Uphill idealist

My son is being confirmed at church in the morning and his robe is white. My daughter is graduating from high school in a week or so, and from cosmetology school on Tuesday; her robe is green. There are two robes hanging in my laundry room that represent big transitions in my children's and my life. How the heck did these robes get here so quickly? I will never regret playing with action figures and blowing bubbles with my kids instead of worrying about dusting the furniture. I do regret not really understanding how quickly they would grow to be as tall or taller than me. These robes got here too fast. And still somehow, I can't wait to see what they'll look like once they put them on - and where they will go from there. What an adventure it is and will be. White robe - Green robe. It's time to get dressed for what's next.

Dear all, As of last Tuesday the following article and my "Jesus Walks" painting were published in the Spiritual Growth section of TheOOZE.com . This is the second article that I've submitted and has been published to an online webzine or site. Click on this link if you'd like to see the post there, or if you like I've reposted the article below. Grace and peace, Tara ________________________________________________________ The Smell of Fresh-Baked Bread (by Tara Lamont Eastman) One of my favorite smells in the world is freshly baked bread. When I was little, my family and I lived with a neighbor as my dad was in the process of building our new home. Estella, our neighbor and close family friend, would bake all the time. So, when I got off the bus from school each day, it was a regular occurrence for me to have freshly baked snacks to eat. Sometimes she would make cookies, sometimes apple turn overs, but more often than not, Estella would bake bread. The smell o