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Tea Time Tuesday
“It is a happy talent to know how to play.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
This week, I have had the privilege of hosting the most important people in the world. Dancing, feasting, making memories are more important than any other task.
I remembered another time:
The memory of camping on our deck under an endless expanse of twinkling stars, aspen leaves shivering and whispering in the mountain breeze, staring into the vast canopy of space, squinting to see a fleeting shooting star, is still as vivid to me now as it was when our family experienced it so many years ago. In the midst of overwhelming, nonstop craziness of our family life, those nights of sleeping out under the stars were transformative. The simple act of going outside, enjoying nature, changed the entire tone of our life together.
In the bustle of a busy household, especially when people are overworked and tired, tempers tend to flare, unkind words are spoken. It happens to everyone, and it certainly happened to us — often.
In my urge to get things done, I would turn into a drill sergeant. The rest of the family, depending on their personalities, would rebel or turn sullen, or simply disappear.
At such times, what we all needed was a vacation — time to rest, play, and escape the machine of busyness for a time. A vacation wasn’t always feasible, but we found that camping at home could be just the ticket to ease our stress, cool our irritations.
The night would invariably begin with pizza and root beer floats for the kids. We would take our meal outside, enjoy it in the cool, refreshing mountain air. Once done with dinner, the kids would take to our expansive yard, running wildly around playing flashlight tag as dusk descended. I would watch from the second-story deck with Clay, gazing out toward Colorado Springs. Our house at the time sat on a long ridge nestled up against the foothills of the Rockies, more than a thousand feet higher than most of the population in the city.
I looked out and could see the whole metropolis spanning before me, infinite lights sparkling below. After a few minutes, I could feel myself relaxing, my spirit growing quieter.
More on today’s new podcast episode.