Strawberry Road

There's a sacred road in every girls life.  A road marking every memory and moment of discovery.  A road defining who she is and who she is to become.  A road reminding her of where she started, and how far she's come.  The road holds secrets: whispered on the wind.  Feelings.  Thoughts.  Long talks with God.  Contemplation.   The road is hers, it belongs to her alone.  Her steps: one at a time are recorded in the dust.  She was here, and continues to move on. 
  The tracks marking travel continually change.  The little feet traveling grow little by little, year after year.   The tracks sometimes mark straight; sometimes more random: in those times of dancing.  They sometimes mark detours: especially in the spring when wild flowers are ripe for bouquets.  The tracks sometimes mark speed, and other times a reminiscing day-dreaming pace.  Dreams are contemplated on this road.  Secrets shared.  Tears sometimes shed. 
  Life happens on this road...sweet times, difficult times, that growing up and becoming someone.  This road will forever be etched in a memory.   The sound of a river near by, the train whistle and nearby tracks, wild flowers and summer evenings.  Dancing to the beat God created within.  And....learning to trust Him.   A journey.
  This is my road, Strawberry Road:

Yes, a Real Road

With Memories.....with Loved Ones.

 This past weekend, I had the opportunity to again venture north to visit my parents.  I love these trips.  I don't mind five hours with my kids, they're good travelers.  We makes stops, and sometimes explore.  I love teaching them as we go and sharing memories of places we drive through.  I admit, I am a closet romantic and am in love with time.  I celebrate the passage of time and places marked by it.  I guess one reason I love heading north is the travel straight through "home".
  I love that there's only one north-south route through our great state.  I also love that my childhood haunts parallel the great highway.  I can see moments from my childhood out my window as I pass by.  I remember picking apples from THAT tree near the highway.  I remember walking the tracks and listening for the train whistle (the same tracks have since become a state funded walking path).  No more is there a train whistle....but its in the recesses of my memory, and oh the day.  I remember the smell of the lumber mill, and day dreaming at the bridge on warm summer evenings.   These places are etched in my memory, precious to me.  They still beckon me as I pass.  Places and moments......on Strawberry Road.

The Old Bridge

  As we drove past "home" this weekend, I couldn't resist the urge to linger.  I had to stop.  I needed to stop.  There is still a part of me here.  My journey brought me here, and I admit, I haven't totally left.  I may never.  There will always be a part of me here.

The Old Train Tracks

Memories on the Wall

Its amazing how God works sometimes.  I had an overwhelming urge to share this with my children.  We stopped at the "old bridge".  I used to come down to the bridge to think.  In the summer and fall, the water level would drop, and I could sit under the bridge.  I even wrote my name on the wall.  This place was "my" place.
  And, as I showed my daughter around this weekend, we found my name still written on the wall.  After 20 years!  My last name has changed...and the fun part: there was a faint "+ T" under it.  Tim's name must have washed off, but I had enough to show her.  "This is me sweetie....the me, before you."
  She looked around and marveled at the landscaping, while my others viewed from the car window.  There was something SO special about sharing this with my girl.

Sharing

My

Journey

With Her....

 Passing things on.

 She, herself, is walking her own road.  She's on her own journey.  Hers will resemble mine a little, but it's also distinctly different.  Her markers are unique to her.  Her special memories and moments.  Her triumphs, her hard times and her wonderful summer evenings.  God has given her unique shoes and a beautifully unique mind.  Her road at this time is inner-woven in mine.  I thank God over and over for that.  But there will come a time when her road sets out in a different direction.
  I pray that when she looks back on her childhood she relishes those memories.  I pray her journey is sweet and that she holds tight to her Savior.  That when she drive's through "home", she'll have.......... .......a Strawberry Road.

