The other sunny afternoon out on our front porch, our son in law was telling me how Christopher Robin, one of our little grandsons, our first grandchild was sitting on the steps of their front porch with his little wooden box with special things in it...You know how it is...The things little boys are made of...Special little rocks and gems and things from outside and special trinkets that are very special, held by precious little hands. Christopher Robin was humming as he sat on their front porch on the steps there looking through his wooden box...My son in law who is the same personality type as I am said it was just like the opening to the theme of: To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my most favorite movies. He said he just stopped to listen and it was uncanny and beautiful, the kind of thing where you stop everything and listen...You had those sweet little hands holding the opened little wooden box, hauntingly but beautifully Christopher was also humming just like the opening of the old movie above. The scene could not have been more perfect my son in law shares...
When our firstborn was around 18 months old, she was walking down my mother in law's hallway wearing my high heels. It was so cute, she was wearing a pinafore dress and her sweet little chubby legs were barely walking in my white pumps. My mother in law and I were walking slowly behind her, smiling knowingly, and my mother in law tells me...Remember this, hold this picture in your mind and always remember this scene. ....And I did.
In life there are things like that, we must be still and take notice though. We have to be still and take notice. Notice things. There is a lack of deep thinking these days. People get in a hurry and don't notice things and jump in on things they should not many times and all the while they are missing beauty of the heart, not listening to hearts and possibly missing out on discernment on things, perhaps even missing out on mercy to others, appreciating friends and family members, reaching out maybe to someone we don't even know. ...Missing out on snapshots of the heart. Gifts.
Do we miss out on sharing a word, a Gift of comfort to people who are grieving the loss of a loved one, a friend, a pet, maybe they are feeling picked on as the under dog? It just takes a minute many times to be a huge blessing to others.
These snapshots are so precious that were caught...This is Christopher Robin and his little cousin, Little Rosebud, two of our precious grandchildren. Christopher Robin is our grandchild who was humming with his little wooden box and Little Rosebud is our oldest daughter's little girl, yes, her mommy was the little toddler walking down the hallway...
The theme to the song by Elmer Bernstein: To Kill a Mockingbird is below and it represents my heart as I saw these snapshots of the heart.
Christopher Robin takes very good care of his cousin, Little Rosebud, he is very protective over Little Rosebud. It's so sweet...You can see the love these two little cousins have for each other here. Snapshots of the heart.
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I hope you too will ponder beautiful things as you listen below:
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For me? When Jem and I go to the zoo...I so love it there. It brings back snapshots of me, my mom and my dad there at the zoo back in the 60s...Some things have not changed there, the reflection pond, the very large brick round snack building with windows all around that is now a modern restaurant, the sculptures of the monkeys at the entrance to that particular area with the monkeys, now a much more natural looking area, it's a beautiful zoo with many trees, near the medical center, Lifeflight can many times be heard above and seen too as the hellicopters land atop the many hospitals, this is one of the things I stop and ponder as well. Someone is in trouble, they need prayer and I stop and pray, I tell Jem...Let's pray.
Sometimes, when I hear an airplane above? I think of my daddy, he flew, he loved to fly. I think of him buzzing low over our house yelling below...Hellloooooo to me and my mommy when I was very little, she was pushing me in a toddler swing in our large yard by the front door of our little home built in the 30s. My mother was wearing a lovely white sundress, with a gathered skirt, cinched waist with the zipper in the back with green vines and red, yellow and different colored flowers on it...She was wearing white wedged heel, backless sandals then. She looked lovely, like a young woman from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine... She was taking care of herself and life was good. It was good.
Life is full of these moments. Stop and take it in...
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace. ~Frederick Buechner
Every day we live is a priceless gift of God, loaded with possibilities to learn something new, to gain fresh insights. ~Dale Evans Rogers
It is the simple things of life that make living worthwhile, the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty, work and rest, and living close to nature. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder
Don't ever let yourself get so busy that you miss those little but important extras in life---the beauty of a day...the smile of a friend...the serenity of a quiet moment alone. For it is often life's smallest pleasures and gentlest joys that make the biggest and most lasting difference. ~unknown
Tuck this thought into your heart today. treasure it. Your Father God cares about your daily everythings that concern you. ~Kay Arthur
I appreciate comments very much, they are a Gift to me. Please feel free to share some of your snapshots in life too.
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."
~To Kill a Mockingbird
God be with you, take care, until the next time...Amelia
13 comments:
What sweet photos, Amelia. These remind me of my great-nephew and his little sister, my great-niece. They are about the same age. He is so loving towards her.
This was a lovely post to read on a misty, rain-filled afternoon. God bless you.
A lovely post. Yes, those sweet moments bring joy and hugs to heart. I had some of those this past weekend with my little gr.gr. niece and nephew. They had no idea what it meant to me, but it brought joy.
Your writing is lovely. You should think of composing a book.
Good to see you post. Take care and be blessed.
Thank you so much, Sandi. I appreciate it so and you sharing about your great-nephew and great-niece. Isn't that the sweetest thing when they are like that?
Blessings to you.
Thank you so very much, Cheryl, I appreciate your comment and encouragement. Aw, what a blessing that you were able to be with your gg niece and nephew, those times are truly a precious, precious Gift. My step-daddy loved being with the children, and they loved him too, and that is a huge compliment to you, Cheryl. Children know. Isn't that wonderful that you were a sweet blessing to those little children and little did they know but they were a huge Gift to you, a colossal ball of love. God bless you and be with you.
How very beautiful, Amelia. Thank you so much. All you say and share today has been on my mind so much lately. This stage of life has me looking backwards or forwards much, much less and being fully in the moment, as your grandchildren are. Children really do live in the moment. They're so adorable and sweet! Love, love, LOVE. Thanks, too, for sharing the quotes, video and music. LOVE those quotes.
