The Princess and The Moon
Did you see the supermoon/lunar eclipse last night?! We had a small get together and watched it with some of our closest friends around a bonfire in our backyard. It was a pretty great night, with an amazing view. Unfortunately I don't have a good photo of what we saw, because the moon was so bright that all of our photos looked like a round full moon, even when it was almost all the way eclipsed! Sometimes it's nice not to have a photo to look at, though. Sometimes it's better to just remember.
Speaking of beautiful moons... and because we have a baby-sized hole in our hearts that can only be filled with one million pets...meet Luna, the newest addition to our mish-mash, rag-tag family!
If you're questioning our sanity, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that Luna is not ours to keep. We are fostering her until she can find her furever home (sooo cheesy I know :-P) so if you know anyone who is looking for a REALLLLLLY cuddly furball who gets along with cats, dogs, and children, let me know! But until then, she's ours to cuddle and smush <3
Phil and I have always had a soft spot for animals and big concerns about animal welfare. All animals are innocent creatures who can't speak for themselves, and so we feel like we need to do our part to be their voice in the world. When we adopted our Boo Boo from the pound in a rough area of Connecticut, we saw things there that we just couldn't forget. Even so, the decision to open our home to foster cats and dogs was a big one, and one that we spent a lot of time and conversation on.
Luna came to us, quite appropriately, the day of the supermoon eclipse. She is still a little unsure about the noises outside of her room (mainly Boo Boo's toenails clattering through the house), but she is already super affectionate and curious about her new home. And while we had our doubts before, Phil and I are so happy with our decision to take in Luna, and so sure that we made the right choice. It's a little bit more work, a few extra minutes of chores added to our busy day, but the feeling of being able to help out even in such a small way is disproportionately rewarding.
This experience reminds me of a story that I read last year--a very important story that I'll never forget. Actually, I didn't read the story--it was read to me by it's author, a six year old girl I was babysitting, as I was tucking her into bed. When she first started reading her story to me, I didn't know it was going to be so long (but I'm sure she probably did!)--it extended her bedtime by about thirty minutes! But it was a masterpiece. Literally every word was gold, and I don't think she even knew it.
The story began like a lot of other little girl stories: Once there was a princess who lived in a castle. One day she woke up and decided she would have blueberry pancakes with raspberry jam. Then she went out to play. At lunch time she came inside and had a ham sandwich. Later, she got very hungry, and she ate spaghetti with meat balls. Soon, it was dark and time for bed. The princess was full and very tired, and so she went to sleep.
The next morning she woke up and decided she would have toast with Nutella for breakfast. Then she wanted to watch TV. At lunch time she was really hungry, so she ate a tuna sandwich. At dinner she had chicken soup, and then she went to bed.
The story continued on in this vein for about 25 minutes. The princess kept waking up and eating three square meals and going back to sleep. I was bored out of my head and was thinking about the homework I had to do later and mentally checking off my to do list. I was getting impatient with the little girl and wishing she would hurry up and get to the last dinner of macaroni and cheese and just go to sleep like the princess in the story.
Finally the last few pages rolled around, and completely out of the blue, something happened.
One day the princess woke up and she looked out her window and she saw a little girl standing outside. And the little girl looked just like the princess but she was wearing old clothes. The princess was hungry and she decided to have peanut butter and jam for breakfast. But she was sad because the little girl outside didn't have anything to eat. So she asked her mom and dad if the little girl could come inside and share some breakfast, and her mom and dad said yes. So the princess went outside and invited her in. After breakfast they played dress up with all of the princess' beautiful clothes, and the little girl didn't have to wear her old clothes anymore. They threw them in the trash. Then for lunch, they both had ham sandwiches. When it got dark outside the princess asked the little girl if she had a mom and dad, and the little girl said no. So she asked her mom and dad if the little girl could live with them in the castle, and they said yes. So they all ate pizza for dinner, and went to sleep. THE END.
I was completely floored. I don't know if it was done by design, or luck, or serendipity, but the pages and pages of mundane life before the little girl was invited to live with the princess seemed to go on forever, and they were so incredibly boring that it made the surprise ending that much better!
This is the most important story because it is the story of our lives--or in can be, anyway, if we are smart about it. When we live for ourselves and only think about whether we are tired or hungry or sad or cared for, things get INCREDIBLY BORING. No one wants to read a story like that, because NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU ATE FOR BREAKFAST ON A TUESDAY (even if it was Nutella, which is delicious). And after a while, the story becomes boring even to the princess that's living it.
