Thursday, September 13, 2012

Because Sometimes You Just Need to Build a Tent

It's raining here is West Texas.  The rain has been a continuous stream for the last several hours which illicits cheers around these parts - we are always lacking water and so while Seattle celebrates the sun we "holler" for the rain!

I personally love rainy days because it is the perfect weather for naps, reading, cups of tea, and lots of snuggling with my girls.  And sometimes on rainy days you realize that it is the perfect day for a really great tent.

Selah and I were sitting in the living room when she asked me to tell her stories.  This is typically reserved for bed time, but rainy days are special so I asked her what she wanted a story about - JUMPING was her reply....so I told her a grand story about searching for the best trampoline in all of the world with her trusty side-kick Haven, and her eyes glinted with laughter when Selah Belle the adventurous girl found the perfect place to jump.  She wasn't satisfied with just one story and begged for another - this time about TENTS!

So I told another tale of chairs and blankets - more than she could ever count - and how they came together to create the best tent ever. And with laughter brimming & eyes filled with delight it was only natural that we should in fact build a grand tent.  I was in charge of the chairs & it was her task to bring out the blankets, and I must say that mother and daughter made a fine tent (if I do say so myself).

We spent all morning in that tent - we ate lunch inside, pretended to look at the stars, told secrets, and introduced Haven to this wonderland.  And when Josh came home so I could slip out for a couple of hours she couldn't wait to let him explore the tent as well - no doubt dad can find a whole assortment of fun activities to be had in the tent.

And I left - excited for a couple of hours alone - and promptly pulled into a coffee shop.  It looked perfect - desolate with the exception of one gentleman working away at his coffee shop/work station.  I took a long drink of my vanilla latte and settled in for some good reading and quiet when I heard him clear his throat.  I glanced over and he started up a conversation about biscotti.

We talked for QUITE A WHILE about biscotti...and muffins and scones too.  I was polite and even a bit charming as I explained why I did in fact enjoy those crunchy biscotti after dipping them in my coffee.  The banter died down & I was determined to bury myself back into the computer when I heard another conversation start - this time about the war and politics and religion...

And all I could think about was how badly I wished I could build a tent - right this minute over myself and my computer and my books and my latte.  I don't mind discussing biscotti or politics or even my shoes (the conversation was heading there now)...but at THIS moment...with the rain in the background...and the smell of coffee in the air...I just needed a tent.

Inside our grand tent...telling one another secrets
So I left (escaped with a smile while he answered a call)...and now I'm tucked away somewhere else in a tent of my own making.  And this - this quiet - is a grand tent (if I do say so myself).

Hope you find some time in the next couple of days to build your own tent!

1 comments:

Lindsey V said...

I love this...the imaginative stories...the creative play...the actual and figurative tents we need in our lives...

So good, Paige...truly!!

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