Moms Birthday Present To Me
September 28, 2010
I’m in a period of mourning due to the loss of my mom just four days ago. Yet, I’m finding myself feeling renewed and energized during this time. My body and emotions feel weak and exhausted. But for some reason, my spirit is soaring to new heights. As I let my body rest and take care of itself, my thoughts fly toward the future.
My birthday is tomorrow today and I will beam forty-six years old. As one of my facebook friends said, it’s my “OWN Personal New Year MMX (2010 like the Romans did).” And she is absolutely correct. It’s a take charge feeling. I feel in part that staying with my mom in the last days of her life has given me a gift that I never would have expected. I remember when she was getting worse that I said to myself that I didn’t want her to die on my birthday. And she didn’t. I’m grateful for that.
Today, as I was thinking about how I’m going to miss her calling me and singing – a bit off key – Happy Birthday to You, she has given me more than a phone call this year. She has given me a gift that has changed my life. I have walked much of her life with her. She was only 19 when I was born. After her divorce from my dad, we struggled through some extreme difficulties together. I have been there for her, and she has been there for me. But I didn’t receive “the gift” while she was alive. It took her death for me to see the gift that she has given me.
She gave me the gift as I heard the testimonies of those who loved her. It was always about her joy, her laughter, her kindness, and the way she deposited into the lives of others. She was all about making deposits into others’ lives. As we walked through life together, I never knew her to make any withdrawals. She didn’t leave people feeling used, taken advantage of, or that she owed them something. She simply — deposited. Even after her death, she was depositing into our lives through the testimonies of those who loved her.
As I think about this birthday and the gifts I am supposed to receive simply because I was born. Hmm…how ironic that she even deposited me into this world. And the greatest gift that I can receive this year, is the desire to deposit into the lives of others, just as my mom did when she was living, and after she died.
I have twenty Ignite the Fire! books that I would like to give away. There is nothing you need to do, no hoops to jump through, no essays to write. Simply let me know in the comments that you want one. Of course I’m going to need to know how to send it to you, so send me an e-mail to terri AT terricamp DOT com. Replace the AT with @ and DOT with . If we’re facebook friends, you can send me a message on facebook with your address. If we’re not facebook friends — why not? Terri Camp on Facebook. Feel free to spread the word. I would love to be able to give away all 20 books on my birthday this year, so I can deposit into the lives of others, just as Mom has shown me through example, how to do.
Thanks for “The Gift” Mom!
Going Fishing Part 1
September 20, 2010
When my sister and I were little kids, almost every vacation we had centered around fishing. One of our earliest memories involved going to Lake Vermillion in MN and trolling for hours and hours and hours. Shileen remembers that we had to be perfectly quiet so as not to scare away the fish. Hey, that sounds like a blast for 6 and 7 year old kids! In five days, all we caught was one perch, and a slight hatred for trolling.
Since the fishing wasn’t that great, we packed up and went to a different lake, settling at Gull Lake near Brainerd, MN at Wilson Bay Resort. It was at this resort where some of our greatest memories were created. We made a lot of friends, learned to ski, hike, and fish. We returned year-after-year. I think someone must have taught my dad that kids don’t have to be silent while they fish, the fish will still bite – the right bait, in the right location. And boy did we catch fish! The first year I was squeamish. I didn’t want to touch fish, worms, or boys. The next year, all that changed!
You see, I became brave. I went night crawler hunting with Dad before our trip so we wouldn’t have to buy so many night crawlers. Dad would set the sprinkler in the lawn for hours. Then once it got dark, we would take a flashlight and shine it on the ground. The ground was crawling with big fat juicy worms. I’m not quite sure why I use the word juicy. I guess it sounds better than slimy and gross. They were, but I wanted to impress my dad with my “hunting” skills. He would shine the light, and I would dive for the worms. It was a real treat to find a couple of coupling worms – two for the dive of one. I also learned how to clean fish and even tried my hand at fileting them. I also – fell in love with a boy(s). Dad said that was the year I stopped being afraid. Oh, I was still afraid, but I learned how to push it so far down that no one would be able to see the fear.
No matter how difficult the year was, our vacations to the lake were relaxing and uneventful, except for the time I decided to go for a little walk. Somehow I got turned around and couldn’t find my way back. After several hours I found myself on the point jutting out into the lake on the other side of the bay. As I stood there looking out across the lake I began to cry. I felt lost and alone and didn’t know what to do. Pretty soon a boat came near the point. I began to yell, “Help! Help! Help!” I don’t really remember “the rescue” as much as the feeling of being lost and alone. I hated that feeling. I loved the feeling of being safe and secure with my family.
When I was young I thought I had the greatest parents in the world, even if they were a bit quirky. Now, I love when someone says I’m quirkily charming. Perhaps because it reminds me of my mom. Everywhere she went, people loved her. My sister and I were embarrassed then because we could hear mom’s laugh even when she was out in the boat with my dad, who initially would go fishing in his old suits. He didn’t own a pair of jeans until I was 14 years old. (cont’d)
Kids Say/Do the Darndest Things
September 10, 2010
I get so much of my inspiration for these posts via my facebook friends. Today’s inspiration came from a friend in Iowa whose son swallowed a skeleton key. The key was 2 1/2 inches long. She posted the xray and then the real key. Oh my goodness!
Much like sharing our birth stories, we also like to share stories of the goofy (and sometimes frightening) things our children have done.
Share your stories in the comments.
My life as a Rubix Cube
September 9, 2010
I was talking with Donna Stidham today about a speech she is giving for a communications class. The task is to give a speech based on 5 items that you have put in a shoebox. She finally chose a Rubix Cube as her fifth item. To her, it represents being a homeschool mom and taking college courses herself. Read more
Happy Shot
September 7, 2010
I know that biblically speaking, the purpose of our lives are to glorify God. The cool thing about that is that we pretty much get to just be ourselves – and in the end, He is glorified through that. We leave little bits of our lives with people we meet. Some of us, leave more, some less. But we always leave something with others.
Read more
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