Writing for Lent

I haven't looked at my blog since 2009.  5 years!  That's a long time in the lives of friends and family. I changed jobs, had 2 more grandchildren added to our family; one of whom we almost lost to a heart defect.  We are so thankful for him and for the miracles of modern medicine. The other was a little girl so like her mother that it is uncanny.  We said good-bye to a dear friend and just recently Hank's mom. The grave is a bitter place.

In more mundane areas, we bought a new vehicle that pulls a small trailer and redid the kitchen.  These things were long time dreams that we said we wanted before we retire and suddenly that word, that concept is crossing our  minds and our lips.  When people ask us when we will retire and Hank and I both shrug.  Our occupations, our callings as teachers, as caregivers to other people's children have defined us for so long, its hard to think past the immediate needs to when we will gladly them over to someone else. That's the tricky part. Are we still needed or are we standing in the way of an opportunity for service for someone else? In our life together, we have always just done what we thought needed to be done and when the time for change came, it was pretty obvious it was time to do something like move to Winnipeg twenty five years ago or for me to change jobs just a few years back. So we are just going to keep working for the next few years and when it is time, I think we will know.(Or our kids will tell us!)

One of my longest held dreams has always been to have more time to write and share my thoughts with others. Sometimes the needs of the kids I work with get in the way but sometimes it is Facebook or Candy Crush or the New York Times Crossword book I always have around.  Or a call from my sister or hanging out with my grandkids. Today is a day like that.  A cup of coffee with Kayla and Willow this morning and then plans to make some bread but I am out of flour and that is one thing I will not walk to the store to get. So I am left with a quiet afternoon in this long and bitter winter.  Shrove Tuesday.  The day before Lent so what better time for a little introspection.  Do I give something up for Lent?  Why would I? Why wouldn't I? I went through the list but realized I don't need to stop anything, I need to get busy and start something!

So I am going to write something here every day of Lent.  I have no idea what.  It may be profound or funny or short.  But it I am ever going to really write, I have to write. So here we go!  I hope a few people will come along.