let it rain, let it pour

We had the most marvelous couple days of rain.  It was drizzling, it was raining, it was cloudy, it was wet.  And it smelled so good and it felt so good and, oh, did it ever put me in a holiday frame of mind.  But, I will admit that in the whirl of this fantastic holiday season, I didn't slow down for one picture.  Not-a-one of Nate dressed up in his rain gear (oh that boy loves rain gear, from his fireman rain slicker to his Lightning McQueen rain boots to mama's old J.Crew rain hat), nothing of jumping over, around and into puddles in our driveway, nothing of trees dripping fat drops of water to wet ground below, nothing of rose petals on the ground, pushed by those first drops of rain that so rarely seem to make it this far south.

Yet, I take heart that I saw it all.  I took moments here and there to notice.  But I was so focused on getting to the next thing that I couldn't take time to pull out the camera.  And be still for the amount of time it might take me to take a picture that I loved, or at least liked.  And, yes, I finished all of the gifting on my list, I was able to get together with some of my favorite ladies for a brunch, chat it up and work at my volunteering gig and enjoy Nate's first play(!) but, in hindsight, I see what I may have missed in the between moments too.  But there will be more rain (even here in the southlands) and even more moments and that is the lovely part about life.

Here's something that came to my inbox today that got me thinking about those 'in between' spaces...a reminder that even though I am reveling and enjoying and am having way too much fun being busy, to remember to really see what's going on- even during the pauses may give me a glimpse into another world.  I like the question it asks- Can we see better?

We miss a lot, almost everything, in fact, in our world. Our task-focused filters take care of that, selecting only what we need.  We need to get to work. Have some lunch. Find that report. Water the garden. Go out on a date. We see what we need to see, often for purposes of survival -- or survival of the species. Gregory Bateson, speaking of beauty, said aesthetic judgment is selection of a fact.  We create the sight even as we become conscious of it. We do not simply see it. In our daily lives, who or what is doing the selecting? And why? Is this predetermined? Can we -- in the here and now – make a change?  Can we see further?  Can we see better?  Can we  even better our world?

Opening our vision is a first step in Everyday Creativity.  

--Ruth Richards, in Everyday Creativity

I'm glad for the reminder, smack dab in the middle of this busy time, to really ask myself: Can I see better?  Can I see further?  And along the way, try to remember to bring the camera.  

oh so busy

 We have been oh so busy.  And, yes, maybe I over-schedule us, but at this point we are loving it.  As much as I read and hear- keep it simple, less is more, and all those lovely mantras, I've come to realize that's just not me.  I enjoy the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  I like stretching my socializing a bit more during December and it makes me happy to be busy and connecting with such a wide variety of people and projects.  So, I will keep on keeping on being busy because, right now, it's making me so darn happy.  And so very soon it will pass and it will be quiet and it will be slow again.  And I will embrace that as well.  In the meantime, bring on the projects, bring on the parties, bring on the crafts, bring on the gifting...woohoo!

our 'new' chalkboard door.  love it!

a gift for jed for our anniversary on the 26th

the project nate and i made for 'create something beautiful' (day 2 of advent)

a surprise :)

more surprises :)

the banner I created for jed was transformed into a december wish banner...yep, nate wishes for more art!

stop already

I find that one of the biggest challenges I face as a human on this planet is over-scheduling.  I read articles and books about over-scheduled families and the havoc it wreaks on small children and can can hear it in my brain, "Oh, those horrid parents, don't they know children need down time?  Tsk, tsk."  Yet, I have (finally) come to realize I am one of those parents.

Nate and I are on the move everyday.  We have an appointment, an opportunity, a chance to connect, call it what you will- but we are out of the house and, many days, not back in our house for up to 12 hours at a time.  Right now that feels like some form of insanity.  If we were going to one place, like the beach.  Or the zoo.  Or a park.  And spending hours there, I may feel different.  But, unfortunately, we go to multiple places each day and spend a short amount of time doing each thing.

As an educator, I am appalled at myself.  No wonder Nate has no attention span, can't figure out what to do on his own after an hour at home, becomes 'bored' when faced with the unfamiliar for too long.  Yet, I look at my calendar for the week and I see 'must-dos.'   They are playdates with friends that we haven't seen in a long time, they are appointments that are time sensitive and need to be kept, they are errands for others that need to be done because they are unable to do them themselves.

I can get all philosophical and say there is no 'must-do' as important as just spending hours with your child doing whatever may come up, but I know that's largely philosophical bull crap.  Reality is, right now is just a busy time in our lives.  I've done a much better job of scheduling in some down time or making sure that we're home at least a few days a week but I'm not perfect.  I recognize that this is a time of transition as I move from working outside of the home to being fully 'at home' and that this transition will be hectic and I have to have some grace for myself. 

In the meantime, I can appreciate the time that we are together and the different opportunities that help us understand ourselves a little better in each new situation.  I can appreciate that there are rhythms and seasons to all things in life and that this is just one that we must ride out until a new cycle can begin.  I can be thankful for the many blessings in my life that fill up my time and pull me from my home- as I have much to be grateful for.  And I can have patience.  For myself and for my son.