Ryley Stories

For several days, I have felt the urge to write and reflect. That's what happens when we get rain for a week straight....I always prefer rain to shine; I feel more in tune with myself somehow.

But then the sun came out today, and I lost it. Darn it.

The other problem I have is that I always need to have a clean house before I allow myself to blog. It has something to do with "work before play," which was drilled into me as a child, and I continue to drill it into Ryley. :-) So while it was raining, I was busy doing other things and cleaning the house in whatever spare time I had, and now that the house is clean and I do have time to blog, there's nothing in my head to say. It's a little frustrating.

Hopefully some Ryley Stories will suffice....

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We were playing a silly game the other day, where we were going through the alphabet and naming things we would feasibly bring to a picnic (apples, brownies, chips, etc.). We got to "Z," and we were a little stumped.

Suddenly, Ryley shouted out, "Zap! Like out of a tree, so we can make syrup?"

Ryan and I laughed and told her she meant sap, but that wouldn't work since it starts with "S."

We were still stumped for awhile longer, so finally I googled "foods that start with Z" on my IPhone.

"Zucchini!" I said.

Ryley looked puzzled for a second and then said, "Yeah...I guess you could wear a zucchini as your underwear to the picnic."

"Are you talking about a bikini?" I asked. "Zucchini is a vegetable; a bikini is a swimming suit."

We all laughed for awhile over that. :-) There will not be too many more word mix-ups as she gets older and smarter. We cherish every single one!

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I don't really remember how it came into conversation, but Ryan and Ryley were talking the other day, and Ryley insisted that reindeer live in rainforests. :-)

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On Mother's Day, our church requested that all the ladies wear hats to go along with the sermon illustration. Well, that's not really my thing, so I chose not to participate. Our church service looked like the Kentucky Derby. :-) Ryley (who did choose to wear a hat) was in awe, so I put her to work counting the hats, and she got to 102 before the service even began!

Then this lady entered the pew in front of us, and her hat was a little different...It was a little eccentric and looked like it was part of African traditional garb, perhaps? Anyhow, Ryley needs to have a story and a reason behind everything, so she whispered in my ear, "Oh, do you think that lady -- she really wanted to wear a hat to church, but she didn't have one, and she didn't have the money to buy one, so she just decided to make her hat out of paper!"

I have to be honest that that is what it looked like!!

I love Ryley's desire for every decision to be qualified somehow. :-)

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I was having a little chat/pep talk with Ryley today about the importance of getting our work done. Somehow she thinks I like cleaning the house and that I am only eager for her to share in the joy of it! I'm not sure how she twisted my meaning into that, but whatever. :-)

So, I felt like I should tell her about what the Bible says about noble wives and women and work, so I opened the Bible to Proverbs 31. As I read, I admit -- I was a little convicted. I don't get up while it is still dark, and Ryley dutifully pointed that out -- "You don't do that!" I don't sew, and she noticed that too. So I explained that in these modern times, things are different....I may not make her clothes, but I make sure she has clothes. I burn the midnight oil editing for the magazine, and the money I get from that helps us to pay for extra things that we need or desire. I work full-time, I teach piano, I make sure our house is clean. Any good thing you want takes work to accomplish it. If we want our lawn to look pretty, Daddy has to go through the agony of mowing it. If you want to be a doctor, you have to go to years and years of school. If we want a garden, we have to plant it. There is a price for everything. If you want a clean room, Ryley, you have to clean it. It doesn't clean itself.

So, when we were done, I had her draw on a piece of paper the things that she got out of the scripture we had just read and discussed. This is an exercise she does at school, and I've noticed that it seems to work for her and is interesting for me to see what she is comprehending as well. Do you know what she drew? Out of all of that, she drew my strong arms with big, bulging muscles. After all, Proverbs 31:17 says, "Her arms are strong for her tasks."

Thank goodness, she's only six. There's still time. And she cleaned her room and was cheerful about it, so I guess I can't complain, right? :-)