Not the Summer I Had Planned Part 1

 

“We actually don’t have a lot going on this summer. It should be pretty chill. There’s a few projects I’m working on with Women’s Ministry, a ladies Bible study with my church, summer camp at Shiloh, have some neighbors over, and enjoy having Zanna home for the summer. We have one trip planned at the end of July to see my parents in South Carolina. It should be pretty laid back.” - my response when asked in May what my summer plans were. 

This was not the summer I had planned. 

It started pretty normal. Over Memorial Day weekend, we attended our niece’s baby shower in Ft. Worth. From that we brought Fran back home with us to spend the rest of the week. Hosanna was home from college around that time and hit the ground running as a lifeguard at a local beach. 

I was thoroughly enjoying the carefree summer days where I didn’t have to rush out the door as the sun came up. I worked on writing an Advent devotion for Women’s Ministry and prepping for the June webinar “Sacred Rhythms: Building a Life of Daily Devotion”.  I was even playing around with the idea of refreshing my little office corner and was starting to collect some ideas and inspiration for a fun summer project. I tended my garden - the berries come in June! - along with tomatoes ripening, peppery delicious arugula ready for picking, zinnias blooming, and cucumbers shriveling up (they weren’t doing so well this time). Ahhh, a pretty chill summer! 

Until it wasn’t.

Until June 7th when Wayne received a divine call from a church in Colorado. I rolled my eyes and specifically recall saying something like Let’s get this over with so we can move on with our summer. Look. I’m not proud of that but it’s what it is and I’ve since repented of that attitude. Let me get back to my story. 

I was eager to get back to my pretty chill summer and maintain the vibe I was cultivating thus far. Hosanna had been lamenting never having been to Waco, specifically Magnolia, and I had promised her (and myself!) that we would do a day trip this summer. So that’s what we did on June 8th. This Colorado thing would be blowing over anyway and we needed to maintain our regularly scheduled programming. 

Over the last 8 years of living in Texas I had been to Magnolia quite a few times. This was the first time I went not as a stop along the way or as an overnight. We did it in a day. There and back. Very efficient. And we had a great time! I always enjoy the eye candy for every season. There’s always a theme reflecting the focus and mood but it’s the hand made displays that usually take the cake for me. They have one heck of a creative team that brings their art to life in such an inspiring way! We strolled the Silos, got a drink at Magnolia Press, ate lunch at Magnolia Table, took home some cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, and Magnoliad ourselves to death before driving home. A fun day with my girl! 

I continued in my happy bubble of summer for a few more days until Wayne took me aside and said something like I don’t know, Rach. This call to Colorado might be something. He had never said something like that before with all the other calls he’s received since being here. I knew this was different. Serious. And that was the official end of the summer I had planned. 

I love East Texas 😂

To be continued.