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I am taking note. Yes, I am. Those humble white flowers (that are so darn hard to photograph because of the glare) are the sign of berries to come. I'm mapping them in my brain so I'll know where to come back to after many weeks of summer sun.
Before I became a mom, of course I wondered what parenting would be like. I remember my own childhood days fairly well and did tons of babysitting in my teen-aged years. As an adult, I attentively watched my nieces and nephews grow, finished two degrees in education, and even worked at a daycare for several years. I knew kids. I liked kids. I sought out the company of kids. Still, sometimes parenting seemed so permanent, so serious, so... so... heavy.
Fast forward. I've been a parent for close to half a decade now. (What?!) We've been lucky and blessed not to have any major health or development issues. We also have just one child and he arrived in this world with an easygoing disposition. Still, we've had a taste of heavy and serious moments while raising Eli. There are those times when parenting simply scary, exhausting, or requires skills I'm not sure I have. Yet I often think about my friend Janet. She raised two daughters on her own yet still lit up with delight when she found out I was pregnant. "Oh, you are going to have so much fun!" She was the only one who reacted that way and she was also very right. The crazy and exhausting moments fall away, but I find the lovely memories tend to stay.
I know I will remember the sleep deprivation, the vomit, the clingy periods, the bizarre tenacity required to teach another human being how to blow his own nose, the tearful first days of school, and the 3AM worries. But I'll also remember the crazy and wonderful goofball moments such as...
One night a few weeks ago, Brian was out of town but Eli and I were heading through the usual bedtime routine. We’d navigated bath, pajamas, toothbrushing, thank-you prayers, and a bedtime story. Whew! I was tired, glad to be almost past the manic cycle of lollygagging-and-bouncing that comes over a preschooler when they sense their day is drawing to a close. Eli had just turned on his swirling star nightlight and then headed to turn off the room lamp when he ran into the doorstop. Twaaaaaannnnnnggggg!
The doorstop is a tight metal coil with a rubber stopper on the end that is screwed into the baseboard to keep the door from scarring the paint. We had that same type of doorstops in our house growing up, so I instantly knew the loud, springy appeal. Sure enough, Eli dissolved in laughter. In fact, he laughed so hard he couldn’t breathe. That cracked me up too, of course. He flung himself into my arms and we ended up in a breathless, huggy ball. I had tears rolling down my cheeks. And that, too, is part of being a mama. Thank goodness. Yes, I'll gratefully take the whole parenting package.
Definitely girly stuff on the blog today. (I think my father-in-law must be good-naturedly rolling his eyes right now.)
A few days ago I got a pedicure and the lady went crazy adding flowers to my toes. (Click HERE and scroll all the way down for a picture.) Today my niece and I got busy trying our hand at nail flowers too...
We discovered that Amazon has tools to help put various size dots of polish just where you want them...
We went out to find some fun colors of polish just right for daisies...
(I used all Sally Hansen brand with #120 Diamonds as a base, #360 Mellow Yellow for flower center, and #300 White On for petals.)
Goofy happy with the results!
My niece did her nails all in pink with blue and gold polka dots all over. Here's her picture of it...
We had a lot of fun and Eli watched the proceedings with great interest. So he got a little nail art too...
Here's a video for a more sophisticated version:
"Why, yes, Eli. You were in the bathtub too long."
A boy and his kite...
We're still in the home-hunting swirl right now. Nothing to report, but the last couple of weeks have been intense and a bit emotional, full of hopes and excitement and disappointment that loops back to cautious hope. I'm so glad it is spring so we can get outside and forget all about it for a while.
After four springtimes in Northern California where the seasons are much more subtle, it has been pure pleasure recently to watch the world turn warm again. On March 30, we traveled down to Warner Robins in South Georgia for one of Brian's work programs. Spring was in full force there. It felt like diving into a pool of tender, bright green leaves. As we drove back up into North Georgia, the trees were bare again.
Then, during the first week of April, the wave of spring washed up here.
In just days, the dots of green went from burst buds and tiny crinkles to miniature leaves quickly spreading to summer size.
Earlier in the month, we attended a wonderful open house put on by the Veterinary School at the University of Georgia. This is an annual event, so we definitely plan to go back next year. I took Eli after school, but there was so much to learn that I plan to take him out of school for the next open house.
Eli and an elephant skull...
It was a great opportunity to learn more about animals through preserved specimens, x-rays, and the like.
We ran out of time and didn't get to go in, but they had a Teddy Bear Clinic where kids got to put on scrubs and see how the vets take care of animals. Stuffed animals were the patients.
In addition to tours of the school and clinic buildings, there was a large outdoor section with live animals. Experts were on hand to answer kids' questions.
On one large, dark-colored horse, they used white washable paint to show where his bones are underneath his skin and muscles. Brilliant!
It's not everyday you see a bison on campus.
...or a zebra either! (Stripes vs. stripes!)
One of our favorites was a Syrian brown bear cub that was on a leash.
One Mama's Two Cents:
This free event was definitely worth the drive into Athens, even on a busy Friday afternoon. We parked at the softball stadium and caught a UGA bus, which made getting there easier. Eli loved the bus ride almost as much as the event itself! The bus does, however, naturally require some waiting and we had to leave before we were ready just to be sure we didn't miss the last bus. As for the event itself, there was quite a bit of walking involved. It was fine for us, but younger kids might need a stroller.
