The Miller Tribe

So many thoughts today...

Today I thought about our house, how I love it so much, how it fits our needs so well, how the yard is so filled with life that we can walk around having an adventure and still be at home. How can a house, a huge inanimate object, work its way into your heart, like a person - how do they do that? Some days I miss our house in Missouri (with its charm and charming neighbors), Other days our apartment in California (with the pool and perpetual ocean breeze), and further back I miss our newlywed Utah apartment (with its closeness to the mountains and all our roots).

Today I thought about pessimism and irritability and paying lots of money for preventative care on my car - ug. Today I thought, "I love my children so much, why can't they leave me alone once in a while???"

Today I thought, my family is like a diverse little tribe and I need each of them:

My hunter...

I'm most grateful that he hunted for me. Oh, honey, I think about it almost every day. He hunts everything else too - seeks things out, studies, patiently waits for the right time, commits, then works and works and works.

He:

-wears black nike socks everyday

-has more patience than me

-loves to be sarcastic, when he should be... and when he shouldn't

-has crucial talents that he won't give himself credit for

-still loves oreos and surfing and movies

My gatherer...

No matter the season she will find something to gather. Even in the dead of winter when you think there is nothing, she will harvest. And the best part... she shares

She:

-amazes me with how many times a day she can say... "mom, can you get me a snack?" (this includes, but is not limited to: in the car, at church, at the store, at a friend's, in the tub, in bed, whilde watching tv, while playing, while I'm making a snack/meal, minutes after a meal, during a meal - her desires for "a snack" know no bounds)

-loves cutting paper into pieces, writing on it, taping it together, taping it to the wall, putting it inside a bigger piece of paper taped together - she makes some sort of mosaic masterpiece everyday

-huffs and rolls her eyes at me (I could smack her... but I don't, I'm sure I did the same thing to my mom - it's all just a part of the cycle)

-has a growing attention span for books and stories

My scavenger...

Happily (and desperately) trying to keep up with the rest of us. Enjoying the crumbs (some edible, some not) that he finds in his path and even, in desperate moments, snatching bits of food out of our mouths.

He:

-has a knack for making messes, dumping (anything and everything), and finding dirt, but still wants to have clean hands while doing it (direct genetic inheritance from his father)

-may not walk all that well...at all, because he's focusing his energy on his vocabulary. He and I - we understand each other and I'm happy to report I was right - we are becoming great friends. We're conversing and bonding over words like - outside (my new favorite), shoe (my old favorite), cheese, backpack, mama, daddeee, bel, milk, bottle, doggie, uh oh, no, ya, trees - you know, all the essential conversation topics

-has a shrinking attention span for sitting in a shopping cart

Me... I'm a grazer...

Continually picking up bits along the way. Taking in everything within my reach - the ripe and the premature, the bitter and the sweet, the serious and the superfluous - I kind of love it all in there together - a big messy life salad.

I:

-am usually optimistic

-always think I can do an unrealistic amount of things in very little time (direct genetic inheritance from my father)

-love a little straight forward honesty in everyday conversations

-made these the other day - mmmm

Today I thought too much about things that don't matter, but at least I ended thinking about what does.