Things I Love (June 2024 Edition)
normal, newborn, poetry, ping-pong
It’s been a weird two weeks of various camps, with kids revolving in and out of the house. Different pairings of siblings, less plates at the dinner table, normal activities on pause. In some ways, it’s fun how it changes things up, but it always feels really good when everyone finally gets home and life feels normal again. Normal is something I love. I am feeling that urge to get back to a routine again. This is a recurring theme for me, as real life has a way of knocking kinks into any kind of schedule I painstakingly create for our family of eleven. I want so much to organize a month, a week, a day, even an afternoon and be really in control of everything that is happening here. But if I’m honest, a day rarely shakes out the way I imagined it. This keeps me going back to God more than anything. God, show me what it is you are wanting to teach us today. Show me the next thing we need to do.
Today was a busy day of getting everyone ready for church, tag-teaming it in the nursery, home for a crockpot/instant pot/bread machine lunch and an afternoon visit with Randy’s wonderful mom, the cleaning up, dinner, and getting everything back down to its base-level reset button for tomorrow. There were a few moments of nursing the baby where I took some rest, noticed his precious little ways, enjoyed the simple pleasure of being a mother of a newborn. What a gift. I think I enjoy this baby more fully than I have ever enjoyed a baby before, because I have so much help now, and I can take time to rest when I need it. I also know now that these babies will grow. And while I wouldn’t want any of them to stay a baby forever, there is something so beautiful about these trusting, loving little ones. They seem to know secrets we have all forgotten, like they still carry the memory of the holy hands that knit them together in the womb. I love this baby. And I am so grateful for the joy that he brings.
Here are a few more things I have been loving over the last month. I write these to keep a record for myself and also in hopes that you will find some of these things lovely as well.
Anne of Green Gables is one of my very favorite movies. It came out in 1985, and I grew up watching (and memorizing) it. A few weeks ago, several of my sisters and I got together to watch it at Mama and Daddy’s house, and I appreciated how beautifully it was filmed, the music, the really fine acting and storytelling. It is delightful, moving, and full to the brim of heart. Of course, I love the book as well. (There is a great free version of the unabridged audio here on Spotify.)
Billy Collins: I was first introduced to his poetry by my friend, Victoria, who said, in a sweet Southern accent, “Oh, Mackenzie, Billy Collins is my one true love...” If you haven’t read his poetry, treat yourself to a prolific writer who takes the ordinary moments of the world and reveals the sacred in them. His words have made me laugh out loud and have etched themselves into my own understanding of the beauty in ordinary things. Here’s one I love about mornings and this one about forgetfulness. I ordered a stack of his books from the library, and I don’t think I have ever taken so much pleasure in any poet’s work before.
Eggs with Basil and Parmesan is my new favorite breakfast. I picked up a live basil plant at the grocery store and have been keeping it in my windowsill, pulling off a few leaves every morning and sauteeing them in with my eggs. I love starting my day like this. It feels so fancy and gourmet. (Right after I typed this, a friend stopped by to drop off 4 dozen fresh eggs as a gift for me… So this breakfast just got even more gourmet and delicious.)
Ping-Pong (and Innovation) Something happened this weekend that made me laugh, over and over. My 13-year-old son, Kells, came home from camp and said, “Mom, we need to get a ping-pong table.” He played it a lot while he was away and said he thinks he got the family gene for ping-pong. (This was a joke that was made at my daddy’s funeral—that no one wanted to play ping-pong with the Terrell family, because for several years, we had a ping-pong table as our dining room table. My dad had made it out of a huge piece of plywood, painted it green, and we took the net off during meal times. This seemed completely normal to me at the time!) I agreed it would be fun to have a table, but we would have to get one for outdoors because we don’t have room for it inside. I made a mental note that at some point, that would be a good family gift and to keep an eye out for a used outdoor table. The day went on as first-day-home from camps go—laundry, naps, conversation, etc. We had just gotten the little ones tucked for the night, and the big kids were going downstairs to watch a movie, and Kells called up for me to come down. When I did and I saw what he had made, I started laughing. He had put two of our wooden card tables end to end, made a net out of poster paper, and made two ping-pong paddles out of a sturdy cardboard box and an aluminum foil tube. He handed me the paddle, and I laughed again, because it felt just like a real paddle in my hand. He told me he was going to beat me, and then we played ping-pong. It felt just like the real game, only the table is about 2/3 the size of a standard one. I just kept laughing all night about it. Because he did beat me a couple of times, and because he wanted a ping-pong table so he came home and made one. It made me happy because it reminded me of my own happy childhood, and because I loved that he made something of true value out of trash, basically. Hours have been well-spent paddling that ball back and forth since Saturday. I love that he has the room in his mind to innovate. I think this is one of the blessings of not getting everything you want in life right when you want it. I am blown away by the creativity and ingenuity of these children. I love watching them create things of value with the humble resources that are available to them. Isn’t this the best we can all hope for in our own lives? Taking what has been given to us and finding a way to use it to add beauty to this world?
Family Drawing Time: This was an idea I read about in one of my favorite books called The Creative Family by Amanda Blake-Soule. The premise is simple, everyone sits around the table and draws. I have found that when my children are restless, wanting to do things that I have to keep saying no to, if we all sit down at the table to draw, we are happy. I want to make this a more solid part of our days. It is one of the best ways for me to be present and interact with my children while still tending to the creative work that helps me to process and slow down long enough to appreciate my own life. Here are a few sketches from my drawing book/journal during our family drawing times…
I hope you are finding lots of things to love in your own lives. Thank you so much for reading these weekly letters and for giving me your time and attention each week. These are two of your most valuable possessions, and I am honored that you share them with me.
Sending love,
Mackenzie
ps. This week, while taking inventory of bills/needs, I wrote down in a journal all the names of my combined paid supporters here on Substack, on my patreon, and on my husband’s patreon. And I was blown away to see 36 beautiful names there. To all of my paid subscribers, and to those who have sent a one-time gift through Venmo, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea how much your support creates opportunities for me to write and share. Thank you for helping me to make the life I hope for more of a reality and for transforming the hours that I sit at my desk into provision for our family. I pray that this kindness would be returned back to you. Thank you for changing my life.
From the family archive:
Back from the days of the long beard… Randy’s Psalm 23 is still my favorite of any version I have ever heard.