My blogging friend, Lynette at Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground started a beautiful new blogging tradition. If you click on her name above, you can direct link to her site and join this blog roll. Basically, it is a record of memories...thoughts..events. Every Wednesday we log on and record a memory. Now, I know today is Thursday, but I really meant to get on here yesterday....so please forgive my tardiness.
You're probably wondering about memories as well. So often I write about remembering the past and not being bound by the past. The point of this blogging exercise is to remember...to record...to reflect. I love this. So often we look back at only the painful or hurtful memories, you know, the ones with potential to weigh on us down. But, this, this journal, this reflection causes us to pause and look back at other memories. Maybe they're hard, or sad, and yet we can remember. We can laugh, we can find joy.
So...here's my Thursday Wednesday Walk:
First, I had to find a picture. What's a memory without a picture? So I started to scroll through our photobucket account. And then I remembered that the pictures there don't go back far. I then I began to wonder how old of a memory should I do? Should I blog about something old, or recent, what do I want to record?
So then I walked in our kitchen and saw on our fridge a picture of my dear Chloe when she was three. We were on our way to San Diego, California, because Todd had accepted a new sales rep position there. (And no, we do not live there now!) On our way, which is a long drive from Minnesota, we decided to stop at several tourist spots. Now, growing up in my home meant going to any National Park within 50 miles of your route. Well, I'm sure my dad would tell you that distance does not matter, but for us, when we only had four days to make the drive from Minneapolis to San Diego, distance mattered. So when I saw that this National Park was only a two mile drive North of the interstate I knew we were stopping.
On the way is a National Park called "Petrified Forest"....it's in eastern Arizona. Well, we got off the interstate and made our short jaunt to the park entrance. http://www.nps.gov/pefo/
When you enter the park, you drive through an area called "The Painted Desert". It's a beautiful drive, with rolling hills and cliffs, literally painted in brilliant shades of reds and oranges. As we were driving along I decided to start videotaping the view. Along with the view, I was blessed with snippets of my girls conversations in the truck.
Here's an excerpt (as best as I remember) between my two daughters, Hannah (5) and Chloe (3) and myself:
Me: Isn't this place beautiful, I simply had no idea it would be this amazing!
Hannah: It's is pretty. Look at the colors.
Me: I'm so glad that we went. It's amazing.
Hannah: Me too. It's so beautiful.
Chloe: Yeah, and I thought it would be DUMB!
Chloe at the Painted Desert --November 2001
Ah, out of the mouths of little ones. No sugar-coating, no pretending, just real. My sweet Chloe (pictured above) walking in the parking lot of this park told me as it was. Sometimes the honesty of these sweet ones is refreshing. And worth a good laugh! Thank goodness I had that video camera running. If you watch the video you see me drop it and you can hear the whole truck laughing. Ah, Chloe, my sweet, sweet little girl. And you know what? She is just as honest today. She is real, and wears her feelings on her sleeve. Her honesty is a blessing to our family.
Chloe...Christmas 2008
Thanks, Lynette for letting me look back and remember. That move to California, while it had definite struggles, had some great memories woven in it's tapestry. Thanks for helping remember that thread.
If you'd like to join Lynette's walk, please click on the link. You'll find many other bloggers there also remembering. It was fun for me to do something a bit different on this blog today. Thanks for remembering with me.
Blessings,
Rachel
The Painted Desert
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Jan. 8, 2009 - Traveling with your children...
Your Chloe is cute. :) Not many people can just say it like it is! I'm kind of like that - but sometimes it gets me into trouble. ha! Kids can get away with it more than adults. We're supposed to be so refined (and I'm not!). ha!
Thanks for joining in. A day late is just fine. I'm just glad you did.
Lynnette