When Stumps Become Stages

"Look, Mom! An old tree!"

"Oh I see! What's that called, big girl?"

"A stage!"

Looking with eyes that can turn stumps into stages, I continue to count:

#171 A tiny old stump turned stage

#172 New white sneakers, "with 'parkles!", on sale, now already muddy

#173 Dad's post-shift gift of Boston cremes

#174 Warm breeze through open windows

#175 Burgers sizzling on the grill

#176 Squeals from my two bug hunters

#177 Cousins visit!

#178 Underdogs

#179 How Dani still inadvertently calls underdogs "Sea Dogs", revealing her Portland roots

#180 Dance parties, my darling niece--baby Olivia--raising the roof

#181 Imaginative play in a lego-built parking garage, how she sets up one car to say to the other, "Oh man, you gotta be kiddin' me! Dis traffic is Crazytown!" (And yes, we were just in DC for a week.)



When stumps become stages, when obstacles become opportunities to try a new trail, when traffic delays turn into rest stops, when the broken down ugly becomes a way back to the beautiful grace, what other response do we have than to pray thanks?