Grime and Sunshine

Hi.

A couple weeks ago I went to the mall to make some returns, and decided that I'd stop in and have my rings cleaned.  After checking my rings, they told me they needed to send them in to have some stones tightened and some prongs thickened.

As soon as I handed them over, I felt completely bare, like my identity had been taken off at the same time.  Silly, I know, that my identity managed to get so wrapped up in a piece of jewelry.

Well, I got my rings back this weekend, and I honestly hadn't realized how dirty they had become.  Let me tell you- they are especially dazzling right now.  They just needed some TLC.

That's kind of how life goes isn't it?  When little stuff adds up slowly, we don't notice the grime that eventually coats our life, our personality, our outlook, our relationships.

One of the attributes of women that Captivating covers is how relationship-oriented they are.  How it is what drives them.  Something that stuck with me was when they mentioned that men can go months, even years without evaluating the health of relationships.  It's not because they don't care about their relationships, it's just that their nature is different.

Sometimes, when I ask Jered to talk about our relationship, I feel like maybe he heard me asking him to discuss feminine products.  Totally disinterested.  I think that women, being relationship driven, have an innate ability to feel, if not see, the grimy build up that occurs over time, and that leads to us even desiring to discuss our relationships.

(Of course, this is where I would point out to my loving husband, that this trait in me is a revelation of God's personality.  It is part of his character that he placed in the hearts of women to project his image.)


On to the prompt, yes?  Today is about a childhood memory.  While I probably have other memories I could detail more thoroughly, the first one I thought of that I felt like describing was of a special Christmas morning.
The morning had gone by like most of our Christmas mornings did.  Nothing stands out in particular, perhaps because of what happened later.  Katie and I were both in elementary school, so it's safe to say we received some dolls or stuffed animals.  I got a gigantic Scottie Pippen jersey and some flannel pajama shorts.  
Anyway, as always, we finished opening presents, and set about picking up the living room, trying to leave as much of our plunder neatly stacked as we could, so that we could show our grandparents when they came over for brunch.
Mom sat down to open one final gift after they arrived.  It was for the three of us girls.  Katie and I plopped down in front of her.  We sat in the warm sunshine that streamed in across our living room floor, as she pulled out a large blue dish,a large red dish, and a strip of flat, purple rope with a silver chain attached.  A leash and collar.  
Hysteria.  That's what I remember.  Complete and utter hysteria, until we were told that we should probably go take a look in the back of Grandma and Grandpa's car.
Katie and I ran down the front steps in our fluffy, new slippers, across the lawn that was only freckled with Christmas snow, and came to a halt outside the car when we saw her.
A big, golden-brown-eyed dog that was obviously just as excited to see us as we were to see her.  Her name was Sheba, and she was a beautiful, young, German Shepherd- Malamute mix.  She had the coloring of a German Shepherd, but with a more slender, softer body shape.  
I don't think Katie or I had ever been so ecstatic in our lives up to that point.  (Let's face it, Mom was probably more excited when she brought us home.  Hahaha.)  Dad had always been firm in his stand against having a dog, so Sheba was a complete shock to our systems.
I just remember wanting to pet her soft fur all day long, and crawling around after her for the entire afternoon.  As time went on, Katie and I would dress her up in our own clothes, take her on walks, force her onto the foot of our beds until she slept there by choice, and played tug of war with her ratty, old dog toys.
Dad has given us some really stellar Christmas gifts.  However, I don't think anything will ever compare to Sheba.  The joy we felt that morning was beautiful.
Well, until next time,
Aim