Friday Fun: February Randoms

 

                At the end of 2025, Callie wrote this post as a structured round up to the year. I loved it so much that I earmarked it to revisit at the end of THIS year, but I actually decided to use it as a springboard for a monthly recap. I wrote my first one in January, and here is the one for February!

Best Personal Adventure: I have given this so much thought, and while this month felt void of a proper “best personal adventure,” I have come up with an answer that satisfies me. I made it through the month. I know I haven’t yet told many details of the story of what we are going through with my parents and their health, but February was so hard. So uncertain. So many changes that made it feel like we lived in a pinball machine. But with all the hard, the uncertain, and the changes, I kept going. Sure, I had to take a few personal days, but I showed up for work way more often than not. Sure, I failed as a housekeeper and cook sometimes, but we ate and had clean clothes most of the time. Sure, I might have been a bit of a friend failure, but I did my best. Sure, I might have done the ugly cry a few times, but I also held it together way more than the Bekah-of-yore would have done. And for those reasons, making it through the month counts as my best personal adventure.

Best Adventure Together: The word “best” doesn’t feel appropriate here either, because it sure didn’t feel like the best adventure. But as I said, this month was filled with significant, life-changing health challenges for my parents. Every day (there for a while) brought a new plot twist, and sometimes we had several in a single day. We had to adjust nearly everything about our understanding, expectations, present, and future to tend to them in this very hard season. I cannot imagine walking this road without Ryan by my side. We did it all together, and my heart is thankful for that gift.

Best Milestone: We had a couple of milestones this month. The first, which I wrote about here, was marking our third year of living in our sweet little lake cottage. And a few days later, Ryan celebrated his third year working at Swiss Village. What a gift that has been for us – both in our little family and in my family at large.

Best Faith Grower: I’m on Arabah Joy’s mailing list and she’s been sending out daily devotional readings that are so thought-provoking. I’m particularly enjoying her Lenten series, but even before that started, I frequently made notes in my Bible based on what I read in her daily thoughts. I am so thankful she’s doing this and that I happened to be on the mailing list! (I have unsubscribed from many lists over the past six months because my email box was out of hand, so I’m glad this one made the cut!)

Best Lesson Learned: Everything can change so fast. We went through so many phases of changes with my parents this month, and I was reminded that each moment counts. I took the pictures. I said the words. I did my best to be present as much as possible. I have no idea what the future holds for either of them, but I am reminded it can all change in half a heartbeat!

Best Purchase: My best thrifted purchase was this beautiful wreath for our door! I happened to show up at the store as they were stocking spring pretties, and I snatched it right up! My best new purchase (cashed in some reward money) was this cushion for our wooden glider, which I wrote more about here. This cushion is one continuous piece and has an elastic strap that fits over the chair so it doesn’t slide out of place. It makes the chair SO much more comfortable!

Best Habit Created: On Ash Wednesday, I set out to create some more responsible eating habits. This isn’t so much a Lenten fast as much as it’s a reminder that I want to honor the Lord with my eating habits and choices, and this felt like a good time to begin. I’ve worked especially hard to be more mindful about including more vegetables in my meals and watching my portion sizes.

Best New Recipe: I think my favorite new recipe was this Italian Grinder Salad I made for the Olympic Opening Ceremonies party. It had a lot of flavor and was pretty fast and easy to assemble! (I found this similar, free recipe if you need a different link.)

Best Tradition: We observed a couple of my favorite traditions this month. One was celebrating Valentine’s Day together. We never do the same thing twice, but our tradition is always to do something, and we did that! We also had an at-home date to watch (sleep through, if you’re Ryan) the opening ceremonies for the Olympics! This year we had some fun themed food to go along with our at-home party.

Best Little Luxury: Last month I purchased a bread slicer at the thrift store. Ryan raised an eyebrow, and I wasn’t sure I made the right decision in buying it…but it was only about $3, so I figured if it didn’t work out, I wasn’t out too much money. I am so glad I grabbed it! Can I slice bread on my own? Sure! Is life fancier with a bread slicer? YES! Now my pieces are all the same size, and it goes so much faster with this handy little thing.

Best Date: I loved our Valentine’s Date. It was simple, but it was incredibly meaningful in the middle of all that was happening with my parents. Great conversation, great food, and even a pretty rose gift from the restaurant.

Best Answer to Prayer: Though Dad’s health remains challenging for him, I think the best answer to prayer this month was the gift of having more time with him. I wasn’t sure that would be the case, and I am thankful to get to spend more time with him for however long God grants!