As I was coming down my back stairs into my laundry room, I saw them.
I stopped in front of the door and looked out across the street.
I saw a bike resting against the stop sign at the corner.
I saw figures walking under the trees.

And I remembered.

When my youngest daughter was seven years old, she loved imaginative play.
She would tell elaborate stories that explained whatever she was doing.
Sometimes, her play would mimic a book we were reading.
Sometimes, she pretended that she was a character from a story we loved.

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I watched the mother and her little boy as they stood near the deli counter.
I listened as she gave him instructions; it was apparent that he wanted to do the ordering.
He listened attentively to his mother telling him the amount of ham and cheese he was to get.
I could see him practicing it in his head, his lips moving silently.

A pound of American cheese and a half pound of ham, the mother told him.
I knew that this little kindergarten aged boy would remember.
I could tell this was very important to him.
I could tell that if he did this right, he would suddenly feel very grown up.

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When my children were napping in the portable crib downstairs, I vacuumed next to them.
Some people thought I was crazy.
You will wake them up, I heard over and over.
Actually the reverse happened; they learned to sleep through anything.

With a family of five children, there was always noise and activity.
Music was playing.
People were talking.
Laughing was ongoing.

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There are twenty-four houses in our neighborhood.
There are two streets.
One street loops around.
One is a cul-de-sac that is attached to the top of the loop.

There are children of all ages in our neighborhood.
It is quite obvious this time of year.
School has begun in our district.
Three different buses arrive at three different times each morning.

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There is something special about walking ahead.
There is something valuable about remembering the path you were on as you go forward.
That remembering can help someone else.
The fact that you have walked where they are walking is a tremendous blessing.

I thoroughly enjoy having young moms and their children in my home.
I love seeing our toys get even more mileage.
I enjoy watching other children play with toys my children played with when they were young.
It warms my heart to spend the morning listening to the heart of a young mom.

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Back in the fall of 1986, my husband had to go away on business.
He needed to be in California for some training.
He would be gone for three weeks.
I joined him for one week of his time there.

We had two little daughters then.
The older one had just turned 2 1/2 years old a month before.
The younger one was 3 months old.
It was hard for me to leave them but I knew they were in good hands.

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I saw that my youngest daughter shared her college’s Facebook post.
One more day until the new freshman students move in.
One more day until she as an RA meets her 43 residents.
One more day until the empty hall on the fourth floor is filled with girls.

I can imagine the hallway.
I can see all of the posters my daughter designed by hand.
I can see the creative way she will decorate each door.
I can see each girls name on their door in the lovely way my daughter planned to display it.

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It was just a simple lunch.
We had set up most of our daughter’s college dorm room.
We needed to run to the store for a few things.
Being a junior this year, she has the moving in routine down to a science.

As we were getting ready to leave for lunch, I looked up and saw one of her friends.
This sweet girl is not an RA like my daughter and does not have to be at school yet.
However, she came up for the day to see my daughter and another friend.
She wanted to see if they needed any help.

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It happens to all of us from time to time.
I always think of it as God getting my attention.
I always imagine it as God trying to teach me something.
We can be pretty stubborn at times.

The way God gets my attention is through concurrence.
Concurrence is the simultaneous occurrence of events or circumstances.
It happens to me quite often.
Hours later, sometimes days later, I realize that I was being taught.

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I had a few things to do at the store.
There was a decorative frame I needed to buy.
There were some baby gifts I needed to purchase.
Spending time in the baby department was my favorite part of the shopping trip.

I made my choices.
When buying a baby gift, I buy something I imagine my own children would have worn.
It has been an appropriate way to buy baby clothes in the past.
I hope it will continue to be a good litmus test for which outfits to purchase in the future.

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