Sunday, September 27, 2009

Football, Hummingbirds & Jeep

This postcard is a design I call "Football Mom". It is one of many items I will be selling at my upcoming Hillcrest Cottage Open House Art & Gift Show. Sadly, all three of my teams (Davis' LRCA Warriors, Arkansas Razorbacks, And Army) lost this weekend. It wasn't a happy football weekend.
This past week the hummingbirds packed their bags for Mexico and left my feeder half-full. Hummingbirds are like that...they just leave one day with no fair warning or good-byes. I will miss them greatly. Maybe that's what my hummingbird was trying to tell me recently when I found him buzzing around Jeff's study...inside my house.
And, finally, Thursday, the new Jeep top arrived. Been praying for this top for 3 years . No more having to wear a raincoat while driving in the rain! No more towels stuffed in the corners! No more wet seats! It was an exercise in perseverance waiting for this top...but it's here at last!

So... my week in three words: Football, Hummingbirds, and Jeep.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Football Football Football

Little Rock Christian Warrior #9 Prepared for Battle

Pre-Game Warm-Ups and #9 is Ready for Action...Awesome Calf Muscle!
More Pre-Game Warm-Ups...ESPN Voted Our #5 the Top Running Back Recruit!

The football stadium is where you'll find us on Friday nights. I love high school football. Some of my fondest high school memories include football and all the action surrounding the game. It's just soooo American. It's so the heart of who we are as a people.

I love it!

It is especially exciting when I get to see my son suit up. Even if he doesn't get playing time, it's still fun to watch him be a part of the action.

So, here's for the Warriors and high hopes for the game tonight. So far we are 2-0. And, if the rain holds off tonight and we are winning by a couple of touchdowns and the coach is in a good mood and the stars all align properly and God hears the prayers of a mom wanting her son to experience some success... maybe #9 will get in the game and catch a pass and score a touchdown and be proclaimed a hometown hero in a parade just for his honor and all the colleges will begin calling us for that full-football scholarship all parents hope for, etc, etc, etc.

Or...

maybe we'll just have a fun night enjoying the moments of having an awesome high school son still at home!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Other Things I Do

Just for the record... I have been AWOL from Hillcrest Cottage Life here on my blog, but present with my Hillcrest Cottage Art. I am putting together a gift sale at my house. Hopefully, I will have a house full of artists, fashion designers, photographers, and other craftspeople displaying their creations...and, hopefully, we will all come away with some cash for our efforts!

Also...in the works...my book that I have been working on for several years. It takes a long time to put together a proper book proposal, but, finally, I have accomplished this...even though it took me practically all summer to do so. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers for that project.

Let's see...the student ministry that we have every Wednesday night here at Hillcrest Cottage begins again tonight, and having my house 'invaded' by high school students always brings life to Hillcrest Cottage's brick and mortar! So...I should be vacuuming, cleaning, and baking chocolate chip cookies very soon.

Just wanted folks to know that I haven't been sitting down with my feet propped up eating bon bons and watching CSI reruns...being absent means working hard at the other 'parts' of me.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Time

The Little Black Volvo Returns to the University


Davis Celebrates His First Solo Drive to School


Before cell phones, (There was life before cell phones???) when I wore a watch, I always had the watch set for 5 minutes faster than the actual time. I suppose it was my vain attempt to not measure time, but control it. I could always be 5 minutes late...yet still on time.

All of creation is set up to measure time - the sun and moon, the tides, women's bodies, seasons. All of creation responds to the prompts. Birds fly north and south. Animals give birth in season. Very soon my jousting hummingbirds will no longer squeak at my veranda's end.

All measures of time.

This morning my newly crowned 16 year old backed out of Hillcrest Cottage's driveway in the manual transmission Jeep he 'stole' from Dad. He was so proud to be finally emancipated...cleared to drive solo. He had done what no other Kinley brother had been willing to do - learn how to manage a manual transmission in our very hilly town.

Yesterday, on his Labor day 'holiday', Davis had spent 3 hours at football practice, mowed and weed-eated our entire property, then, had meticulously washed the Jeep. All this work doesn't even include the half day he had earlier spent vacuuming, spot cleaning the carpet, and discovering at least 4 ant colonies thriving beneath the Jeep's carpet.

Let's just say Dad hadn't paid much attention to the asthetics of his Jeep. "It's a Jeep" had been his standard mantra for 10 years.

Soon a new top will be arriving. Davis has 'plans' to lift the Jeep, put on huge wheels, a light kit, new speakers, and the list goes on. (No...to most of that...btw, but don't tell him I said that.). He has even more plans to take the car mudding and has already permanently moved the radio station from NPR to the local country station.

"Mom, we live in Arkansas. We have to be rednecks," he now informs me with a wide grin on his face.

This morning I listened to the Jeep's familiar rattle as it drove down Lee Avenue away from Hillcrest Cottage and...

I cried.

It was only yesterday when the little black Volvo had returned to the University. All this change is overwhelming. Suddenly, I find myself looking in the mirror.

Hmmmmm. It's you...again. It's been about 20 years since I have paid you any attention.

All the whirlwind of activity is winding down like my great grandmother's mantle clock...which could never keep proper time but kept on being passed down to someone anyway.

I'm left looking at myself...me...the soon to not be 'the mom' me. These boys of mine are phasing me out. I'm an intuitive 'bird', and I'm reading the seasons. The time has come for me to ask and to answer...
who am I?


Do you ever wonder who you are ...beyond all the labels that life gives you?