It's Way Beyond Me

It seemed to happen all of a sudden. As if a weight had been lifted and happy days were here again! I couldn't quite put my finger on the cause, but it was definitely a good feeling. A contented sigh escaped my lips as I basked in the moment.

"What?" Chloe asked. (She is our self appointed feelings police. Always tuned in to what's going on around her; at the ready to take control if the situation merits. My favorite these days is if she detects upset. "Now, just don't panic. It's all right. Don't panic." 😂)

"I just feel happy, I think," was my reply.

Just then a familiar little tune popped into my head...

🎶 You're out of the woods 🎶

🎶 You're out of the dark 🎶

🎶 You're out of the night 🎶 🎶 Step into the sun 🎶

🎶 Step into the light 🎶

It's one of my theme songs for life. Everybody has those, right? I, sometimes, start humming or singing it when celebrating a positive change in circumstance. It doesn't usually just pop into my head out of nowhere, though. It continued to do so at the oddest of times over the next couple of days.

Like when cleaning the hard water stains out of the bath... 🎶 You're out of the woods 🎶 You're out of the dark 🎶 🎶 You're out of the night 🎶

Ummm... Ok, I guess. It does look pretty nice...

Or while "painting" the baking soda mixture in the interior of our very neglected oven (and, again,

hours later while scrubbing it out)...

🎶 You're out of the woods 🎶 You're out of the dark 🎶

🎶You're out of the night 🎶

What?!?

Seriously?

You know, in the movie, when the song bursts forth, and the scarecrow looks around, as if to say, "Where's that coming from?"

I'm pretty sure I did that.

One day, I was sitting out in the yard watching the girls play and had the thought that it was nice to sit and watch them rather than following on their heels, just in case...

🎶 You're out of the woods 🎶 You're out of the dark 🎶

🎶You're out of the night 🎶

And, then, it hit me—

I was sitting down while outside with the girls! I was finding spare time to do some deep cleaning! I am certainly getting a bit more sleep!

Of course!

It's happened!

At just turned 4 and 5, our babies are almost big girls now!

Call us crazy

Some do.

We took on the role of parenting again in our fifties. I'll not go into the tangled web that led their parents to the point that their relationship ended.

But, I will commend their mother for her decision to ensure her children were in a safe and loving environment at all times. Her plan was to stay with her sister and get settled in at a new job in a town some 100 miles away. She contacted us a few weeks later asking if the girls could come and stay with us while she saved up some money and put things in place to provide for the girls when they came back to her.

We did not hesitate to say yes!

Two days later, our twenty-month-old great niece, Cynthia, and Chloe, her four-month-old sister, arrived. There have been set backs with their mom getting her new life plan on track. We won't give up hope that she will become a strong, self-sufficient young woman some day, but we obtained guardianship after two years.

Over the years, I can not express to you the amount of joy these two have brought into our lives!

However—

We did not—even once—consider the possibility that parenting in "mid-life" would be different than when ours were young.

Newsflash.

It is!

Oh my gosh! I don't think I even realized how overwhelmed I had become until I wasn't anymore.

Keep Your Nose To The Grindstone!

Man! Sometimes life gets hard!

But, you can do it! Don't give up!

One of the many things my Mom taught, by example, was that no matter what life was throwing at you, you get up every day and do what needs to be done.

I just kept doing that... And praying a lot. 😏

I'm a live for the day kind of girl. On top of that, I define myself as an optimist supreme. It is really, really hard for me to give up hope on anyone or anything.

This period of our lives has proven to be another testimony to that fact.

But believe me when I say, it's been way beyond me at times.

So, the true testimony is the reason that I can live for the day and not fret (too much!) about things that have happened in the past or what's coming tomorrow (most of the time).

It's my faith. I trust God to see us through whatever each day brings. Then, on to the next we go!

And I hope! I always hope. 😉

🎶 You're out of the woods 🎶 You're out of the dark 🎶

🎶You're out of the night 🎶 Step into the sun 🎶

🎶 Step into the light 🎶

Keep straight ahead for the most glorious place On the face of the earth or the sky 🎶 Hold onto your breath 🎶 Hold onto your heart 🎶 🎶 Hold onto your hope 🎶 March up to the gate and bid it open...

Open...

Pretty good lyrics for a theme song, huh? I've been singing it for decades.

I never knew the title.

Optimistic Voices I love that! 💖

If you find yourself in a dark place, or with more on your plate than you realized you'd asked for, keep pushing forward toward the tiniest gleam of light. You'll make it! Take one day at a time. Keep the line of communication open with the One who loves you most and...

All of a sudden, you'll burst (or, sometimes, you might stumble 😉 Looking up, with a smile and thinking, "I'm getting there.") out of the darkness and into the marvelous light.

I'll be praying He's shining BRIGHT for us. All of us. He's who will #BreakTheCycle

See you next time!

C