I am so guilty of living like the boring princess, and I think we all are to some degree. All of us work hard to better ourselves every day and sometimes we fall into this routine that's all about us. As a dancer, I poured all my energy into improving my craft and my instrument. Every day was spent exercising, counting calories, rehearsing, and talking about ballet. These days, it's all about school (getting perfect grades), work (making lots of money to pay off all of our debts, pay off our mortgage early, save a ton, invest, and do lots of fun things) and of course--babies.
For the past two years we've been consumed with making babies. We've talked about it, cried about it, dreamed about it, planned it out, forced it to happen, and then watched it fall apart in front of us. After all of that happened, we found ourselves in an unfamiliar place. We told ourselves we wouldn't think (re: obsess) about this anymore, and all of the sudden it felt like our story was over.
But maybe we are just getting to the good part.
Yesterday we woke up and we looked out the window, and we saw one of God's creatures that didn't have a home, and we took her in and offered her some kibble and a scoop of stinky wet food (it's not a ham sandwich, but just work with me here). And just like that our story took on new meaning. The depressing repetition of daily life was shattered. Just by doing something kind for someone else, we were reminded that there is more to life than mourning what we can't have. There is work to be done in the world, and we are His hands and we are His feet.
We are definitely still grieving, but we are getting better. I realized that I sounded really ungrateful in my last post, and wanted to say that I really appreciate the things people have done to try to comfort us during this time. No one should have to be worried that they're going to say or do the wrong thing when they are making an effort to reach out to someone who is very sad, because just the fact that you are reaching out should be enough. And it is, and I'm sorry if, in my anger, I made it sound like it wasn't good enough. In the past few weeks, I've received hugs, emails, facebook messages, texts, cards, and even a surprise spa day-- and almost every one of those gestures made me cry because I was so touched and so amazed at the kindness and thoughtfulness of the people in my life. Thank you. I am especially amazed every time someone opens up to me to tell me their own miscarriage story, and how they overcame their fears and ended up as mothers--THANK YOU all for that. So, so much.
Every time you sent a message, wrote a card, or said a prayer for us these past few weeks, you were like the princess welcoming the little girl in off the street. I hope you know that you are kind and generous, and I hope you know that we are deeply grateful.
Life should never be boring. There is always someone who needs you. No matter how tough things are, there is someone or something out there whom you can help. And when you make that effort, it can make all the difference in the life of the person or animal you help, as well as in your own life.
Tonight, we are grateful to our little moon, for shining some light into our palace. And we are grateful to you.
Speaking of beautiful moons... and because we have a baby-sized hole in our hearts that can only be filled with one million pets...meet Luna, the newest addition to our mish-mash, rag-tag family!
Phil and I have always had a soft spot for animals and big concerns about animal welfare. All animals are innocent creatures who can't speak for themselves, and so we feel like we need to do our part to be their voice in the world. When we adopted our Boo Boo from the pound in a rough area of Connecticut, we saw things there that we just couldn't forget. Even so, the decision to open our home to foster cats and dogs was a big one, and one that we spent a lot of time and conversation on.
Luna came to us, quite appropriately, the day of the supermoon eclipse. She is still a little unsure about the noises outside of her room (mainly Boo Boo's toenails clattering through the house), but she is already super affectionate and curious about her new home. And while we had our doubts before, Phil and I are so happy with our decision to take in Luna, and so sure that we made the right choice. It's a little bit more work, a few extra minutes of chores added to our busy day, but the feeling of being able to help out even in such a small way is disproportionately rewarding.
This experience reminds me of a story that I read last year--a very important story that I'll never forget. Actually, I didn't read the story--it was read to me by it's author, a six year old girl I was babysitting, as I was tucking her into bed. When she first started reading her story to me, I didn't know it was going to be so long (but I'm sure she probably did!)--it extended her bedtime by about thirty minutes! But it was a masterpiece. Literally every word was gold, and I don't think she even knew it.
The story began like a lot of other little girl stories: Once there was a princess who lived in a castle. One day she woke up and decided she would have blueberry pancakes with raspberry jam. Then she went out to play. At lunch time she came inside and had a ham sandwich. Later, she got very hungry, and she ate spaghetti with meat balls. Soon, it was dark and time for bed. The princess was full and very tired, and so she went to sleep.
The next morning she woke up and decided she would have toast with Nutella for breakfast. Then she wanted to watch TV. At lunch time she was really hungry, so she ate a tuna sandwich. At dinner she had chicken soup, and then she went to bed.
