It is Well With My Soul

Started reading "The Good and Beautiful GOD" on vacation.  First three soul training exercises are rest, silence, and awareness of creation.  Feel like I am attending soul training university.

So easy to relax and rest away from everyday life.

So easy to be silent walking alone on the beach.

So easy to be aware of details when I am moving slowly.

I think the purpose of 'soul training' must be to learn to live like this in my everyday life.  Yeah, I could live like this.

My Best Advice

Graduation seems to be a time when people solicit and offer advice. The best advice I ever got was from a therapist counselor who told me that you don't have to tell everyone everything.  The second best advice I got from the same man. He told me sex is a good stress reliever. Not sure if that is the kind of advice the pastor's wife should offer to someone just headed out to college.


Nonetheless I decorated the table runners with chalkboard paper and added a few words of wisdom.

And we left the chalk out so guests could add their own advice.  Or not.

Loaded.  All guns are loaded.

Some very useful advice indeed.

I did take my camera to graduation.  And I handed it to someone else and asked them to snap a few pictures of my son, the graduate.  So there are a few good shots of the Goob at graduation.  But after graduation I got my camera back.  And with the exception of that one selfie, I did not get another picture of my own son, the graduate. I did, however, capture a few smiles.

I loved how this little project turned out.

Because it only took a few seconds and people were very genuine

.Although 'boy' smiles are a little different from 'girl' smiles.

Because boys are different.

But we hold out hope that they will grow up... to be men who make their wives smile.

And have boys of their own who make me smile.

Love this smile.

And this one.  (These guys might be the same age.  In that case, one of them may have repeated first grade.  Just saying.)

Love this lady and her smile.

This happy lady was one of the Goob's class advisers.  Entrusted with giving guidance to the Goob beginning his freshman year.  She retired from teaching last year, but she returned to the school once a month this past school year to continue to meet with her 'assigned' senior students.  She loved the Goob and I love her for that.  Thinking these two must have been high school sweethearts.  Either that, or he used to date a friend of hers before she stole his heart.
Like another happy couple I know.

More good advice?  When entrusted with a secret, keep it.

Graduation Day If I Lived on Facebook

Here are a few of the status updates passing through my head this morning:

Moms who are hosting graduation parties should not attend other graduation parties before their own. Suddenly my idea to use 'buckets, chalk, and twine' as a decorating scheme seems suspect.

I called the school one final time this week.  To request that they correctly pronounce our last name.  The secretary said she would leave a note that it was a long A.  So if my son receives his high school diploma as Ay-lex Have-ner that will be on me.

When class advisers recommend that graduates put their gowns in the bathroom while they shower, they should take into account how many times a boy will shower between the last day of school and graduation.  And if they will remember to take the gown out of the bag.

Yesterday the graduate in my house asked me what time graduation was.  I think there may be some important information about graduation I have not received.

This morning I colored the hair on my head, removed some hair from my face, shaped my nails, dressed myself and the pasta salad.  Why am I not this productive every morning?

Toying with idea of not even taking my camera to graduation.  My level of distraction is heightened and I always miss the shot anyway.