I Just Loved My Family

I know that title is past tense which sounds as if I've loved them and am now done loving them, but it's quite the contrary.  Emily and Nick have boating safety tonight which means my Valentine, who sanded all day never even stopping for a lunch break or any break for that matter, drove the buckets of water over to the horses while the teenage daughter babysat for money, never got a shower, sucked down only one bowl of Hug and Kiss soup instead of his normal 2-3, didn't have time for crackers or Valentine cut-outs (another favorite), kept his promise to take all kids along for the ride to boating safety class and Fleet Farm.  I wanted to cut fabric and sew fabric and snip threads and iron seams, but instead I loved my family.  They scurried out the door leaving quite a mess behind at the supper table and in the porch and on the living room floor and anywhere messes can accrue.  It would've been so easy to mumble under my breath something about having to do everyone's jobs and not getting to do my thing, but it's Valentine's day so I did all the supper time jobs.  I'm not complaining!  I thought about the traditional wedding scripture reading  1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, which Amber read to us this morning before digging into the pancake breakfast Warren made for us. 

Love is patient, love is kind.  It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing, but rejoices with truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Clearing the table, loading the dishwasher, washing the leftover dishes, straightening the boots, putting away stray hats and mittens, placing the pillows on the couch just so and neatening the baby toddler toy area perfectly is an act of love for my family.  And I still have an hour and a half for sewing.  Life is good.