Perhaps it is simply the way of the world that we find peace on Sundays. Though we put it at the beginning of the week on the calendar, it is truly a completion of the previous week. It prepares us for what is to come, after having completed for us what has already passed. Today was very much so that for me and my life. And I am grateful for it. I truly believe I have seen the path God is offering to me with love and intention. I have taken steps today toward fulfilling that path. Great steps. And it has left me feeling much improved and released from the torture of the past week and recent days. Also, my brother helped us move this dreadful pile of very heavy bricks – I think they are about 15 pounds a piece, possibly 17.2… but it was over a year ago that I weighed one, so I do not truly recall anymore how much each weighs – and put them and their broken parts into two very orderly and clean-lined stacks in a part of the yard that actually makes sense for them. My brain is much relieved just from that today, and I am excited st the progress it has offered both for the yard and for our fence’s being built. My husband said they’d need to be moved before he could start the fence, so I asked my brother if he could come help me move them all. My husband ended up helping us loads, too, and it was a team project this morning for a couple hours of real labor. I am, indeed, excited for this progress today.
Also(!!!), I randomly came across a baby cage fencing thing – that’s what I call them, anyway – on Facebook Marketplace this afternoon. It had just been posted and was one I had never considered. I had only seen one before and even recommended something similar to what I had seen. Both were white and plastic, but clearly very useful for some peace of mind for a solo parent in the room for a bit with a baby who moves around already. This was was wooden. It was also almost double the length of the recommended one. New, it was the same price. But this used, like new one was for less than 60% of the new price. So, I asked the lady about how she liked it and how the wood compared to the plastic ones. We had a great little exchange, and I went to check it out in person this evening, after they’d returned from Church.
It ended up being an awesome time with their little family, figuring out how long the thing actually was and making sure I understood how to set it up (which was rather easy, but was helpful to know for sure how it all worked and to know all parts were present). The mom is a former police officer. She commented positively on my carrying a knife and being aware of safety in life. Then, as she put the cage thing into the car, she asked me if my husband was a pilot. I’d thought she’d seen the license plate, but my husband’s pilot shirt was hanging in the backseat. Turns out that her husband is a pilot for United Airlines right now, and he apparently loves to talk about all of it, so would love to connect with my husband.
It got super adorable when the almost-three-year-old girl had come next to the car, seen inside as her mom finished putting in the caging – I know, it’s a terrible term, but it’s al that’s come to mind right now – and pointed and said, “Daddy’s shirt!” A-dor-a-ble! We both laughed in great humor, and then talked at least another ten minutes about that and other parts of pregnancy and trusting God and Church and probably something else, too. I asked if we could actually connect, and she agreed, saying she was about to ask the same thing and offer her number. We chatted a bit more, and then I cut us off and said I’d let her get back inside to her family, who were adorably playing – we could just see them through the glass of the front door – and just that I needed to pay her first. She genuinely and adamantly told me, “Just take it.” She wouldn’t take any money. I cried, of course, and thanked her. We hugged. It was awesome. I went home delighted.
We might actually have found some people who could become our friends. Good people. And people who have common ground and experience, while also having been on every different paths in life thus far. Some of the best relationships can be that way. I hope it is God’s will that we all connect and stay connected.
Thank you, God, for the support and guidance and grace today. Please, have my husband or hers reach out to one another and connect well. Help us to be the people you call us to be. Make clear your will for us at each step, and help us to step confidently and at ease forward into whatever each next step is for us. Make me and the baby well, please, and keep my husband safe. In your name, I pray. Amen.
Post-a-day 2024
hannah ananas 