What a perfect 10 of a day! Took advantage of the warm Indian-summer day to ride the country roads and check out all the colors. This is my favorite time of year, not just for the colorful leaves, but also for pumpkins and corn husks, and the smell of baked apple goodies and cider. Bauman’s was busy. Their tee-pee was up and full of kids playing in it. My kids loved our trips to Bauman’s in the fall and would play in that tee-pee til they were silly. We’d get big pumpkins, sometimes bigger than they could carry, and make scary-funny jack-o-lanterns with them for Halloween. They always enjoyed the hayrides, donuts and cider at Schutts and Brown's Berry Patch with their cousins. The pictures of them making funny faces at each other and laughing while I pulled them on the wagons at the farm make me smile….so many good times. I hope they get a chance to take a hayride with friends or their cousins this year and carve some cool looking pumpkins. I'll bet my daughter's pumpkin will have the cleanest insides ;) I bought a few and will carve them when it gets closer to Halloween and put them on the porch.
Also this evening, my daughter’s church youth group watched a film called To Save a Life, which deals with fitting in, casting out, peer pressure and reaching out to others who are different from you. I rented it and watched it too. I have to wonder if she understood how many of those concepts are similar to our family situation. Did she notice how difficult it is to feel love for someone when everyone around you ridicules them or puts them down, and how much courage it takes to stand up for yourself and what you believe in your heart instead of just going along with the pack. You don’t have to choose sides, you can be friends with everyone. I wonder if she sees the similarity in her words and actions towards me, the only father who will always love her and her brother more than anything in the world, the kind of love that will never just go away. I wonder if she sees how much it hurts all of us to be like this, to not be ourselves. Oddly enough, my son’s school had a similar guest speaker visit last week to talk to the students. I wonder if he too feels like he has to hide his good feelings because no one would understand or support him. I wonder if he feels strong enough to stand up for himself and what he wants, even if it means others might disapprove or disagree with him. Maybe it’s just easier to follow along and be like everyone else around you. I keep hoping that they will understand that scars happen in life and they are supposed to heal, and that love and grace is something you give not just to strangers, but to the people who will love you, unconditionally, forever.
And speaking of loving forever….our Giants won big….again…yeah! Okay, so it wasn’t too tough, but we’ll take it! It was still a perfect 10 day.
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