Take time to swing

As a child, I loved eating at Cracker Barrel. It was the one place this always hungry girl didn't mind waiting to eat. My sister and I would play Checkers in front of the warming fire. My brother would carefully select his peppermint sticks, almost always settling for the very blue blueberry. My parents would scour the jellies and jars of cinnamon apples, promising to come back for their selection when our tummies were full. After the friendly competition, the picking of candies and other delicacies, we would wait for our names to be called while swinging on the front porch.

We were serenaded by southern gospel hymns and old country classics dancing through the air. Sometimes we discussed the church service of that morning. Others, we would contemplate the menu, each fighting an internal battle of whether to order fluffy pancakes with one's very own bottle of sorghum syrup and hashbrowns from the breakfast menu or chicken and dumplings and baby lima beans from the dinner menu. And sometimes, there was the rare silence. When we allowed the rhythm of the rockers, and the warmth of the sun, and the familiar feeling of being surrounded by family to be enough. There were no words needed in those moments. There was no complaining or whining of hunger and a wait too long for a family of five.

There was simply time.

I long for that.

This week, we returned to school and work after a coveted break. The frigid temperatures afforded us three lazier than usual mornings. Alarms were forsaken in favor of waking to baby babble down the hall. Shakes on the go were placed with leisurely homemade breakfasts in which coffee was served in cups with handles instead of cups with no-splash lids. Newspapers were read. Skyscrapers of Legos were built. Conversations were had. Prayers were uttered.

I have committed to 2014 being an intentional year.

Part of that means being more intentional about spending time with my family.

This year, we will take time to swing.

 

 

On the front porch of favorite restaurants, in the cool air of the backyard, at the school playground we pass on the way to the grocery store I always promise to visit "when we have time."

 

This year, we will take time to swing.