Is it mere coincidence that when I water the garden and plants with water from the rain barrel, it rains?  Yesterday we were blessed with a delightful summer storm . . . delightful if you don’t think too badly of the hail accompanying it.  When I think that my barrel will surely dry up, it gets refilled.

In our household, we’re in the last two weeks of summer vacation.  Tension is high, and add to that a full moon this weekend.  My best intentions for this summer, as ever, remain just that — intentions.  But I don’t think the children have been too deprived.  Their white bottoms and tanned appendages affirm plenty of time in the water.  There’s been a summer camp for the older kids and plenty of playdates for the younger ones.  A couple of hikes and plenty of late nights (and more movies than I care to admit, though I will admit to the drive-in!).  Now, however, it’s time to start transitioning to earlier bed times, morning risings and a tighter budget.

With so many expectations past and present, we need a good dose of assurance that our time has been and is well-spent.  The coming consistencies and seeming restraints are welcome, however hard they may seem.  It’s nice to know that when we least expect it yet when we need it most, we’ll be blessed with what we need and probably even more, as is usually the case.  And it never fails that when I think surely I can’t make it through another day with an ounce of sanity left, I get a respite and/or find the calm in the storm.  I must remember, too, that sometimes it is my responsibility to fill the well of  patience, to feed the creativity.  (Hence, the current knitting/felting project.)

May we all remember to keep our barrels full but not stagnant, to keep the stream of Light and Love ever-flowing through our lives.