It has been a glorious Autumn here in Calgary. As I sit writing at our beautiful new little consigned desk the sun-rays shine with a gentle late afternoon glow and make everything seem warm and welcoming.
Joe, myself, and our children are in the blessed position of a having a little bit of time to breath. With our youngest almost two years old, a steady income, and a joyfully mundane reality - work, school, programs, early bedtime, cuddly mornings - we are taking a breath and re-defining the values that we want to be an integral part of our family culture.
I don't think my parents would be particularly offended if I share that in the later years of my childhood and adolescence we fell away from intentional rest and playtime as a family. One thing we are particularly and gloriously good at is beautiful family meals and joyful togetherness over meals, but as far as carefree timeless play as a family life got full and we did not do very much of it.
Our children need our example of the choice for rest and the choice for healthy playtime. We want these values to be ingrained in our children so that as they grow we are able to maintain family unity through these values.
We took an afternoon and escaped to the river, where there is no cell phone service and nothing for miles around. We fished, and cooked hot dogs over a fire. The children looked for little fish, Liliana and Joe wandered looking for treasure while Judah napped on my chest in the sun and I read. It was glorious. It seems to take an odd amount of effort to make such effortless days happen, but our hope is that as we do it more and more it will come more naturally to us.
As always with love and prayers for your joy,
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