Dona Nobis Pacem

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

o Lao Tzu (570-490 B.C.)

This is part of the Blogblast for Peace. Today, all over the blogosphere, you’ll see these peace globes.

I’m a loser.

I don’t lose things. Not my keys. Not an earring. Nothing.

I’m not bragging. It’s just the way it is. Probably has something to do with the fact that I’m neurotic about putting things away. Everything in its place. (When my boys are in therapy, they can blame me for this. Among other things, I’m sure.)

The laundry was a bit behind around here. Funny, it doesn’t do itself. It got so bad that Andrew asked me to tell him when I was washing darks and he’d actually give me the pants he had on to wash. He had no clean ones.

Scary. (But very funny that he worked in his skivvies this afternoon.)

When the jeans load was finished, I took them out to put in the dryer. I heard a coin or something in the washer. Happens all the time. No big deal.

Reached in and…it was a ring.

I was ready to put it in my pocket and go give Andrew grief for losing his wedding band. Again. (Okay, to be fair, he lost his first band about 13 years ago at a crab house. It’s not as if he loses it very often.)

But wait. It wasn’t shaped right. It must have gotten dented. Oh, crap.

But wait. It was MY anniversary band. The one that nests with my engagement ring. Serious oh crap now. Where is my engagement ring? I never wear one without the other.

Heart pounding. Starting to sweat.

But there it was in the washing machine.

Relief.

And the bonus? My rings are sparkling clean!

Rain.

I love the sound of the rain
Lulling me to the chaise
Wrapping me in a down comforter
Cuddling with my coffee
Watching the fire
Blowing off the gym

The maze.

Yesterday, my in-laws took the kids and us to Cherry Crest Farm in Ronks, Pennsylvania. It’s in Lancaster County. Lots of beautiful farmland and near the Strasburg Railroad. Boy did I love that train ride when I was a kid. But I’m getting off track here. No pun intended.

There was a real campfire where you could rest and warm up. Bails of hay made tunnels and playspace for big and little kids. There was a trampoline – actually a jumping pillow they called it – 40′ wide by 80′ long and almost 4′ tall in the middle. We spent time in the petting zoo and walking around.

But the prime attraction at Cherry Crest Farm is the maze. It’s a huge Wild, Wild West Themed Corn Maze. It’s a dynamic and interactive 5-acre corn maze with over 2.5 miles of paths, scenic bridges, and clues. It was serious fun. (The photo is actually this year’s maze.)

So while we were walking through the maze, talking, laughing and trying to figure out where to go, I started thinking. Oh no, you’re thinking…

Life is a lot like this maze. First of all, this corn maze started off (in August) green and fresh and ended up all dried up (in November). Okay, that wasn’t really my point, but I crack myself up.

But back to my real point. As if.

First of all, we were all in it together. We worked as a team. We discussed at critical times and joked and held hands at others. We were happy to be together.

At every turn, we had to consider the options. There are always choices. Knowing how to gather the facts, ask the right questions, and understand the risks helps us figure out which path to take.

As in life, we don’t always agree. But we listen to each other and make a group decision. And we all tried to be respectful of the others’ points of views.

Sometimes, we get carried away with the fun and make bad choices. Hmmm. That sounds about right.

Sometimes, we take things too seriously.

And sometimes, one or more people want to quit. Take the escape route.

More worrisome is that sometimes, there’s an emergency. Fortunately, in the maze, there was a spot-a-pot.

The toughest decision was whether to leave the maze when we figured out where the exit was or to continue on the get the rest of the puzzle pieces. Leaving felt like an accomplishment – we’d solved the maze. Would it be more of an accomplishment to get all the pieces to the puzzle? Was that our goal?

Interestingly, we didn’t all have the same goal. We didn’t discuss it beforehand either. But, we made a democratic decision (the kids won) and we had a lot of time to play at the farm afterward. Had we stayed in the maze, we would have sacrificed that.

The competitive streak in me wanted to play it out – finish the maze the RIGHT way. But what is the right way?

In this case? The right way was spending an exhilarating day in the country with family.

And I can tell you that everyone in our house slept like rocks last night. That extra hour? You’d have never known…

New addition?

We put in an application for this 8 week old sweetie at the shelter. But what to name her?
Poll – Take Our Poll

Pebbles.

Megan’s daughter as Pebbles. I just had to post this. Isn’t she adorable? I love that kid. Boy, is she full of personality!