Goodbye, July… sorry, sloppy joe.
Like an old friend, the month came in, gave me some of the best memories, then I blinked and it was gone.But I’m carrying some pretty awesome things with me into August.
As with everything in life, you blink and you just might miss it. The older I get, the truer this becomes. My days looked like one of those photos you see that looks like it was smudged while still wet. A blur. The challenge became to grab hold of one moment from each day and tuck it into a pocket in my brain somewhere, hopefully to be pulled out and reminisced over one day in my future.
One of these mental photos includes some pretty disappointed faces when hubby served up his “famous” sloppy joes. When I say my flabber was GHASTED and APPALLED when not everyone at the table loved them- I kid you not. Like how can you not like sloppy joes? I mean, I do prefer the manwhich stuff straight from the can (it’s ok, I already told Matt and he forgives me) but to straight up dislike- insert big sigh here. It’s ok. If we were all the same and had the same tastes, how boring this big old sphere would be. I like variety in my life. So we went from sloppy joes one night to carne con papas burritos another. *Rae has entered the chat. And brought the spice with her! MADRE MIAAAA those things were good. Tucked away into my mental photo album. Oh, and she requested Matt’s spaghetti as her “last meal” (hopefully at least 50 years from now) so it’s ok that the sloppy joe flopped I guess. I’m not bitter. Really.
July also gave me something else: the hardest physical challenge I have had so far in my 50 ½ years (yes, even harder than the Murph, which might I add, I also did for the first time this year)- hiking over 12 miles in the Dolly Sods Wildnerness. So many lessons left the trail with me that day, the biggest one being: your partner matters. I was blessed to be able to do it with Matt- who at 52 is in the best shape of his life and pushes me (lovingly) to do the hard things, because he knows I’m stronger than I think. Doing the hard things, and overcoming obstacles together is a different kind of bonding experience. By mile 9, I was REALLY feeling it. My legs ached, my lower back and even my hips hurt, my feet had started to cramp- and Matt kept saying “Let me have your pack,” to which I would respond “No- I got this.” This exact conversation took place approximately 25 times. Same conclusion everytime. Every mile felt like 2 or 3. It was full on mental at this point. I was constantly talking to myself in my head, *you CAN do this, you ARE stronger than you think, KEEP GOING* It was literally a game of putting one foot in front of the other for the last 2 miles and I was not going to lose. Matt and I crossed “the end” together. With my backpack still on MY back!! We did it. I did it. I wanted to cry but didn’t have the energy. I was exhausted, but I was proud. I felt accomplished. If I could only pick a handful of pictures from my memory album, this would be one of them. To commemorate the bond that comes from doing hard things together. My favorite comrade. My partner in life. In ministry. In everything.
July brought time with God that revealed themes and plans and studies. Time spent in preparation for big things ahead that I believe hold the power to change lives, marriages, homes. It brought me clarity on things that held some confusion and it brought me peace where originally there was doubt and anxiety.
The separation and quiet that allowed me to focus on God without distraction doesn’t really come with a “photo” so to speak. But if I had to describe what it would look like in my mental photo album, it would be rocky trails with mountains in the distance and my strong husband leading the way. No smudges or blurs. Crystal clear.
I’m entering August with expectation and peace.I’m entering it feeling accomplished and ready for the next thing. Thanks, July. And again- my sincerest apologies to the great Sloppy Joe.