Five Minute Friday - Fly

I have always hated to fly. It makes me nervous and nauseous. I hate being in a closed in space and I hate not being able to get up and move around as I please. Or leave the plane if I wanted to because I get anxious and can. not. stand. being. in. it. for. one. more. minute.

I try to put on a brave face for my son, when I was a single mom as we fly to Missouri to see my sister and her family. And it works. He loves to fly. He wears his plastic wings like a badge.

And I do it again as a married Momma of 5. All buckled in and settled with snacks, I assure the 3 year old that it is going to be fun and to look out the window. I sigh heavily and nurse the baby, gripping the arm rest. I smile at the teenagers. I pray through the whole flight.

It never really gets easier to fly, but that one flight where he was by my side was the best flight I was ever on in my life. I snuggled up next to him, with the boy on the other side of me and I was at ease.

I still hate the closed in space, the inability to move around as I please or get of the plane when and if I want to because I might go crazy if I can't. But, it was different by his side.

It's the only time I loved to fly.

 

 

 

Link to Lisa Jo's blog and FLY!

 

Five Minute Friday - Tree

The tree's bright red leaves are brilliant against the blue sky. It spreads its branches wide and tall, stretching toward the top of the house. It invites us, as children, to climb it, to explore each limb. But, we are forbidden to touch even its trunk. For it is beloved my our mother. She warns us to never even be tempted to touch it. Only our father is allowed to shakes its wet leaves over our heads after it rains. 

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The tree is towering at the end of the driveway. It's piney needles nestle together, allowing us to hide. We climb quickly, scaling each branch, almost scraping the sky. We are all in the tree, pretending to be woodland creatures, chattering, scattering, gathering. All of us, but the littlest, the youngest. We tell her she's too small, but we mean she doesn't belong. Four to one, she is forbidden to climb and pretend. I wish I could go back and invite her to join us.

 

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Its trunk is thick, able to uphold the generously large branches that stretch out over the lawn. It's inviting our children to climb, explore, to see the world from a bird's eye view. We encourage them, joining them, climbing higher, exploring more. Everyone is invited. Everyone is allowed. Everyone is welcome.   

 

 

 

I wasn't able to link to Lisa Jo's blog last week for this prompt but, will be linking this week. 

Maybe you should, too!

La, La, La Life Goes On!

I was really doing well for a while there. Updating and even getting some pictures up on the blog. And I was participating in Five Minute Fridays and it felt good to write again. But, knowing that you do not really have an audience, no one checking back in daily to see if you have written, can crimp your style as a writer/blogger. I have had to ask myself why I write here and if the answer is for others, then there is really no reason to write anymore. But, if I am writing for me, I need to be writing every day, if not at least every week. I need to participate in blogging parties and writing prompts and remember why I love to write and why I started to blog in the first place. Because everyone has a story and I want to share mine.

And sharing mine here, even if no one is reading it or checking to see if I have written, is important to me.

Because even when I am not writing life is still moving at a faster pace than I would like it to move and there are parts of my story that need to be told. The beautiful parts and the not so beautiful parts. All of those parts are being woven together to create a greater masterpiece, that may look twisted and tattered now, but is shaping up into a glorious pattern of love, grace and mercy.

Life definitely goes on and I am ready to start writing about it again.