Focus

Without the daily distractions of Grandpa we now have more focus. The days are long, just getting caught up. We've been reorganizing the house for months. It started before he died in a major renovation of the master suite--to make it more comfortable for our children. We took the big bookshelves out. Moved them back in when we set out to paint after Grandpa died. (The photo above shows the room last week while the rest of the house was getting carpeted. ALL of the kids' stuff was stuffed in my room. Pam DiPrima could only comment as she saw the mess of the house: "Cal is SO lucky" [to be out of town]. I spent the day today purging and reorganizing books before we re-move the shelves in another couple of days back in to the boys' room and perhaps the hallway. One by one, the little details are getting picked off. Soon I hope to be appreciating all of our work by sitting for a couple hours in an afternoon reading one of the puritans on the nice couch Penny sold us. Or sewing Susan's new quilt. Or getting back to our home education--the academic part. This morning Cal and I went to swim laps while the children were all still asleep. We only got in a quarter mile when the rain began in earnest, followed by thunder. After getting home I fixed us a breakfast of yesterday's deviled eggs, watermelon, and iced tea with lemon, brought it up on a tray, put the tray on the leather ottoman, and we read a piece from Bridges' exposition on Psalm 119. Just us up here in our yellow bedroom having a romantic little breakfast.

We're tired by the end of the day, and we still don't seem to get to bed on time, nor have we been able to sleep in terribly long, now that Grandpa isn't with us. But the days feel full and I feel the satisfaction of hard work leading somewhere. God is faithful. It is He Who made us faithful in taking care of Grandpa. And it is He Who makes us faithful to keep on with the next thing. And the next thing is becoming sweeter and sweeter. Bless His Name.