Fall Field Trip...and Following Up

Our homeschool co-op had an optional field trip yesterday to a local corn maze, so I took Josiah and David while my mother stayed here with Tobin who was having a peaceful morning nap (and actually stayed in bed the whole time we were gone, making it an easy babysitting job for my mom...so instead of keeping herself busy with Tobin care, she used her time to do my laundry--lots of it...what a saint!).

I had never been to a corn maze so wasn't sure what to expect, but I was actually impressed by the variety of activities at the farm; it was definitely much more than a corn maze...which was good because the boys and I actually decided to not do the maze...or rather, to do it some time when Jeff is with us so that if we all get lost, he'll help us find our way out of there. :) In any case, we had tons of fun; and I'd be more than happy to make going there a new family fall tradition.

~ Josiah by an "outhouse"...it's hard to tell what he's doing, but he's actually playing mini golf on a course there, and the last hole just happens to be up that ramp and in the outhouse :)
~ one of the boys' favorite things was this slide that actually "goes under the ground," as David excitedly and repeatedly informed me
~ duck races with old-fashioned pumps--what a neat idea!

~ this corn tunnel was a little less intimidating to the boys than the huge corn maze!

~ making music, the country bumpkin way :)
~ the boys really enjoyed these swings, especially when they got to bump into each other :) ~ David liked being on this because it made him taller than me
~ time for a little bowling...

~...and a tractor race...
~...before climbing on a cornstalk horse...
~...and a tractor
A merry time was had by all!

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Now, the follow-up... I have been so appreciative of the responses--ALL of them--to my "Perfect" post. The thoughtfulness expressed by those who left comments really ministered to my soul and gave me excellent food for thought as I sought to change my perspective on the sad fact of truly being imperfect. :)

One of the reasons I decided to go ahead and write that post was because I would never want someone to look at my blog and feel discouraged because of how "put-together" I seem to be. I'm actually laughing as I write that because, really, how could they even think that? But I know how we are; and when we see a picture of brothers getting along well and we read a story about how tender they are, we think (often unconsciously), "It must be that way all the time in their household. What's wrong with me that my family can't be that way?" When I mentioned recently that I was starting to work on my Christmas letter project, I thought, "Oh dear, I hope no one assumes that I'm so organized that I'll surely have all my letters written, envelopes stuffed with correct addresses on them, stamped and ready to go by--oh, maybe the day after Thanksgiving, because that's just not how it is around here!" (In fact, every year I start valiantly in the "A" section of my address list, and then run out of steam somewhere around the "J" section." My friends with "W" last names are to be pitied because I never seem to get that far, and they probably think I've abandoned them.) But my point is that it's so incredibly easy to take a snippet of success off someone's blog and build it into a huge idea of how "perfect" they are, when really, that's so far from the truth. (That's why I have a "Keepin' It Real" category of posts; they're a good reality check as well as being a lesson in humility for me.)

In the last few days, several things have stood out to me about this topic. First, when I was talking about this with my parents, my dad teased me by saying, "And you know how perfect my office is: a perfect mess!" Of course, his office isn't really that messy, but he does have some piles of assorted papers/medical journals/who knows what else sitting around in a few corners. :) I was reminded, once again, that almost everyone has places like that; and you know, they don't bother me when it's true of someone else. I don't see someone's messy corner in a blog post--like #7 in this post :) --and think, "Oh my goodness, how could they leave it like that?" In fact, I usually do quite the opposite and think, "I'm so glad I'm not the only one!" :)

Second, Sally's comment about my perspective on my mother being shaped differently than hers because I'm the youngest in a "small" family (which is funny to me because I've never thought of our family of four children being small, but I guess to Sally who grew up in a family of 10 children, it is!)...anyway, what she wrote about that was literally a brand new thought to me. I can't count how many times my mother has told me that she wasn't a perfect mother and she wishes she could change some things and she never did figure how best to handle this or that aspect of parenting, etc. I guess I unconsciously tune all of that out, however, and still maintain this image of her having it all together...and me not coming close to that. But Sally's comment made a lot of sense, and I'll keep it in mind.

Third, this post from Julie was exactly what I needed to read to alter my outlook on my imperfections to a much healthier perspective.

And finally, a quote from Ravi Zacharias, that was left by Lea in a comment on Debbie's blog, Cheaper by the Baker's Dozen: The primary purpose of a home is to reflect and to distribute the love of Christ. Anything that usurps that is idolatrous. Wow. What more can I say? Only that I long to leave idolatry behind me--the idolatry of worshipping the unattainable vision of a perfect home and perfect self--and press on to reflect and distribute the love of Christ...first, to the precious ones that, like me, call this space home, and then to all who enter or are reached from this place.