Jan
11
2010
Sky by Elle Feilen
My sage. So grateful. We had a blast today designing this.
Jan
10
2010
Fill-in-the-blank
To define a good book: A treasure for the soul. A golden nugget that glistens with every page. A shimmering aspen leaf that catches your eye. A highway to the heart. A spiritual retreat. A deep breath of fresh air.
Do you ever feel like you can clutch a book and never let it go? Tuck it into the back of your pants and hope that it rubs off on you no matter what? Eat with it, sleep with it under your pillow, or put it into a plastic bag and bring it into the shower?
The words written in a book can sing to your soul…when you’re ready. Words spoken and put into a shape can open a wound that needs to be healed. They can paint a picture that moves you to tears.
Words can speak to your heart, as if a hand reaches in and coddles it.
I was handed a book yesterday from a friend. Shshshsh…listen. I’m beginning to trust being lead without a self-agenda. To think of myself as a sponge that absorbs, yet gently squeezes out the excess. The book fills in some of life’s blank spaces. Like in a game of Scrabble, a blank tile resembles freedom, choice and flexibility. I grew up playing tons of Scrabble with my mom and dad, so when I got a blank tile the possibilities were endless. It was a chance to reach into the “word bank” of my brain and pull out a really powerful one. And the blank tile was whatever it was supposed to be…
That blank tile is like life. It’s awaiting to be etched and transformed into one lovely word, or thought, or moment.
As I walk around with my arms wrapped around “the book”, I realize I’m grateful: For the person who gave it to me, for the “aha moment”, and for the densely touching words. But most of all, I’m grateful that is has a profound effect on my life and how I see it.
As my mom says “I’m given everything I need exactly when I need it.”
Not when I think I need it, but when it’s time for me to be ready to receive it. Two totally different places and a different reaction.
There are many more “blanks” in life that I need to fill, but I know that I’ll be given the words, tools and insight to allow me create a lifelong string of words…like strands of pearls.
Jan
7
2010
Bombarded by Besitos
Besitos are “little kisses” in Spanish. The one above is really a big, loving kiss by sweet Norah and I..and one really sweet moment.
But tonight, I was showered with besitos by my two daughters all at once. Every inch of my face (even my scratchy eyebrows) was bathed in giggly kisses. Relishing the moment and completely in love, I sat back with a smile…in awe and wonder of my two girls.
Enjoy your kids or whoever you’re with because the moment escapes way too fast.
Dec
11
2009
Mom gone blogging
Confessions of a Mom perpetually dancing in cyberspace:
2 am Brilliant idea I had while drying my hair half awake so I don’t have to sleep on a wet pillow. I have this weird thing about showering before bed. It just makes me sleep better.
3 am Norah, the 6 yr. old announces “I just need someone to snuggle with”. How can you pass that up? Back to zzzz.
6 am Devin, the 11 yr. old asks “Can I have carob chips in my snack for lunch today?” More zzzzzz.
7 am Elle, the 9 yr. old comes in to say good morning, but it’s not morning for me yet. Then zzzzz again.
8 am “Mom, can you get up and make me breakfast? I’m really hungry.” I say sure, just as soon as I get up…zzzzz.
Get up. I need to feed my birds, as I say.
Why is the floor crunchy? Why is the laundry room floor heaped? Where did those jeans come from that are capris now? Are you going to get out of your pajamas today? Is your butt glued to the seat? Why do you have two different socks on? Didn’t you have that shirt on for the third day in a row now?
Ahhhh…where’s the balance? My finger’s on it, then it goes away. I catch it again, then it disappears as fast as it reappears. Is Dirt filling my eyes, ears and brain? I understand there are waves of inspiration, but this is insane. If my head fills with anymore memories, blog titles, ideas that whisk me away to some imaginary place and having a beehive brain, I’m checking myself into bloggers anonymous…already.
As is with every new and exploding adventure, the flame will turn to a spark.
I relish in the momentum. I’m amazed at the whirling storms within my thoughts. Thunderheads of energy. Squalls that stir up the wind in my life, and then bring it a breath of fresh air. Opening up my eyes to a new way of thinking. Stepping out to experience “a seamless connection” with new ventures. Come share one with me…
My solo snowshoe hike in the dark:
It was the sweetest snowshoe hike ever. Glistening snow, muffled sounds, deep steps in the snow up the road. I work up a sweat within five minutes. The quiet sounds of my snowshoes turn squeeky and clunky as I travel on the plowed road, and then I arrive at the trail. There it was…looming in the darkness, waiting for me to travel on it’s white blanket. I climbed over the plow bank and started up, huffing and puffing all the way. Climb, breathe harder, climb, breathe harder. I turn a switchback, duck under a sagging branch, and stop to catch my breath. My heart is leaping out of my chest and looking for a bit of calm. I squint at the peaceful setting as snow lands in my eyelashes, standing high on a mountain top with a fuzzy view of the valley below. My headlamp illuminates the way to a path of animal tracks left like a trail of breadcrumbs for me to follow. It’s so incredibly beautiful and the best high ever; it’s euphoria at it’s finest. I have no fear.
Afterwards, I settle back down to my family, to my life and to my next adventure. The tried and true vs. the exciting and new.