Memories

  Memories.  (this stuff is not for the faint of stomach)...lol
 During a recent visit with my mom (discussing memories), I was reminded of an incident that happened a while ago.  An incident that I am sure every mother can relate to.   While sharing our stories, I didn't realize how funny it actually was (time has a way of making some things funnier).  At the time of this incident, it was NOT funny...but you know...I am sure if God didn't laugh initially, His angels were.
  My husband is a hunter.  During a hunting season, he left for a short hunting trip.   His trips don't bother me.  The kids and I watch a couple extra movies and eat pot pies instead of spaghetti.  Not a big deal, I don't mind.
  Well, on a specific day while Tim was gone, we had a rough day...and I was TIRED.  Supper time came and I loaded the kids in the truck....we decided on a local drive-thru.  I DID NOT want to cook...and the kids were wound up.
  We drove through the drive-thru, and headed to a local playground.  Eating...and expending energy....(multi-tasking)...check, check.  Good plan.  BUT, we FORGOT to go potty...HOW did we manage that?
  This specific playground is wonderful.  Lots of tall leafy trees and grass.  Very pretty.  However, the parking lot is a distance from the playground (making a speedy retreat difficult).  There are also no public restrooms.
  We hike to the playground, sit down at the lone picnic table and spread out our food.  We pray...and the kids run for the equipment.  I am TIRED, but glad to have food and entertainment for the kids.
  "Mom!", one of my kids frantically yells.  "I have to go poop!!!!!"   "Oh no",  I think to myself.  There is a certain pitch to a child's voice when "something" is seriously wrong.  And...I detected that pitch.  And...there are NO bathrooms.  We're in a public park.   The food is on the picnic table...we are a ways from the truck...and trying to drag my other two from their coveted perches on the monkey bars in the attempt to drive back to the restaurant would be too time consuming.  ARGH!  What do I do???  Well, I will only say one thing..."praise God for restaurant food bags"....and napkins.  Ugh....and hand wash.  A little TMI...sorry.
  We had conquered it..and found a dumpster.  I wiped the sweat off my brow.  Wow!!
I sat back down, and applied my second dousing of hand sanitizer.  All was well.  Until.........
A minute later, a second child frantically yells, "Mom!!! I have to poop!!!!"  Are you kidding me????  Fatigue and weariness had established themselves and I decided to allow one tear freedom.  How am I going to handle this???  I have no more food bags!  "Lord, please show me what to do!"
  My frantic child comes running to me, expecting me to know what to do.  "Mommy, I gotta go poop!!!"  I knew this needed dealt with timely.  It's funny how God, when you feel out of resources, shows you He's got more.  He's the "Provider"...of EVERYTHING...including toileting necessities.  Yes, we were out of food bags, but not totally without hope.  I'll skip details, but say we dealt with it (with tidy cleanliness even)  And I have to say creativity was not exclusive to Pinterest.  God heard my small plea for assistance, and answered me.  I was again so thankful for the extra napkins.
  I finally sat back down at the table...with a much smaller appetite, and a half bottle of hand sanitizer.  Life was back under control...sigh.....Until....
  "Mom!"  My first child hollers (I lose it)..."I gotta go pee!!!"  I can handle pee better than the first...but still.... Seriously???  "Why couldn't you have done it all at the same time??"  My child flies to me as I sit crying at the picnic table..."Mom, why are you crying, I gotta go potty!"  I snap out of it, and get creative once more.  This time things are slightly easier.  I really don't cry often, but provoked by fatigue I found myself wallowing in self pitty.
  Afraid to sigh relief, I sit at the picnic bench and wait (my hand sanitizer bottle only a third full now).  I dare not ask who else has to go....I know better than that.  My recently sanitized children laugh and play while a table full of food sits before me.  I am somehow not hungry...but I am happy.  I am reminded that even when I am tired, my husband's not home, things look impossible and I am out of resources, God isn't....And, my EVERY circumstance is important to Him (even my children's toileting needs).  Its sometimes funny to me the situations in which God teaches us things.  He brings us to the end of our "rope", to show us its really not the end....and He's capable of immeasurably more.   
 The rest of our evening was great.  The kids played. I even hauled out my camera and took some memory shots.  Our tiresome, stressful start was forgotten.  All ended well.  And....no one would ever even know we'd been there.  :)