Archive for the 'Pure Sunshine' Category
June 23, 2010 @ 6:04 am | Filed under: Family,Pure Sunshine
Our nieces and nephew...PRECIOUS!
Uncle Mike & I bought these shirts for the nieces and nephew from Zoey’s Attic…the coolest site! Check it out, y’all!
June 21, 2010 @ 7:18 am | Filed under: Family,Pure Sunshine
“You can’t teach genetics. But you can overcome genetics. I know, because that’s what I did.” ~ Kevin Rogers, 2010
Whoever first coined the old adage: “Family. You can’t live with them, you can’t live without them” must surely have known what it means to be smack-dab in the middle of a group of folks that are capable of making you feel virtually every emotion known to man, times 10.
It means that maybe while we shouldn’t live always within the exact same four walls as them, we should most definitely surround ourselves as often as possible with these people who have our back through thick and thin. We laugh, cry, remember, laugh some more, accuse, apologize, laugh even more, tease, tease, tease, and – LAUGH.
My brother is full of dead-panned one-liners that make me laugh out loud. His sentences are almost always deeply philosophical. So much so that if you didn’t know him you’d be leaning back in your chair trying desperately to make sense of this long string of words that just slipped from his lips.
And Jordan wonders why I so often slip and call him “Kevin…” It’s because his words, his antics, his mannerisms transport me back a few years and it’s conversation and time around my brother all over again. I see glimpses of my childhood in my son and it fills me with wonder at this miracle of family.
It is the sporadic and unexpected spurts of laughter when the conversation turns to Johnny James. We share the awe we feel in the presence of a man so brilliant that he can walk to the podium, speak for 45 minutes on the dot without the use of a watch, can quote the entire Bible, and – in the midst of it all – leave us with an impromptu English lesson as only a truly great grammarian can.
“Grammaria?” My brother pipes up in the middle of my dad’s JJ description. “Is that near Ethiopia? Do you need your passport to go there?”
Laughter.
It’s that deep, gut-wrenching hiccup that grabs you around your middle and makes the faces around you light up, tears to puddle in your own eyes, and holds your heart in its tight, joyous, amazing grasp while you savor it all, drinking it in with a great. big. sense of wonder.
It’s the bubble of uncontrolled mirth that grabs you again after you’re in bed at night. It’s the glee your heart feels as your mind replays the day and the words of your two-year-old niece – like her daddy in so many, many ways – that have you and your husband wiping your eyes in the dark from the sheer deliciousness of shared laughter.
My mom gifted each of the men with Polo Black for Father’s Day. Now – in moderate applications – I’m a fan of Polo Black. But when all three of men open their brand new bottles and apply a squirt or two, joking all the while that we now have a “family fragrance,” it can become a bit, well…fragrant.
So when two-year-old Andi walks into the room, sidles up to her grandfather, and honestly declares, “You stink!” it’s a moment that sticks with you. It’s one of those delightful little pockets of time that we tuck away for days when we’ll all need a moment of levity. A moment to pause, remember, and know.
Know that through it all we are family.
Family.
They are the ones who share our past, our middle, and – if we’re very fortunate – our futures. They’re in it for the long haul – no questions asked. There is no other place on the planet that offers that kind of security. No wonder family is God’s great gift to His children. It is a wonderful thing.
It is, after all, where you learn about gentetics, grammarians, and other stinky stuff!
Family, Father's Day, laughter
June 12, 2010 @ 9:40 pm | Filed under: Pure Sunshine,Soul Food,The Solid Rock,Uniquely Me
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~Dr. Seuss
It was Tuesday night and my deadline was today at noon.
I’d already typed in a zillion-and-one different thoughts over the course of the day, only to go back later and delete them all. I stared a blank computer screen and tried to focus.
No, this wasn’t for a story idea. Or an article for a magazine. Or even a blog post for Faith Lifts.
What held me in the throes of agony was a speech.
In just four short days I would stand before the 2010 graduating class of NCCA and tell them -
Tell them what?
It wasn’t that I didn’t have ideas. Oh no! It was more like I had too many.
How do you stand before a group of excited kids and try to impart a bit of the knowledge and wisdom you’ve gleaned along the way? Can that kind of advice/revelation/sharing really be done in a fifteen minute speech?
