Part of my personal mission statement is to “create a joy filled life with my family.” Sometimes it can be heard to see the joy filled events in the moment of everyday living or to know how others are seeing the events of our lives. But, over the years, we have tried to create experiences that would provide great memories for our family.
Recently, as I was cleaning up what has now become our empty nest, I found a couple of writing samples from our two older children during their early school years. It was fun to see those events through their eyes and words.
Blueberries
Claire wrote this probably over 10 years ago:
“The Blueberry Adventure:
One cool sunny morning we went to Bayfield, Wisconsin. We were going to pick blueberries. When we got there the blueberry bushes were blue, because there was so many blueberries! I ate a lot of blueberries. We picked 12 pounds of them, not even counting the ones we ate. We joked how much blueberry stuff we could make: blueberry pie, blueberry cake, blueberry jam, blueberry juice, blueberry ice-cream, and so much more. The next week we picked 24 pounds of blueberries! My mom did make a pie and jam and frozen blueberry jam. It was so good – the pie and the jam- but we didn’t make anything else. Also on that day, we went to Lake Superior. There were big waves on the lake. The water was warm enough to swim in. Blueberry picking is very fun. I hope we can do it again and make more blueberry food and eat a whole lot more of blueberries and make all these things, and swim in Lake Superior. Also see all the different types of berries, also the blue bushes because seeing all the blueberries was so fun.”
I remember that day. It was a beautiful day on the south shore of Lake Superior, we enjoyed picking blueberries, eating our picnic lunch, and then swimming in Lake Superior in Port Wing.
We went and picked blueberries several summers and always made a day of it. We often stopped in Bayfield for smoked salmon and/or one of the orchards for a baked treat. One of our favorites was Erickson’s Orchid and their apple pie sticks. Each year, we always had lots of blueberries to freeze and enjoy throughout the year.
Bicycles:
Cai wrote this several years ago for a school project:
“A while ago, I taught my sister to rid a bike training wheel free. The reason why I did it is she didn’t want to ride her bike. The bike’s training wheels were bent.
First, I taught her how to get on and to stay balanced by letting her sit idle on the bike. Then when she seemed ready, I bent her training wheels more. She got on her bike and I gave her a push and she went, then she fell. But, she got up and tried again. She got better each time and it was getting dark. The next day we worked on the same things and took off on training wheel and straightened the other out. With the same process I gave her a push and then she went. Last, I took the last training wheel off, I gave her a push and to my surprise she stayed up. After that we worked on turning and starting. It took a long time, but it was worth it. Now we bike almost everyday and with a little patience it worked out”
I remember that well. That spring, I was getting to the point of saying that she might not be able to ride a two wheel bike and and was considering buying an adult tricycle. But, Cai came through and taught her how.
Rebecca was able to get a video of that and shared it to Facebook. Rebecca and I both commented that it brought tears to our eyes to see Leah make that kind of progress. I was also very proud of Cai to take the time and teach Leah.
One year later, I had this video of her riding on the road – going as fast as she could and then stopping with a skid. (You may have to click on the picture for the video to play — make sure you have the sound on)
Here is another video from June 2022. You may have to click on the picture for the video to play.
As I clean the house, I am throwing away a lot of stuff that has accumulated over the years, but I am going to keep those two writing samples. They have no value to anyone else, but I treasure them. I guess as I reflect on the past, now that the nest is empty, I can enjoy these joy filled moments (and so many more).
A Long Intentional Walk 