Afterglow

"You are a very tall family" the lady behind the counter remarked. She then proceeded to tell me about a place where I can get custom clothing for tall women. I internally chuckled because, though I'm 6' tall, people rarely remark about my height; not to say they don't notice that I stand out like a giraffe in New York City, but they simply don't remark about it too much. When I'm with my boy bookends (particularly Madigan and Declan at present), the input is free flowing. When I was a young girl growing into adulthood, being tall was so incredibly difficult. My twin and I STRUGGLED and I am so thankful we had each other through that challenging season. Pushing 6' as a 9th grader is a tough role for a girl because most of the young men in our sphere of friends had not reached their full height yet. To be the tree(s) obnoxiously standing out on the cliff edge didn't conform to my profound desire to blend in as an awkward and incredibly gangly teen. And now, these many years later, standing next to my 6'3" and 6'2" boys, I marvel. My height doesn't bother me anymore and I certainly don't stand out like I used to. I love the way they carry their height because frankly they have the heart to match their incredible stature. As they get taller, which I'm sure they will, their height will only attempt to keep up as the embodiment of their internal strength and magnificent personhood. 

We did some more training this week for a hike we're going to take down the Grand Canyon near the end of December. We hiked 30 miles this past week, taking on O'Learys Peak twice; I find it to be a tedious trail with seemingly endless switchbacks to gain 2000 feet in elevation. I'm annoyed by it and yet cannot deny that it is an effective training trail. It has been fun to watch the boys rise to the challenge and bite off training for another adventure. We mostly have fun out there and even Lochlan is learning how to push himself past general comfort at times. 

It's a world full of hurt, frustration and imperfection, and yet I see the afterglow of Creation in all that is around me. So much I have been given... and in these things I find the fullness of life.