I finally decided that I wasn’t going to find the answer that day. So I went to bed.
And, as I do every night before I drift off, I deliberately shut out all the other things in my head and on my heart. I turned them all over to Him and began to relax as the stresses of the day slipped off my shoulders.
My last thought as I went to sleep was that I wished I could share this with the graduates.
The next day I knew what to say.
Life is either simply complex or complexly simple. I like to think it’s the latter.
And so this afternoon I stood behind the podium, looked into the eyes of the graduates, and said this:
“ I would ask of you today that you always listen for One certain voice. As you move forward into your college years, your careers, or your ministries, you’ll hear a lot of different voices.
Voices that will vie for your time, your energy, and your loyalty. At the end of the day – as your head touches your pillow and your eyes close in exhaustion – there is only ONE voice that truly matters.
If you can keep the voice of God as your focus in the big middle of everything else you have going on, your life will be a very simple, very happy, very productive one.”
It’s a lesson well learned.
It really is that simple.
commencement speech, graduation, life lessons
May 29, 2010 @ 8:26 am | Filed under: Family,Pure Sunshine,Soul Food
Sometimes the things that are left unsaid are every bit as poignant as the things we voice.
It seems as though each time we gather together these days there are silent reminders that we are all participating in something larger, grander, and more heroic than mere words can capture.
Summer is beginning to unravel with all its color and splendor.
We’re making memories – my family and I – breathing in each and every golden moment as it filters through the air around us, and then cradling it close in our hearts. I love these people.
We’ll have these slivers of moments in the difficult months that are sure to come.
Moments when the pain of loss robs us of a good night’s sleep. Moments when there is one less place set at the family dinners. Moments when the landscape of our family is physically altered.
Because in our hearts we’ll always have today.
And today was good.
It was really, really good.
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| This photo album generated with Smilebox |
May 28, 2010 @ 7:30 am | Filed under: Family,Pure Sunshine
Today is my mom’s birthday.
For the first time in 66 years, it was my grandfather who planned her special day.
I get choked up every time I think about it. I have a very distinct feeling it’s going to be one of those memories that will always cause my chest to tighten and the backs of my eyelids to sting.
“I’m going to take you out to lunch,” he called her up the day before to announce. “We’re going to Furr’s. And I’m inviting Faye Nell and Sue to go with us.”
He’s been under hospice care for over a month now and it’s been a time of adjustment for all of us as we’ve all faced in our own way and in our own time that COPD would soon rob us of all the many, many moments we’d come to take for granted over the years.
Ever the strong, capable, unflappable type, the loss of Mama perhaps dealt the cruelest blow to Dad. We’ve seen the love he shared with her evidenced in such unexpected ways since her death. It’s hard to believe it’s been just over six months now; the fact that Dad’s own health has deteriorated so vastly and so quickly is just as shocking.
And yet there are these moments lately when he says or does or acts in such a way that makes that sliver of time almost stand still. It’s as though there is a poignancy in the air and it is so delicate – so precious – that to breathe too hard or even blink would be to miss it.
And oh, we don’t want to miss a moment right now.
The party of four – the birthday girl, her dad, and their two guests – kept the lunch date. Despite the oxygen that is continuously strapped to him, his lack of energy, and an ever-increasing tiredness that is taking over his body, he went the extra mile on this birthday.
He thought he was being quite the sneak, even though Mom knew what he was up to all along. So when the employees of Furr’s arrived at their table and began to sing “Happy Birthday” she acted surprised. I feel quite certain that singing birthday songs tableside is not standard operating procedure for the folks at Furr’s…but again – it’s almost like there is something irresistible about these moments surrounding Dad right now.
They all mean something.
They mean everything.
My mom has had some great birthdays in the past and I’m sure there are some amazing ones in her future.
But there is no doubt in my mind that it is this year’s birthday she’ll remember the most.
birthday, dads and daughters, elder care
May 23, 2010 @ 8:31 am | Filed under: Family,Jorge,Motherhood,Pure Sunshine
Where in the world did the time go?
It seems mere moments ago that he was placed in my arms for the very first time, all swaddled, a deeply placid expression etched on his tiny baby face.
And then I made a mistake and blinked…
Was it not just a few days ago that I held this kid’s hand and walked him into his first day of Kindergarten?
