A Corner Table in My World

I’ve often talked about the turns that life takes – a misdirection, a surprise chance, a leap of faith, a crisis of the heart. Life is simply complicated and there really is no other true explanation for the chaos that life sometimes seems to be but that. Sometimes the twists are wonderful and sometimes they are heartbreaking. Either way they simply are and it is through them that we discover strengths within ourselves, and hidden depths within us that we never knew existed. My family has always been the type to pull together in times of trouble or need. I remember when I was sixteen, learning that one of my oldest and best friends had died, and thinking that all I really wanted was my mom and dad. And they were there for me. When I was seventeen and my dad knocked on my door before dawn to tell me that my maternal grandmother had just died, that he was going to meet my mom and her siblings at the hospital and that I needed to stay with my younger sister. I

While I do have some photos and stories to share from the holidays, something I'll do soon, I first have to talk about something else....  The break from school was something that my children obviously needed. Before the holiday break I had two little girls who were behaving like sullen teenagers (and okay, one of them is nearly there but God not YET) and a boy who was well behaved (because he had goals...) but was increasingly frustrated with his sisters, school and even some of his friends.  Getting the girls up and moving for school was a FIGHT every day. Getting any of them to do their chores was damn near impossible. There were a lot of threats and 'time-outs' spent alone in bedrooms - for all three of them.  But then we had a really good holiday break.  We spent almost all of the time together as a family. Chores were done together, games were played together, competitions were had (between the kids), and there were only a couple nights we weren't all