The story continued on in this vein for about 25 minutes. The princess kept waking up and eating three square meals and going back to sleep. I was bored out of my head and was thinking about the homework I had to do later and mentally checking off my to do list. I was getting impatient with the little girl and wishing she would hurry up and get to the last dinner of macaroni and cheese and just go to sleep like the princess in the story.
Finally the last few pages rolled around, and completely out of the blue, something happened.
One day the princess woke up and she looked out her window and she saw a little girl standing outside. And the little girl looked just like the princess but she was wearing old clothes. The princess was hungry and she decided to have peanut butter and jam for breakfast. But she was sad because the little girl outside didn't have anything to eat. So she asked her mom and dad if the little girl could come inside and share some breakfast, and her mom and dad said yes. So the princess went outside and invited her in. After breakfast they played dress up with all of the princess' beautiful clothes, and the little girl didn't have to wear her old clothes anymore. They threw them in the trash. Then for lunch, they both had ham sandwiches. When it got dark outside the princess asked the little girl if she had a mom and dad, and the little girl said no. So she asked her mom and dad if the little girl could live with them in the castle, and they said yes. So they all ate pizza for dinner, and went to sleep. THE END.
I was completely floored. I don't know if it was done by design, or luck, or serendipity, but the pages and pages of mundane life before the little girl was invited to live with the princess seemed to go on forever, and they were so incredibly boring that it made the surprise ending that much better!
This is the most important story because it is the story of our lives--or in can be, anyway, if we are smart about it. When we live for ourselves and only think about whether we are tired or hungry or sad or cared for, things get INCREDIBLY BORING. No one wants to read a story like that, because NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU ATE FOR BREAKFAST ON A TUESDAY (even if it was Nutella, which is delicious). And after a while, the story becomes boring even to the princess that's living it.
I am so guilty of living like the boring princess, and I think we all are to some degree. All of us work hard to better ourselves every day and sometimes we fall into this routine that's all about us. As a dancer, I poured all my energy into improving my craft and my instrument. Every day was spent exercising, counting calories, rehearsing, and talking about ballet. These days, it's all about school (getting perfect grades), work (making lots of money to pay off all of our debts, pay off our mortgage early, save a ton, invest, and do lots of fun things) and of course--babies.
For the past two years we've been consumed with making babies. We've talked about it, cried about it, dreamed about it, planned it out, forced it to happen, and then watched it fall apart in front of us. After all of that happened, we found ourselves in an unfamiliar place. We told ourselves we wouldn't think (re: obsess) about this anymore, and all of the sudden it felt like our story was over.
But maybe we are just getting to the good part.
Yesterday we woke up and we looked out the window, and we saw one of God's creatures that didn't have a home, and we took her in and offered her some kibble and a scoop of stinky wet food (it's not a ham sandwich, but just work with me here). And just like that our story took on new meaning. The depressing repetition of daily life was shattered. Just by doing something kind for someone else, we were reminded that there is more to life than mourning what we can't have. There is work to be done in the world, and we are His hands and we are His feet.
We are definitely still grieving, but we are getting better. I realized that I sounded really ungrateful in my last post, and wanted to say that I really appreciate the things people have done to try to comfort us during this time. No one should have to be worried that they're going to say or do the wrong thing when they are making an effort to reach out to someone who is very sad, because just the fact that you are reaching out should be enough. And it is, and I'm sorry if, in my anger, I made it sound like it wasn't good enough. In the past few weeks, I've received hugs, emails, facebook messages, texts, cards, and even a surprise spa day-- and almost every one of those gestures made me cry because I was so touched and so amazed at the kindness and thoughtfulness of the people in my life. Thank you. I am especially amazed every time someone opens up to me to tell me their own miscarriage story, and how they overcame their fears and ended up as mothers--THANK YOU all for that. So, so much.
Every time you sent a message, wrote a card, or said a prayer for us these past few weeks, you were like the princess welcoming the little girl in off the street. I hope you know that you are kind and generous, and I hope you know that we are deeply grateful.
Life should never be boring. There is always someone who needs you. No matter how tough things are, there is someone or something out there whom you can help. And when you make that effort, it can make all the difference in the life of the person or animal you help, as well as in your own life.
Tonight, we are grateful to our little moon, for shining some light into our palace. And we are grateful to you.
Please contact me for information on how to save lives by becoming a foster for a shelter pet <3
The question marks were a picture of an apple.lol
ReplyDeleteThat was absolutely amazing and beautiful my sweet sweet Kara. God is smiling and well pleased ♡ You are the 🍎 of HIS eye. We love love love you ♡ Momma & Daddy Rea.
ReplyDeleteThanks mom and dad!
ReplyDelete