Trying to maintain your hold on your child’s every move and moment is like trying to hold water in your hands…it just trickles through your fingers no matter how hard you try to keep it contained.
Now he’s finishing his junior year of college, working a full-time job, and planning a career.
I look at him these days and I see a man that I love to pieces. He is strong, smart, and deeply compassionate.
He calls or texts virtually every day, always just to ask how I am doing. He is confidante to, and protector of, his big brother Nate. He is a planner like his Uncle Kevin. He is a playful cousin and an interested uncle.
He enjoys coffee and computers, tubing the river with Elizabeth, long talks with Pops, movies with Nate, fun with friends, doing well in school, and knowing he has a solid future in front of him.
He’s my baby boy. All grown up.
May 10, 2010 @ 6:34 am | Filed under: Family,Motherhood,Pure Sunshine
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| This free digital collage created with Smilebox |
I realized something last night as I crawled between the sheets and settled down for the night.
I had spent the last couple of hours in the kitchen, planning, cooking, anticipating our Mother’s Day lunch as a family. Robyn’s dad and sister are in town, my mother-in-law is with us, and the day ahead promises to be one full of laughter and great family moments.
It’s been on my mind for the last few weeks that this would be the first Mother’s Day for my mom to ever spend without her mother. I know there is absolutely nothing and no one that can replace Mama; nor would we dare to try. Mama had a personality that was larger than life and this was one day where we would especially miss her presence.
But as I worked in the kitchen last night I was running a mental list of every one that would be at my parents’ the next day for lunch. It wasn’t until later, when I was in bed, that it hit me.
Out of the twelve people who would gather around the table, the only ones still blessed to have their mom are me, Mike, our boys, and my brother. My heart ached for everyone else…for my sister-in-law and her sister, who lost their mom way too young. For my mom, facing the first Mother’s Day as the true matriarch of our family.
The day was a blessed one, full and loud and happy. Little girl giggles, warm hugs, new baby cuddles, animated conversation, and late afternoon mugs of coffee…
And even though we were missing the heartbeats of some very loved mothers, one thing was was felt by all.
The mothering heart.
It is the heart that we share as a family.
And it will always go on.
three generations
May 4, 2010 @ 8:27 am | Filed under: Family,Pure Sunshine
James Kael Rogers (and his PROUD aunt)
The drive from Commerce to Richardson seemed to take forever yesterday.
Maybe part of that was due to the fact that I knew all my family was already there, and my intense desire to be there too made each mile feel more like ten.
We’d been waiting a long time for this day. Nine months, to be exact, and finally the day had arrived. I drove up to the hospital with just twenty minutes to spare before the scheduled birth. For once, I breathed a silent thank you for the delay in the hospital schedule.
Because, as much as I was ready to meet our new little guy, at that moment all I really wanted to do was see his momma first. I think once you become somebody’s parent you are ushered into a realm of understanding that just didn’t really exist for you beforehand. Although two decades have passed since my own kids’ births, the memory of each and every precious moment of both of those days is forever etched into my heart and mind. I remember the faces of the ones who stood over me, the tenderness in their smiles, and the sparkle of anticipation in their eyes.
It was important that I be that to Robyn yesterday.
We clustered in her hospital room – talking, joking, planning…basically doing what families do to pass the time until it’s time. And then it really was time, and she and my brother received our last minute hugs and well wishes and we left them to go out to the waiting room and do just that…wait.
And then we all received a text from Kevin. James Kael Rogers had arrived safe and sound – Mom and son were doing well. And then there was a little more waiting…until…
April 15, 2009 @ 1:22 pm | Filed under: Motherhood,Pure Sunshine
Have you ever felt alone as a mom? Lost in your chosen field of mothering?
There is an organization that was created to encourage, educate and equip women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home helps thousands of moms love their lives through their many resources including conferences, website, and books.
Recently I partnered up with this organization as a blogger. Over time I hope to share with you the many resources this ministry has to offer (old ones and new). To learn more about the Hearts at Home Blogging team go here.
In the meantime I would like to encourage you to explore their website and blog for an immediate dose of mothering encouragement.
April 1, 2009 @ 11:07 am | Filed under: Family,Pure Sunshine,Wordless Wednesday
Andi and her buddy, Austin
