Terah took his son Abram, ...and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, But when they came to Haran, they settled there. --Genesis 11:31
The author challenges the reader to 'pull up your stakes, pack your tents, get your belongings, and start moving forward.' I suppose it would be easy to interpret this as, "Get your stuff! We're going to Africa!" as you may have read about so many others doing. Fortunately, the author then goes on to say that this is just a metaphor and we're not leaving on a jet plane in the morning. Moving forward, I suppose, doesn't have to mean moving out. Does it?
Today, my daughter asked me to take her to the mall. Not exactly an average request from a fourteen year old girl but on a Saturday where she might be seen by friends in a mall that doesn't allow parents to abandon their kids on Fridays or Saturdays, it was a surprising one because it meant she was stuck with me for the duration of the shopping trip. Oddly enough, she didn't seem to mind.
Even more surprising was the fact that on the walk from the car to the mall, she held my hand and chatted all about....well, something. I couldn't get over the fact that she was holding my hand and not looking over her shoulder to make sure that no one was looking. We walked into FYE and she showed me what had prompted the request. A set of DVDs for an anime show that she likes. She went through all of the racks and talked on and on about this show and that show. Once she had made her decision, we continued to talk as we walked to the front and she actually asked if I wanted to go to another store with her. What? Spend more time with you and not argue? I was thrilled. She mentioned some store named Hot Topics but was sure I would want to walk right out which sounded to me like, "I dare you to like something that teenagers like" but was surprised when I started noticing all of the cute and funny tshirts they had there. This brought on more chatter and a few smiles!
A soft pretzel and a lemonade completed the trip and we were on our way home. I think I saw a small glimmer of a best life in that shopping trip today.
Very nice story! Even Kai still likes to have mommy/son shopping excursion, despite the fact that we might run into some of his friends at the mall too. He likes Hot Topic, but is a bit embarassed when I point out stuff from my punk rock days....;).
ReplyDeleteIngrid
OK, despite the fact that I think you are "fused with your daughters"...I like the fact that she held your hand, i.e. you are "close" during the age when most kids would die-a-thousand-deaths rather than be seen with their parents.
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed and should appreciate that. (i.e. get past the depressive stuff as if you have fallen short/failed to "deliver") There are many children in this world who would give their eye teeth to be parented as well as you and John have parented your two daughters. And if you don't believe me, sign up for the foster care parenting program.