My older siblings kids were ages 10 and older when my oldest son was born. I'd had the chance to see how fast time flew by for them. I remember thinking the exact words your mil told you so often during the first few years of his life. I did the same when our youngest son was a baby and toddler. Trying to memorize the scent of them. The way their eyelids would flutter when they were falling asleep. The tender weight of them in my arms.
Nowadays it's sitting silently on the front steps watching the slow sunrise in front of me. The magical moments in ordinary days. Again, dear friend, thank you! Not everyone gets it and that's okay. How very precious, though, that you DO. (((Hug)))
--Elise
Well, thank you Elise. I appreciate that encouragement very much. Yes, Life is all around us if we will stop and take notice and thank God. I'm glad you like the quotes, Frederick Buechner has written some very good books and I think that quote by him is from a book I have, 'Listen to Your Life'. I have several of his books, oh the way he described his growing up, the suicide of his father, his clergy pants flowing in the wind at a funeral at the gravesite...He so understands real life and the Lord in such a personal way, just the way the Lord has spoken to Him and showed him things, signs etc.that he has written about. Just so interesting and he has a way of pulling you closer to the Lord in unspoken ways. You can see him on a few youtubes, he passed away in '22 at the age of 96. A very real person who loved the Lord.
Oh the way you describe your babies...Beautiful. And I understand totally, just the other evening I stood on the front porch listening to the cicadas in the trees and I could see it like it was yesterday, our girls were little playing outside under the trees with those same cicada sounds... It was bitter sweet, a beautiful few minutes but also sad somehow. How did it happen so fast? I even now try to remember daily things, even in this season.
Unfortunately many don't understand, they don't think through things well, they're too in a hurry etc. to hear with their heart. But as you write, that is okay. Thank you Elise. A hug to you. ~Amelia
Amelia,
This was a beautiful post. My daughter and my first grandchild (9 mos) are visiting us this month. I am amazed at how many memories of caring for her as her mommy come up. I am even more amazed at how many memories of my grandmothers and my mom as grandma have come up.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful exhortation with us.
God bless you!
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage
Also a retired homeschool mom
Hi Laura, What a treat to have your precious nine month old grandbaby come to see you! I bet she is a sweetie, a precious little baby. A Gift. Isn't it truly amazing how things come up on how our daughters are raised and how we were raised and perhaps what Grandma might have said or done...Our eldest daughter, Little Rosebud's mommy was telling me little things that I did to inspire her in her motherhood and it was so meaningful to me as I know it is to you too.
I so appreciate you coming by and your encouraging comment! I enjoy your blog too! : )
God bless you too! ~Amelia
The little moments like these are so touching. I hope I never forget to cherish them. The boys are getting big so fast and it’s so bitter sweet. Even now as trying to read this post I got interrupted a million and one times by both boys to look at this or that and this post was a reminder to not get frustrated, but to take in the moment and really listen to what they’re tying to show or tell me. ❤️ Great quotes you shared too and a beautiful post!
Anonymous, Yes. Just stop and see what is needed even if we need to say..."Can you hold that thought for a minute?" "I know it's important." Those little angels need to know how important they are and of course have manners too, but far too many mommies are just not present for their children. It's a tedious dance we do in Life. Living with no regrets. : )
Thank you so much! Blessings!
More soon but I just had a chance to sit down and catch up here! What a joy to see my little girl with her cousin's pics here... I absolutely loved that! and the memory of me as an 18 month old - that is SO special and definitely a tearjerker moment!!
I'll write more soon but wanted to drop in and say this for now! <3
I'm back to comment more in depth...!
It is so true that we need to take time for these mental snapshots in life. And stopping the hurry of life to glean from these precious moments brings such joy. You definitely taught us that growing up, Mom. And it's something I really try to do. As Nathan says to me, "you take 'stopping to smell the roses' to a whole new level". LOL!! Just this evening, I intentionally watched Little Rosebud play in her sandbox and slide down her little slide. I tried to observe every movement, knowing these are fleeting moments.
The image of you and Grandma watching me as an 18 month old walking down the hall in your shoes, has stuck in my mind so much. That is so special and it made an impact on me and the way that I pause to take note of my little one. These moments are tremendously priceless and I want to soak them all in.
Again, I so love the pics of little Christopher Robin and my Little Rosebud! I absolutely love the affection that they have for one another.... it is SOOO sweet!! And the expressions on their faces in those pics are just precious!!
And what a sweet and precious memory of you and your mom out in the yard swinging...!
I love that zoo too!
My apologies that it's taken me so long to get over here... I hadn't realized this was posted for quite a while!
Hi Little Mama Mia! That is wonderful that you are taking "Stopping to smell the roses" to an entirely new level! It's good to hear you are enjoying Little Rosebud like that, and just taking it in...drinking it in. If we purposely try to do that it really sticks there in the theatre of our minds and hearts. It really does. : )
In those shots you can see how Little Rosebud feels protected, it's so sweet and you can tell that Christopher Robin is proudly and lovingly protecting too. The body language and expressions are there. When they get older they will cherish these photos so much. Priceless.
Even now in the season of life that I am in, there are things that I stop and take a mental photo of. We must. So many things that I have tucked away in the theatre of my mind and heart, and I'm so glad because some are not with us on this green earth, although we will see them again, I have the photographs, just like the old blog I wrote..."Photograph.
I'm so thankful you stopped by, me writing is a bit like a crockpot, I have to be feeling it and know that it is ready in my heart although slow to get there many times. <3
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