Definitely two thumbs up!
Here are some old pictures from Earth Day 2010 when Eli was sixteen months old. In Target's Dollar Spot, I found herb kits that contained tiny pots, seeds, and moisture-release soil pellets. It was way to start Eli into gardening.
I have to laugh a little looking back at these pictures. It looks like a nice, calm activity. What I remember, though, is that Eli missed his nap that day -- most unusual for him at that time. Usually easygoing, my little guy was instead like a bear hauled out of his cave and poked with a stick a month before spring starts. Gruuuuumpy!
Eli grabbed at everything, fussed if I tried to guide him, and slung drops of water all over the kitchen. But the seedlings did come up!
Later today I'm going to do a sort of inventory of our cleaning products and see if I can come up with some alternatives for the ones that aren't very green.
After reading Bruce Degen's lovely picture book, Jamberry, Eli and I plunged into making our own berry jam. Strawberries glow like jewels, so pleasing to the eye. Sweet, juicy, and fragrant too. Eli and I played music, talked, and took our time with the work. Making jam is such a homey pursuit.
As I wiped down pink-flecked countertops, I thought about our homemade jam. I guess officially we just whipped up a batch of rentalhousemade jam. Certainly this house feels family-rich. And halfway through our eighth month here, it is definitely familiar. Still, now that our lease time is ticking down and the house-hunting process has started in earnest, this structure around us feels decidedly less home-like.
Homebuying is such an odd process. I'm very much a "home person," and moving makes me feel like a naked hermit crab eager for the safety of the next shell. At the same time, I know we may very well be in our next house for many, many years, so we want to take enough time to choose wisely. For months now we've been polling local friends, reading articles, making lists, and searching the listings. We're giving a lot of thought to our priorities and are trying to understand local trends. Best schools? Traffic and business growth patterns? Property value shifts?
Twice this month I have found houses I'm excited about, places I can picture our family living. I moon over the MLS listing like a schoolgirl with a crush poring over yearbook photos. I drive by the house in question several times, pausing in the street to try to absorb all the details. Both times, I dreamed all night about the house in question. And both times closer inspection revealed too many expensive, time-consuming problems to take on. I wiggled into a potential new life far enough to get a feel for it, and then I find I must also wiggle my way back out. For a little while, I carry a quiet disappointment.
Here is what I have learned: house-hunting is a very soulful process.
Buying a home you want to live in for quite a while makes you look afresh at who you are individually and who you are as a family, but also the community around you and how you want to fit into it. At the same time, however, you have to know when to be flexible. We have dear friends in their 60's who not long ago built their long-planned dream house. They had funds to fully realize their wishes as well as lots of experience living in different houses. The husband in the couple is a do-it-yourselfer well-practiced by working on the houses he's lived in as well as the houses of their three grown children. The house they built for themselves is wonderful -- yet there are still things that don't quite suit them, that they would do differently if they could do it over. That's because the perfect house doesn't exist.
Back in 2004, I bought my first house. I was single and new to the Atlanta area. I didn't have a husband or child to consider, but it was still a tough, months-long process. And then one day I decided to look at a house on a whim, one that seemed boring on the MLS online list but was just down the street from one that seemed great. The "great" house was a dud, but the "extra" house felt like home the minute I stepped foot on the front walkway. It didn't have everything I hoped for in a house. And, whew, talk about ugly wallpaper! But I bought it without reservation and adored it. I learned how to strip that ugly wallpaper off as well as apply drywall and rewire electrial sockets. I spent hours upon hours repainting. All that work was hard, time-consuming...and blissful. I had to sell that house when I got married and I lost money on it, but have never regretted it a minute. It was the first real home I'd had since my parents died.
I've been living in temporary spaces since my marriage. When we find our house, it will be my fourth move in six years. I know it won't be a perfect house. But it will be like that little Atlanta house I purchased and poured my heart into. It will be home.
Home is coming soon. (And, really, home is wherever my two guys are.) So in the meantime I'm just going to enjoy the adventure. That naked hermit crab searching through the tidal pools for a new shell can choose to appreciate the delicious feeling of open potential.
(Click HERE to see our raw materials still in the strawberry patch.)
This blog post has been linked to The Magic Onions, a webpage dedicated to Waldorf education and childhood creativity. Click HERE to visit The Magic Onions. We especially love their Friday Nature Table where bloggers share their ideas!
We went berry picking yesterday afternoon with our friends
Isabel and Niels...
Mmmm. I forgot how much better fresh "u-pick" berries are over the kind that comes in a plastic box at the grocery store. Fresh red fruit for last night's dessert and this morning's breakfast. And now to cook up some jam...
Click HERE for the jam post and recipe link.
JourneyLeaf is a tool to help me appreciate, preserve, and share those raggedy yet shining moments in everyday life. Joy requires practice. (To read more, click above on the word "ABOUT.")
The original words, images, and concepts on this blog are copyrighted. Please do not use them without my permission. Thank you!
P H O T O G R A P H Y
I N F O R M A T I O N
My primary camera is a Canon EOS Digital Rebel T5 with a Sigma DC 18-200mm lens (1:3.5-6.3) or Canon EFS 18-55mm lens. On occasion I also use my iPhone 6. For crisper images (when I'm not in a hurry to grab the shot), I use a Dolica Proline B100 tripod. I often tweak my images using Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.