Soul print

This past Wednesday, my two youngest grandchildren started kindergarten. They are very close in age, and with the new cutoff dates, it meant they would start school at the same time. I advised my daughter to have them placed in separate classes, so they could make their own friends, and develop their individuality. Thankfully, the school advisers thought the same way. They still have lunch together, albeit at different lunch tables, but they can play together if they want to at recess. Oh yes, kindergartners now go a full day, so they have a lunch period. My daughter and I, along with their older siblings, went to have lunch with them the first day. Talk about cuteness overload!!! Every single one of those children were so precious, and from what we saw, the teachers were fantastic with them!
My daughter will take them to school, and I pick them up. I am so very blessed to get to play such an active role...I love every minute of it!!! In a couple of weeks, the older ones will begin school at a local middle school, but first, we will go back to school shopping, just as I promised them last month. I won't take them until just before, or they will be wearing all of their new "digs" before school even starts. I'm excited that my granddaughter has asked me to sew some dresses for her, so I'm thinking we need to get started on that very soon. Hmmm...maybe that will be a weekend thing tomorrow?

This is the youngest of the two...sorry for the blurriness...the little guys hardly sit still for a minute and I had my camera on the wrong setting. Check out the little guy on the right...soooo flippin' cute in his little bowler and he wears glasses too. They were all so adorable!!!

 

 

Even though I'm spinning every day, right now it looks like I'm not doing anything. The SW BFL is wanting to spin so fine, but eventually it will begin stacking up on the bobbin, and before I know it, it will be done. I've never spun singles so thin, so I'm anxious to see what I end up with once I ply it.

 

I got a phone call from an old high school friend the other day, whom I've kept in touch with over the years. She asked me how much I would charge her to either knit or crochet a baby blanket for another friend of hers, who is having her first grandchild. When my mom passed away a couple of years ago, MJ was right there for me, ready to do whatever I needed or asked her to do. I told her there would be no charge, so she is insisting on taking me to lunch. Fair enough! Then she tells me she is leaving to go back east in a couple of weeks, so I knew knitting a blanket probably wasn't an option. I can crochet at the speed of light, so two days ago, I picked a pattern, went and bought a soft washable/dryable yarn in a delicate pink for a baby girl, and I'm well on my way. The center panel of this pattern is fairly plain, but the edging is beautiful!! I think my friend will be pleased.

 

I'm still moving right along with the book club I belong to, and we have taken a vote for our next read, because that's just how we do it. We have chosen to read the sequel to Ken Follett's Fall of Giants, called Winter of the World. We are all enjoying his writing very much!! September first is our deadline, and we will begin with the second book. I'm half done with FoG, so I'm certain I will be ready to start. If you fancy historical novels, this would be a great one to pick up!

 

A friend of mine (we go as far back as middle school!) lost her husband very suddenly seven years ago. He went out for a run at our local high school track with his son, and had a heart attack. She has since remarried and now has a wonderful life with an awesome man, who was a widower. I can't tell you how much respect I have for these two people! They show so much respect and love for each other and their marriage, and they allow each other to keep their memories alive of their deceased spouses. They get that there was love in their previous marriages, and tons of memories. They each had children, and now grandchildren born of those marriages. They are all secure in their relationships with one another. Recently, she used the term "soul print" with me, and I asked her what she meant. This is how she explained it to me:

 

"The way we get to live forever is through memories stored in the hearts and souls of those lives we touch.
That's our soul print. It's our comfort, our emotional nourishment at the end of the day and the end of a life. How wonderful that they are called up at will and savored randomly.It seems to me we should spend our lives in a conscious state of creating these meaningful moments that live on. "Memories Matter"
I am reminded everyday to live life to the fullest."

So, in the words of my friend, Penny, "live life to the fullest!"