Hello.
We took a little trip this past week to visit my family.
There is just something about our visits to my parent's place in Texas. If I am gone from there for too long, like the pull of a magnet, I am drawn back to this place. I need it. And the people who live there. They ground me. They fill my soul.
That's my husband who spent the week keeping busy by clearing fence lines and mowing. And that handsome cowboy in the hat is my Dad, who spent the week trying to keep my husband from doing too much. My brother is on the right. And that city boy on the right is my brother. He and his family came down for a few days from Tulsa.
The boys were introduced to shooting the bb gun. With much supervision. They are hooked. I see many more marksmanship contests in our future visits.
And this is my mom. You don't want to mess with her. She was on the rifle team at Texas Tech and she is an excellent shot. The grandkids minded her pretty well after they saw her hit 6 for 6.
I love living at the beach. But there is just something about the prairie.
This attraction to this place comes naturally for me. As one would expect. I was born there. My people have lived in this area since 1849.
But it amazed me this trip that my boys, and even my husband, are becoming spiritually connected to this place.
They fall easily into the rhythms of the country...walks to the creek, clearing brush, fossil hunting, wading in the river. With all of that fresh air, we all sleep good at night.
Here I feel stripped, bare and fully known. I feel centered. Thankful. I know what is important and what is not.
And this my friends is a very good place to start a new year.
Happy 2011 everyone!