The things that make a mother smile. I was driving back home from Soldotna and stopped at Turn Around lake to take in Gods beauty and enjoy a glorious picture painted differently each day, a true blessing in itself. I was content to bask in His splendor.
The kid in me is the kid in you. The ice was covered with snow with circles of clear ice here and there. I knew I could glide across the ice if it was thick enough. I had to Investimagate (investigate). The first try was just a trial run. I was pretending to play an old Eskimo game gliding across the ice free of snow. I did this three times and headed back to the Passport.
I came close to the bank and found a cool pocket knife. I was kinda bummed it wasn’t a Gerber, little did I know it was a better brand, out of my league. Then I smelled it. Green. I had to go make sure the people smoking didn’t loose this knife. I walked up to them and asked, they said no. There was a couple with a dad in the back in one vehicle, the single mans son was in the other vehicle alone playing on his iPad.
I asked the three grown ups if they wanted to play a game with me I just made up. The heavy set driver said the ice wouldn’t hold him, I said it was thick enough. He still said no. I asked the dad in the back. He said he was terrified of ice, I told him I would hold his hand if that made him feel better, he said no and that his son might want to try and that he was a skateboarder. My kinda people.
The pocket knife they said was a good find. Really, I have never heard of it before and I had to explain its a brand simply out of my budget. The battle for the Kershaw blade.
I asked the young son, who had beautiful long dreads and the smile of an angel I would get to see soon. He said yes. I explained that it’s easy to walk on the ice with white specks of snow, but the clear circle was slippery. I showed him my game I just made up, like so many I’ve made up before, and he tried it.
The first was practice but we raced. Then I said, let’s play for something I just found, it’s very precious according to your dad. In my heart I wanted him to win. He was excited and I can see it all over his face and I took so much delight in his smile and excitement. The first go I won. I wasn’t going to hold back and I wasn’t going to let him win on purpose. But I said let’s just do best out of three. The hope in his eyes and on his face were intoxicating. We went again. He fell, trying oh so hard to win. That one didn’t count let’s try again. The next two I tried my best to beat Ezekiel gliding across Turnaround lake playing what I called an old Eskimo game, had to make sure and tell him I was an Eskimo. He wasn’t from Alaska. He played my game and won a Kershaw pocket knife. He held it in his hand with a smile on his face that reminded me what my heart beats for. Spreading hope, something I’ve never had growing up, but I found my hope in Jesus and not once let go.
The joy of giving a smile, simple acts of kindness, living for what your heart beats for. Amen.
When I was in elementary I started a club in our village of Unalakleet for my baby sister and her friends. Part of our mission was to beautify our small community. We transplanted willow shrubs and wild flowers from the tundra to barren areas of the village. Most plants didn’t take but I can guarantee there are willows alive today that were our handiwork. I also tasked our small club of cleaning up the lake area behind the old house. It was called Johnson’s lake after our last name. We also did arts and crafts projects. Then we started having bake sales to fund our club picnics. I felt so bad for embezzling some of the funds for myself I walked away from the leadership position and left my younger sister in charge. Then I went on to create CCC. Community Cleanup Crew. It was only my older sister Crystal, my cousin Beverly and I. We picked up trash around the Johnson’s lake and I tried to come up with a way to tackle the algae problem in the lake. I dreamed of introducing platypus because algae was a part of their diet from what I gathered. Then more research led to the discovery of their poisonous barbs on their back feet. That was no longer an option, not that they would survive our harsh winters up there anyway. I liked collecting lake water and looking at it under a microscope at school. Most of the time I just asked my teacher to use the microscope and they usually always said yes. I had big plans for our community at such a young age and actually tried to implement my ideas. I proposed to the city to plant trees around our village to help with erosion because our village is built on a sand spit. All these cute clubs were in honor of my mom but no one knew that. One day I will build my mom her own home on Blueberry Hill where our family owns land. Our Auliye family is quite intelligent when it came to picking land and in the ways of our ancestors. The only thing my mom ever wanted was her very own home. I want the pleasure of giving that to her because it would be out of love. The woman who gave birth to me, loved me for me, my Mom. The love I have for you will never fade regardless of drunken actions, regardless of lost time. A mother’s love will change the world. Women warriors Rise. Our time is here to explode in love. Love the person God created you to be, because there is nothing more beautiful to me than a mother’s love. It will endure the ages as long as the earth endures but we are the ones who must make change and it starts with realizing how beautiful you are, how truly loved you are, how Amazing you are. How very capable we are when we cheer for each other and lift each other up.