The Transformation Pt 2

Today did not go at all according to plan, and you'd think that I'd be used to that by now. I did however accept the abrupt change without complaint, and with a little grace, I think. I brought Mia to dance class and then dropped Molly off at work. I stopped at the grocery store for a few minutes before heading back to pick up Mia, but before I made it back to the studio, her instructor's mother called to let me know that Mia's tummy hurt, and she wanted to go home. When I arrived at the studio, she was pale and her head felt very hot, so I bundled her up in the van. I can always tell Mia's level of health by the amount of words coming out of her mouth. When the ride home was completely silent, I knew she really was ill.

So she would not be spending the day at my mom's, and I would be taking care of a sick kid instead of working on laundry and such around the house. Plans changed again about an hour later. After she watched the new Kai-Lan DVD, she started feeling better, so we put together a jigsaw puzzle, her very first 100 piece puzzle! By the time Jesse got home from school, I was feeling miserable, and she was fine! So I spent the afternoon napping and resting, and she spent it playing the Wii and resting in hopes that she will be well enough to go to Grandma's tomorrow.

I must be getting better at the whole adapting to change thing. I didn't snap at anyone today or stress about all of the things that I should be doing but wasn't. It was a pleasant day overall. A year ago I would have made the entire family miserable in my frustration over lack of control. I have to give credit where it is due: it's God who has given me peace of mind and the ability to let go. Now I just have to help my eldest daughter learn that same lesson and hope it doesn't take her 36 years!

The Transformation by Terri Kraus has an unexpected depth. Oliver Barnett has spent much of his life trying to please him mother while also living out his faith. Samantha Cohen has spent hers trying to please no one but herself. The two are thrown together when she hires him to be the contractor to renovate a beautiful old church into a restaurant, a job his mother is certain will make him the bullseye on Satan's dartboard with God's permission for the sacrilege. The church maintains a certain sanctity, and everyone who spends time there will be transformed. The plot sounds like any number of romance novels, but Kraus' writing elevates this to pure literature. She creates a taut suspenseful story where the reader can feel the noose tightening around Oliver's neck. Oliver's faith is a rare gem, and his desire to make everyone happy puts him at the mercy of far too many people. The characters are three-dimensional, not all good or bad, and every line of dialogue rings true. Kraus exposes the hypocrisy of Christians who believe in forgiveness for only some and can justify anything with Scripture without truly believing. Just like reading a detective or suspense story where the tension grows with each page, so does The Transformation. This book was truly a joy to read.

Mia is back to her natural chatterbox form, only pausing between words long enough to breathe. While it may make me crazy some times, I appreciate its happy sound when she is well, because the silence was just too quiet. Today's picture is from earlier this week. I ordered a few things online from Kohl's, and Mia fell in love with this top and matching scarf.