memories.

sometimes something triggers in your mind and a beautiful memory is brought to mind (at least that happens with me at times!).  i can't really even say what brought this to mind, but today i was just thinking about my mom & dad...mainly, about what i learned from their relationship growing up.  it brought to mind one thing that has always been a sweet memory for me...

when we were little girls, dad worked the night shift...i'm guessing it must have been an evening/night shift, because he was always there around dinnertime and he was always home when we woke up in the morning (he was in bed sleeping!).  i know it had to have been hard for mom to handle all four of us (alone) during the day while dad slept, trying to catch up from working his nights, then to only turn around and have us alone for the whole evening.  however, one thing about dad working nights stands out in my mind.  i remember mom cooking home-cooked meals and packing all four of us in the car and driving us up to dad's work to take him dinner.  i know that was difficult.  it ain't easy getting four kids in the car for anything.  but mom was looking out for dad.  isn't that what love is all about?  you don't worry about what it will cost you, what will be the difficulty level for you; you just want to help that other person, be there for that other person.  i learned so much from just that simple gesture of taking dad food...it was a great memory...we got to see dad at work, so it broke up the long stretch of time that we didn't get to see him - and i can still see him in my mind in his work glasses on his work bicycle riding up to the gate to meet us - but through that we also got to see mom living out what love really is. 

i love that.  i hope i'm like my mom.  i hope that i'm showing my girls daily how much i love drew by the small things...which really turn out to be the big things.  those are the most special memories of all.