This weekend was so full that I found myself coming and going. My heart is full and my eyes with tears as I watched so many special young people graduate from Wylie Prep. This event was followed by celebrating my sweet grandsons 5th birthday. What a blessing to get to watch all of these events. My daughter did a great job with his birthday. It was so much fun and the paint party with 13 kids in my studio went well, a bit crowded but we had fun. I loved watching Ethan with all his friends. He is a different child when he is with them he gets so excited to play!
At Wylie Prep we have a tradition called Sr. tables. Each family is given a table to fill with memories of their Sr. When my son graduated there was no pinterest and if there was I didn’t know about it. It was clear that these moms were serious this year about their Sr. tables. A dear friend of mine who is also our admin support had a full week with working, taking care of a sick family member and being a Sr. mom needed help. So my stash of things came to her rescue. All I did was help with the basics and she took over with the pictures. Remember the picture in Fridays blog with the old fence and the old wood step stool? Well I said it would tell a story and a story it did tell.
Haylee is a bubbly young women with a loving spirit that is clear when you meet her. I knew that her table needed to tell a story of the path she had walked at Wylie Prep. The best way to tell that story was to use the very shoes that she had walked in. On the table we placed her cheer shoes, softball shoes and prom shoes. To anchor the table we put the old fence in the back with rope for pictures to hang from with wood clothing pins. Next to the fence we placed the old wood step stool and on that we placed a few select pictures that showed her growth up the ladder. At the top of the ladder sat her Sr picture with that great smile of hers, Her mom added tons of photos that made the table come to life. The plant was added on the right side of the table to make the point that Haylee is still growing into a faith loving strong women. The Sr’s are not allowed to see their tables until the day of graduation but Haylee told her mom that she wanted one thing added to the table. I was brought to tears when they told me. She wanted her bible added to the table with a note that read “Please place your name next to your favorite verse in my bible. When I’m at college and I read the verse it will be a shared moment with you”. We placed pens next to the bible. I saw many people writing their names in her bible. What a great idea Haylee!
The table idea could be used for many occasions like a birthday, anniversary or retirement parties. What a great way to celebrate a person and their life. You could even use this for a family reunion so each family could share what has been going on during their time apart. I love the idea of celebrating a person’s life. Sometimes we don’t celebrate each other until we are remembering that person when they pass. I think that maybe this Christmas I’m gonna do a family table to tell the story of our lives during that year. I know that my kids would get a kick out of that.
This past few weeks I have rushed from one event to another not stopping much at all to enjoy things. I just keep telling myself I’ll rest in June when things settle down. Who am I kidding June will come in like a lion just like every other month. I need to focus on the moment and enjoy what is going on around me. That is hard to do when you have such a full plate. I’m gonna try to be present for everything. I love art camp and it starts on Tuesday. I need to slow it down and enjoy these kids I’m blessed to teach. How lucky am I to get to do art with kids for 4 days straight and get as messy as we want to. My friend Karen gave me a heart to heart Sunday evening. It’s always good to talk to my Ethel (Karen) she always knows how to bring be back down from whatever tree I have climbed. She reminded me that I need to slow it down, stop rushing and know that not everyone is on the same page. When that happens you have to work with what you got even if it’s not fair. I love her, she is so wise and beautiful. I’m a person that feels deep and I’m very passionate about what I do so if things don’t roll right I get out of sorts and have a bit of a fall apart. Someday I’ll work on that or maybe not cause it’s who I am and what I do.
I hope last week was all you wanted it to be but if not you’re in luck. Monday is the best day of the week because you get a new start. Have a Blue Happy Monday and may you be blessed.
