light outside now – VERY LIGHT and people are OUT and about… I am getting nervous. I almost chicken out when I realize I only have my rainbow colored underwear and my dress... you guessed it... is white! No one will notice I keep muttorting under my breath… My husband, notices the rainbow through my dress and says, “Those rainbow underwear are REALLY going to show through when you are wet!” I think, ”block out the negative comments, you CAN DO THIS”…I think, hum, Let's put a positive spin on all this and Praise God for the rainbows- For the rainbows after the STORMS of life... The Rainbow of Healing, Hope,Peace,Trust,Grace, Faith,Love and Forgiveness. “It is like God is reminding me, after the storm comes the rainbow of HOPE and NEWNESS of LIFE.
I Play IN water fountains NOW! part 3
GOD IN ME DID IT:
As you can see from the pictures… We did it! We played in the fountain! It was FUN, FUN, FUN! You know that saying… “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away”…. Well, when the water flows up from the ground and the burst of cool water soaks me – it DOES TAKE MY BREATH AWAY! It was squealing, laughing, running, dancing, PURE JOY! We play chase! We play guess which fountain will pop up next. I see my little girl with the biggest smile of her life... bigger than any smile I have seen after she is given a tangible gift. Or even the smile she had when she learned to walk – and I fell that smile on my face – this smile is so big my face feels like it is stretched!
People are watching!
Yep people are watching! Some looked socked, others, just smile. Everyone does STOP and gawk. One mom drags her child away when the little girl tires to join us – I pray for them. God please let them play in the fountain someday soon
– before the opportunity slips away like the chance to watch the sunset. But the sun does shine and one sweet lady even volunteered to take these photos. I wish I could give her photo credit…my husband was toooo wet to even set the timer on the camera. She was and angle sent right from heaven and she will always be remembered in my memories of this SPECIAL day – I tell myself to volunteer to take more photo's of people!
We were dripping wet: yep you guessed it… we did drip all over the Lobby and elevator. Even with the soft hotel robes snuggling us we still dripped leaving little puddles of joy behind us.
Feeling like a celebrity:
And you know what? I felt like a celebrity… A Bridge tournament was going on in the hotel… We had to walked right through the reception area to get to the elevator. The people divided and made a path for us…It was like walking the red carpet at a grand primer. Yep, all eyes were on us from the time they saw us until we disappeared… Not a word was said; mouths were open wide in shock, disbelief and excitement.
The eyes of a child:
BUT their eyes.. Their eyes… spoke volumes. It was like the little children behind those very adult eyes were trying desperately to get out… They were screaming, “I want to do that! Can we, can we, can we PLEASE play in the fountain!”
I thank God He helped me say, “Sure! To the kid behind MY eyes!”
It really was like a grand primer – The grand primer of my Life - “The day I learned to Live in the moment!”
Passing the torch:
As we left that day I saw an elderly lady stepping into the fountain!
I am so thankful we let our 6 year old play in the fountain. I am soooooo thankful I let myself play in the fountain and I am thankful the elderly lady FINALLY got to play in the fountain...
I am praying you toooo play in the pure joyful fountains of life. And please pray for my family to discover more pure joyful fountains in life, to play in them and give God Glory for the moments He in me has the courage to PLAY and enjoy this lovely life he gave us to life and reflect is JOY-HOPE-and NEWNESS OF LIFE IN HIM!
Psalms 31:11&12
Then he turned my sorrow into joy! He took away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy. So that I might sing glad praises to the Lord instead of lying in silence in the grave. Oh Lord my God, I will keep on thanking you.”
Photo taken by one of God’s sweet angels who stepped out of nowhere to capture the memory! 8-30-2008
As you can see from the pictures… We did it! We played in the fountain! It was FUN, FUN, FUN! You know that saying… “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away”…. Well, when the water flows up from the ground and the burst of cool water soaks me – it DOES TAKE MY BREATH AWAY! It was squealing, laughing, running, dancing, PURE JOY! We play chase! We play guess which fountain will pop up next. I see my little girl with the biggest smile of her life... bigger than any smile I have seen after she is given a tangible gift. Or even the smile she had when she learned to walk – and I fell that smile on my face – this smile is so big my face feels like it is stretched!
People are watching!
Yep people are watching! Some looked socked, others, just smile. Everyone does STOP and gawk. One mom drags her child away when the little girl tires to join us – I pray for them. God please let them play in the fountain someday soon
– before the opportunity slips away like the chance to watch the sunset. But the sun does shine and one sweet lady even volunteered to take these photos. I wish I could give her photo credit…my husband was toooo wet to even set the timer on the camera. She was and angle sent right from heaven and she will always be remembered in my memories of this SPECIAL day – I tell myself to volunteer to take more photo's of people!
We were dripping wet: yep you guessed it… we did drip all over the Lobby and elevator. Even with the soft hotel robes snuggling us we still dripped leaving little puddles of joy behind us.
Feeling like a celebrity:
And you know what? I felt like a celebrity… A Bridge tournament was going on in the hotel… We had to walked right through the reception area to get to the elevator. The people divided and made a path for us…It was like walking the red carpet at a grand primer. Yep, all eyes were on us from the time they saw us until we disappeared… Not a word was said; mouths were open wide in shock, disbelief and excitement.
The eyes of a child:
BUT their eyes.. Their eyes… spoke volumes. It was like the little children behind those very adult eyes were trying desperately to get out… They were screaming, “I want to do that! Can we, can we, can we PLEASE play in the fountain!”
I thank God He helped me say, “Sure! To the kid behind MY eyes!”
It really was like a grand primer – The grand primer of my Life - “The day I learned to Live in the moment!”
Passing the torch:
As we left that day I saw an elderly lady stepping into the fountain!
I am so thankful we let our 6 year old play in the fountain. I am soooooo thankful I let myself play in the fountain and I am thankful the elderly lady FINALLY got to play in the fountain...
I am praying you toooo play in the pure joyful fountains of life. And please pray for my family to discover more pure joyful fountains in life, to play in them and give God Glory for the moments He in me has the courage to PLAY and enjoy this lovely life he gave us to life and reflect is JOY-HOPE-and NEWNESS OF LIFE IN HIM!
Psalms 31:11&12
Then he turned my sorrow into joy! He took away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy. So that I might sing glad praises to the Lord instead of lying in silence in the grave. Oh Lord my God, I will keep on thanking you.”
Photo taken by one of God’s sweet angels who stepped out of nowhere to capture the memory! 8-30-2008
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