{Gathering the Moments} July

"The Little Beach"

Moving Day for my sister...

Making an omelet with bounty from the garden.

Birthday girls: Eve, 7, and Maddie, 10
(Thanks to Sarah for photos from Maine!)

I am ever amazed at how quickly the calendar turns from one page to another. On and on we go, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year...those pages just keep turning and the things that happened just a short time ago really happened twenty years ago and it all goes so fast. 

Some months hold the end of a chapter. Some, the beginning of another chapter. Sometimes there are both. Often the endings and the beginnings are nearly imperceptible, and unless we're watching closely and minding the moments, we can miss them. 

* * *

July is the month that my sister moved. The month that Bekah learned to make an omelet. The month that Kati had another health crisis (although "crisis" is too strong a word because all is well, but can't things like that give pause for thought?!). 

July is the month that we ate summer food...seafood, garden produce (ours and others'). 

July is the month that Kati hosted a game party for friends. The month that we all hosted the five nearby grands for the summer sleepover.

July is the month that I got some more pieces of The Grandmother Dishes, and we washed up the cups and saucers and drank apricot tea on a Sunday evening. The month that I thought about my aunt, Lynn, and the fact that last July no one even knew that she was sick and The Grandmother Dishes were hers. And now they're mine (but I'd rather have Lynn). 

July is the month that we took time. For a trip to The Little Beach. For meandering drives, iced coffees in hand. For dinner with new(ish) friends. For an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese's because Bekah said that she was not too old for it yet. For a trip to a water park with the two oldest grands. For smelling (and watering) the flowers, and for noticing their changes as the days pass.

July is the month that two grandgirlies grew another year older. The month that Eve learned to swim. The month that Maddie moved into double digits.

* * *

And so, I am minding the moments...and savoring them.

One never knows just when a chapter will begin or end...

Again this month, I am inviting you to join me in "gathering the moments." You may wish to share two or three photos, or several collages, or bunches of photos...with words, or without words. The link-up below will be a gathering place for us to reflect and share and connect. (The link-up will stay open for a week, so you have plenty of time to gather.)