It's just a shoulder

      When I was about fifteen I was at church and my Uncle Larry was filing in as our Sunday school teacher.  I was there with my high school sweetheart and there were several other sets of boy friend and girl friends.  So my uncle decided to dive into the creation story.  He started asking us all kinds of questions about why God used a rib bone to make Eve instead of dust or another bone.  We all tried to answer but when he explained his  view it really stuck with me.  God did not create Eve, mans life partner, out of dirt because she wasn't to come from under his feet.  He didn't use a back bone because she isn't supposed to spend her life behind him.  He didn't take a part of bone from the top of Adam's head because she isn't of higher importance than him.  God chose the rib to remind Adam that his wife is to be by his side, an equal.  So my Uncle Larry has me and beau stand up side by side to illustrate.  This made a big impression on me, obviously if I'm still thinking about the lesson almost twenty years later.
    I  have had shoulders on my mind a lot lately.  Another benign body part you never think of til you are missing one to stand by.   I think the shoulder is highly under rated.  It's my favorite place to curl up and sleep with my Sweetness.  But yesterday I really missed some one else's shoulder.  This moving and being new has many advantages.  We get to have a new house every couple of years and pick what fits our family best at what ever stage the kids are at.  We see more of the U.S. than most people I know.  Our kids will have a network of friends spread far and wide and will learn what it takes to work to maintain friendships.  But yesterday while I was standing in church I felt the sharp edge of lonely that comes with our gypsy life.  I missed my Sister Wife's shoulder. 
     No, I'm not a polygamist.  The other work wives and I started calling each other Sister Wives.  It does take a village to raise kids and we all left our home villages.  But through friendship and common situations we learned to rely on each other the way most people rely on their family.  Why is going to a new church with just me and the kids so hard?  My hat is off to all the single parents in the world.  It's not hard to get up and get everyone dressed, we are way past that being the issue.  It's hard to walk in to what I think of as a traditional family setting with out the corner stone of my family by my side. 
    In Macon we started going to a new church much like the one we've found here.  But in Macon when I was new to Piedmont and so was my S.W. Ashlee.  It didn't feel weird to walk in because I was not alone.  We sat in the back, shoulder to shoulder and enjoyed many a Sunday worship.  My other tall beautiful blond S.W. Jill was there a lot too.  The few Sunday's that the husbands were not working were great, between the six of us we filled up a row and were the most mismatched looking group of friends, there were plenty of shoulders all pressed in together.
     Growing up church never felt lonely or uncomfortable.   I go back when I visit Louisiana and it still feels like home.  My family is there, both the blood relations and my church family.  Piedmont became my church family.  Familiar faces, my kids' teachers and friends all made it feel normal.  I'm missing a shoulder to stand beside here.  I wish when jobs were staffed there was some way to take into consideration the families being moved.  I understand that PCL is in the business of building power plants not families.
      I am not taking shoulders or ribs for granted.  I know first hand the damage a rib can do when a rib is removed.  I know the empty space left when a shoulder is not right beside me.  I know Sweetness won't work every Sunday morning, I will see my Sister Wives again some where down the road.  Until then we will call, text, keep up with each other on Facebook.  I think heaven for me would be having each one of my best friends all in one place.  I know you would all get along because I only hang out with spectacular women.  To have you all pulled in from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Georgia, Michigan, Utah, and North Carolina would be one incredible place.  Our kids would get to hang out and play, and we would make up the most wonderful village to raise them in.  A truly happy thought!

A Mom Who Boogies

   The kids and I pray every morning in the car.  This may not be the most reverent place on earth, but it's our routine and a great way to start our day.  I start, I pray about our day, I try to always be thankful for our many blessings- Papa's job, our friends, our family, good days spent together, and specific things about each kid then end by praying for others that need to be lifted up.  Then it's Tate's turn.  Every morning she starts off with "Dear God please watch over us and keep us safe, watch over Papa and keep him safe...."  Then she goes through a couple things she's thankful for.  Most of Tate's prayers are to help everyone, keep Papa's workers safe, help Aunt Marsha and Uncle Larry fight her cancer, she prays from her heart and it's wonderful.
    Turner is our closer, and what a closer he can be! He asks for safety for our family, he prays for Aunt Marsha- for everything from her doctors to her medicines.  Then my boy prays about what he's thankful for.  Some times it's short, sometimes it's just thank you God for our family.  Right after we moved he prayed often for friends.  My heart broke every morning, but God listened and sent friends!  Thursday Turner thanked God for all the new friends we have found here in Lake Jackson, he thanked God for days that have started to feel normal, then he thanked God for OFF mosquito spray, a Papa who likes to take us to the beach and for a mom who likes to boogie.  I had to stifle a laugh.  My sweet seven year old was talking about he and I riding boogie boards at the beach the day before.  His prayer stayed with me all day and kept me smiling.  I need to learn to thank God for the really simple things, not just the big stuff.
    I learn so much form my kids.  How to pray and come to God like a child is one of the best lessons so far.  I love our time in the mornings.  I thank God everyday for Sweetness' job and that I can stay home with the kids.  I always feel like their mom, but I feel like we are all best friends too.  I cherish the ages they are right now.  I want time to slow down so I can have them longer just like this.  I will boogie for as long as Turner likes to swim out with me.  I am thankful for a son who boogies too.