this moment

Linking with SouleMamma and many others:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

May you find warmth in those closest to you...

inside my absence

To address my absence or not?  That is the question...

I've struggled lately with whether to return to this space with excuses, apologies, explanations, stories about my absence. On the one hand, I made a conscious decision to engage in my every holiday moment with family and friends.  Which, of course, meant giving up something to fit it all in.  On the other hand, my readers are equally family and friends who have come to enjoy what happens in this space.

And that's how it started - my absence.  Picking and choosing among the many wonderful priorities in my life - time and energy spent on handmade gifts, planning and hosting numerous holiday celebrations from our own Winter Solstice meal to teaching about Solstice at Pie's preschool, lots of homemade foods and real quality time with my children.  Eleven days of break from school and work, travel to grandparents, balancing a desire to celebrate all that is good with an urge to keep things slow.

But my absence was wrapped in something else - the knowledge that a big change was imminent.  Just around the corner from the holidays and celebrations was a job change for me.  One I sought out, one I drummed up the courage to ask for, one Papa and I thought about carefully and cautiously knowing that, at least for a while, it will ask much more of me.  

One the one hand, I embrace this change with all my being.  For it is a change within my work space where I long to be creative, to try new things, to view my work world with freshness.  And this job change will allow just that.  On the other hand, this change brings trepidation and angst.  I've worked quite hard to capture a family first focus, to invest in the here and now with my children, to be truly present for them.  This new job with detract from this, I know.  Papa and I both know.

So, to remove myself from this space for a while was to insert myself into an important space with my children.  Knowing that it would be temporary, yet longing to hold onto it forever. Removing myself from this space was, in some ways, a precursor to what I expected to be true - little time to invest in myself as I embark on this new adventure.

My hope is that I can hold onto the lessons learned in these two years of slowing and attempting to be present.  That in the excitement and energy and fast pace of learning new things, I remember the beauty of what is right now.  That the way I approach this change is heavily influenced by the person I've become.  That I bring to this position a sense of being in the present moment, slowing the frenzy, and helping my students gain a little life perspective along the way.

I have chosen this life.  The life of full-time mother and full-time professional.  Oh, how I admire the women in my life who have chosen a different path.  The truth is I've often wished I could be more like them - wanting to stay home with my children.  Today, though, I've arrived with confidence at this piece of my becoming.  This is who I am and I am proud of her.  Even though it sometimes means I have to admit that I can't do everything!

So, you'll have to excuse me if I'm absent more often than not.  I have a lot on my plate.  I do plan to be here.  And, hope, with patience, that you'll meet me here too.  Because as much as I had intended to use this space as my own, I've found warmth, encouragement, delight, and joy in your comments and in sharing this space with you.

this moment {my wand}

Linking with SouleMamma and many others:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Sorry, friends, but this needs a little explanation.  This was taken on our drive home from vacation as Mr. Man watched back-to-back Harry Potter movies with wand in hand, at the upright, ready to shout any spell on cue!

May your weekend be filled with the magic and wonder of a 9-year-old with a long awaited new toy!

home sweet home

Thanksgiving for us means visiting family, eating a grand feast and too much of it, slowing our pace for a few days, and giving gratitude for life's many blessings.  This year, in a move very unlike me and Papa, we planned a family vacation to Florida.  To be fair, this is our first family vacation ever, aside from trips to different states and countries to visit extended family.  But, this was our first destination-determined-by-us vacation.

The choice was obvious for our Harry Potter loving family - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Oh yeah, the children are 9, 7, and 4, so we should really throw Walt Disney World into the mix.  And we did just that.

This Thanksgiving was a harried, festive, fast-pace, exciting adventure for our family.  A memorable one to be sure.  I am so thankful we did it - for the magic, for the wonder, for the smiles, laughs, and good times spent with just the five of us (and 50 million others at both parks). 

The trip started with a surprise announcement - an early arrival to Florida and an extra day at Universal.  

In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (otherwise known to us as Harry Potter world) we shopped Hogsmeade, traveled the Hogwarts Express, toured the Hogwarts castle, flew on our broomsticks, purchased our very own wands from Olivander's, flew with the Hungarian Horntail, sampled butter beer, pumpkin juice, chocolate frogs, and Bertie Bott's every flavor beans (even dirt, yuck!).  The detail in the shops, the classrooms in the castle, and the staff all led you to feel as though you walked right into the hidden areas of Hogwarts, complete with soundtrack.  John Williams will create the perfect ambiance anywhere!

Next on our agenda was Disney.  Our hotel was alive with our favorite characters and we were transported directly into the movies.  The children took turns sleeping in an anemone with Nemo and Marlin.  We were greeted at our buildings by seagulls, Mr. Ray, and Crush and the pool was alive with color.  Every minute of our stay was filled with visual and auditory stimulation.

Swallowing every ounce of the feminist inside me, I treated the girls to a princess makeover.  They thoroughly enjoyed every minute of their transformation.  Oh boy were they sweet!

We had to slip in a few photo shots with our favorite character - Goofy.  Of course, this is because Grandpa is goofy and he likes Goofy.  So we had to say hello on his behalf!

There were so many other magical moments to share, but I'll stop with these highlights.

After all this excitement and wonder, I have to admit that I am oh. so. glad. to be home.  To celebrate our final destination, I promptly poured myself a cup of coffee, baked bread, and made my traditional chocolate chip cookies.  It felt wonderful to have my family behave with as much excitement over my homemade goodness as the day we entered Hogsmeade.  It's good to know they appreciate home and all that it means.

It's good to be home!

this moment {listening}

Linking with SouleMamma and many others:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Happy listening!

it is well...

it is well...

with my soul...

it is well, it is well

with my soul.

This familiar hymn fills the spaciousness of my heart, my mind, my soul as I gently reenter the world following gladsome.

What a beautiful weekend with 11 amazing women, each with their own story, each their own set of hopes and expectations for this retreat. This quickly established community of women, whose sharing and warmth and risk-taking and comfort and love for our authentic, creative selves, far exceeded our wildest imagination.  What a gift gladsome was and will be.

There is so much to tell of this wonderful retreat, but today I'll say only this...

Creative intention begins by giving voice to our creative hopes and dreams, but is more than goal setting or accepting challenge to take action on our desired creativity. Creative intention is imagining our wildest, truest most creative self and then stepping back to watch her unfold.  Perhaps she'll take a lifetime to mold, perhaps a few days.  But she'll emerge in a place where her soul connects with her creative life; where the energy in this fusion takes hold and she arrives.

Here's a sampling of creative intentions in the making. . .

I stumbled upon this quote by poet Rainer Maria Rilke in some strange alignment of events and I thought it beautifully captured the essence of creative intent:

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

Peace to you dear friend...

this moment {friends}

Linking with SouleMamma and many others:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.