Tag: experience

In An Instant

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As I mentioned in a previous post, my daughter met up with a friend she doesn’t get to see very often. They met on the college campus last year, and the friend moved away to attend another campus. The best thing to come out of college, in my opinion, has been meeting this friend.

They stayed out late shooting pool, so her friend came home with her and crashed here. The following morning, her friend woke up and walked through the house looking for coffee. There’s no automatic brew here my love.

But I can make you a cup of coffee that’s memorable. I stood with her at the coffee bar and went through the choices. Chemex, a vessel of coffee, the French press, or a pour over. She was intrigued by the pour over and asked, “What’s a pour over?” This made my heart sing.

Bluebottle Coffee Dripper

I have a confession to make. I’d become really slack recently about taking the time to make a Chemex, or pour over for myself in the morning. I’d walk by the coffee bar, over to the tea cart and turn on the electric kettle for a cup of instant coffee. Within minutes I was sipping on a cup of rehydrated beans, sort of, and not enjoying it.

That’s just not me. I don’t do anything in an instant.

This morning I stood at the coffee bar, remembering the fascination of the friend and treated myself in the same manner as I treated her. “What’s your pleasure Barb?”

The Chemex is what I made for myself.

Photo by Purple Smith on Pexels.com

I remember the friend sitting at our kitchen table sipping the cup of coffee made by hand. The look on her face after each sip was like she had never experienced coffee like that before. I told her, “That will get you going”, and she responded with excitement, “What are we doing today?!”

Yesterday my daughter told me something her friend said about that morning at our table. She said, “Sunday morning was one the most beautiful morning’s I’ve ever had.” Those words were music to my ears and yet it also confirmed:

Beautiful moments aren’t made in an instant.

You’re Not Failing

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I love the sound of the ocean. Looking at the expansive body of water, reminds me how big my God really is. The water rolls in with crashing force, but then playfully slips ashore. If you’re standing nearby, it will find your feet like it’s trying to get you to join in on the moment.

Thinking about waves reminded me of this meme I made years ago, and searched my computer until it was found. My daughter jokingly exclaims, “You were on LSD when you made that?” 🙂

No my darling, I was learning.

The program I use to make memes added new options overnight. What began as a black and white photo of my daughter became the explosion of color you see above. I added layer, upon layer of color and texture, just to see what the new buttons would do, but then ran into a problem. Once added, I couldn’t figure out how to remove it. I spotted a tiny little button that said, “Undo”, but saved this beforehand. It’s a reminder of how easily I can get caught up and swept away in a wave of options.

To this day I don’t see it as a failed meme.

I told my daughter, “What I see as a learning experience, someone else will love.” (Someone who thrives on color) The only failure from that day would be to stop making memes, and that didn’t happen. I’m not going to be intimidated by a bunch of buttons and neither should you my friend.

I saw this quote this morning and thank Craig Maloney for posting it. He has written an excellent post regarding failure that you can read here. Failure waits for us in the ‘not showing up’ for what life has to offer. Thank you for showing up here today. ~ Barb.

As long as you’re learning, you’re not failing.

Bob Ross
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A Happy Moment

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We met in the kitchen, staring at one another with that wide-eyed look of, “What do we do?”

It had been eight years since I had heard that noise requiring attention. It was almost 4 am, and this had been going on for a little while. The high-pitched cry, squeal and whining noise coming from the next room, had woken us up, and it was time for action. Not sure what type, we were going to have to dive in and start marking things off the list until happiness resumed.

bay

This picture is my daughter, Bailey, and it describes her perfectly. She took this a couple of days ago, and when she showed it to me, my heart melted. I could see she wasn’t a little girl anymore and she was growing into a beautiful young lady. Wearing her Vintage, Polo golf hat and resting her arm on her treasured Taylor guitar.

She’s been wanting a puppy for months. We have been talking it through, and praying for the right time and the right dog to enter our lives. We knew that a neighbor’s Australian Cattle Dog, had given birth to a litter around Thanksgiving, so we went to look at them. Need I say more?

The sounds that woke us up in the middle of the night was her new puppy. We went through a series of activities trying to meet his basic needs. I finally held him close up against me and he fell asleep. All he wanted was to feel loved and secure. Just like us.

puppy

As I walked by her bedroom door this morning, I peeped in looking for the pup. He was sound asleep with her in the bed. Coming into the den with coffee in hand, it occurred to me that she could handle this.

Proverbs 22:6, “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” She’s old enough now to do so many things without my assistance. My hope is that she will pass me and do more! It’s a hard to admit, but at the same time, it’s a happy moment.