A long-time friend came by our Victus booth this past weekend at the Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Conference in Nashville, and I was surprised to see her at an out-of-town convention. She warmly and sincerely told me how much the blogs I write mean to her.
Not only were her words encouraging, but in my heart of hearts they urged me to get back to writing. Although I do love to write our blogs and do receive much wonderful feedback, for many reasons I have failed to make these a priority in the busyness of this growing little company.
So here goes. My first blog entry in a long time.
After walking through a mixture of snow and rain yesterday and having a frost warning last night, I am thrilled to look out and see this beautiful sunshiny day. We have lovely trees in Memphis, and they are just starting to turn a little yellowish-green because of the tiny buds forming on their branches.
Across the street are minute white flowers beside our neighbor’s mailbox, and in our flower bed the Lenten roses are in full bloom. The pink azaleas are starting to bloom as are the daffodils I love. Spring is here!
Or so it seems.
The only sound I hear is the drone of the leaf blower wielded by our 13-year-old grandson as he readies the back yard for one of our sons and his family due to arrive from D.C. for Easter. The yard will host a series of Easter egg hunts as the little people hide the colorful little treasures, scatter to collect them and then do it all over again.
Spring is a wonderful time of year in so many ways. And although Easter brings back sad memories of my Daddy leaving this earth at this time of year, I do love it all the same! It’s a time to be reminded of renewal and of life.
“Would you like a sticker?”
This past weekend my daughter and her three children went with me to the Teach Them Diligently convention, where I gave a talk on Victus and how to start with the basics. She and her three helped me talk about and sell our products in our booth.
Her just turned 5-year-old Chandler sat on a tall stool at the booth entrance and spoke with people as they passed by. “Would you like a sticker?” he would sweetly and sincerely ask. Who could pass him by? Meanwhile, his 11-year-old sister handed out flyers or coloring sheets to the accompanying children, while her 13-year-old adeptly explained the value of Victus for students moving into higher grades.
My daughter and I had innumerable opportunities to encourage those who came to see our products. We shared the history of Victus—how five tutors and I began a tutoring business in 1977 and found that a student’s success was often less a matter of an ability to learn and more a matter of simply knowing how to study.
We also described the slow development of the course as God led me to integrate the study skills we had been teaching with the principles of strategic planning from the business consulting I had been doing as well.
We talked about the name Victus meaning way of life and that our hope is that it will help students succeed in academics and in life. We showed them our new products that allow even the youngest of our students to learn these basics so they can build on them and not have to unlearn bad habits later in school.
It brings me such joy to be with these young parents and their children and offer them encouragement in the journey. With the twists and turns of life, we do not know what the next moment will bring, and opportunities like these make me so thankful. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer, and that experience has helped me learn to savor each moment. As I reflected over this weekend, I was reminded that six years ago, my Daddy was just about to leave this earth, and fifteen years ago, I didn’t have these beautiful eight grandchildren in my life. When I think of all these people we saw at the convention, I’m touched to the core of my being.
Our problem is we either worry about the future or the past, or we wish for the future or the past.
Recently, I had a conversation with one son’s brother-in-law who was diagnosed with cancer about the same time I was. We commiserated about what we had been through and what we had learned. We both agreed we had learned to enjoy the moment.
So I encourage you this day, no matter what is going on in your life, to take the time to look around. How many moments out of the past day have been anything but moments to enjoy?
Our problem is we either worry about the future or the past, or we wish for the future or the past.
How wonderful it would be if we would begin again. During or after each little or hard knock, during or after each little set back or big one, during or after each gift—big or small, during or after each joy—overwhelming or tiny, let’s just begin again: lift our heads, look at those spring flowers, and enjoy the moment!
After all, this is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad it!
