And Then I Blinked

They outgrow us much faster than we outgrow them…loosely paraphrased from a Jodi Picoult character

At a recent weekend getaway, my youngest daughter (10 going on 25) insisted we buy the above wedding dress but finally settled for a picture.  This is my dress she said. 

I’m torn between differing emotions but will leave the thoughts about why my little one is already thinking about weddings for another day.   What strikes me most is just how fast our children grow up.  Cliché or not it is so true.  I look at my daughters and can still feel their little baby bodies in my arms.  I’ve “launched” one daughter and although she is doing well I still feel a deep-seated ache that my family is no longer intact. I get that a healthy identity is separate from others but also recognize that parenting doesn’t end at an arbitrary age.  And that age isn’t ten like my youngest might like me to think.  Regardless, it seems incredulous to me that we are here, in this space, one daughter an adult, another on the verge of puberty.  Wasn’t I changing diapers yesterday?!  As Steve Martin says in “Cheaper by the Dozen”…no more blinking!

At least she has good taste - the dress is gorgeous:) 

Technorati Tags: growing up

Defining Family

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.  Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.  ~Jane Howard

I had a moving, eye-opening experience yesterday.  I was privileged to see a young man I had worked with for years graduate high school.  My mind reeled back to when I first met him and the trials and tribulations that he had to experience to get to this place.  With those thoughts floating in my brain, I attended his graduation party that his foster family held for him and realized that we, “the system”, had it wrong.  By the federal and state government standards of “permanency”, we failed this youth.  His record will join the statistics of “ageing out of care.”  What those numbers don’t capture is a family and church community that loves this young man and supports him today and in his future.  The gathering held an intimate circle as they sat him in the middle and each person spoke about their care and commitment to this young man and their hopes for a joyful life.   What I witnessed is family in action and I was reminded again that family formation is diverse and not created by birth certificates or court papers.

Take some time to reflect on what family means to you, how it may have changed over the years and who is part of your “tribe.”

 

Technorati Tags: family,foster care,church,community,journal prompt,writing prompt

Random Thoughts

Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.
-- Ada Louise Huxtable

A summer journal my daughter made.  The “how to” can be found at Girls Express. 

I have become involved with a great website All Things Healing.  Check out the many informative articles on the Writing and Poetry Page.

I haven’t been active on my blog lately, just enjoying shedding my skin (and tension!) for summer as well as working on some new offerings, hopefully ready by fall.  I hope to visit my blog friends soon!  Have a wonderful week!

Technorati Tags: Girls Express,All Things Healing,summer journal,how to

 

Nourishing Spirit

You have to nourish your spirit,
to keep it well and alive.
Be open, without losing integrity,
Kind without being overwhelming,
Give without giving up your self.
Embrace without being oppressing
Love, but don't forget to love your self.                                                                                         ~ Mads Avnboeg
I know it sounds cliché but how do you feed your soul?

May Queen Musings

A delicate fabric of bird song
Floats in the air,
The smell of wet wild earth
Is everywhere.

Red small leaves of the maple
Are clenched like a hand,
Like girls at their first communion
The pear trees stand.

Oh I must pass nothing by
Without loving it much,
The raindrop try with my lips,
The grass with my touch;

For how can I be sure
I shall see again
The world on the first of May
Shining after the rain?
- Sara Teasdale, May Day

I shared this poem with a women’s circle I’m in and wanted to share here as well.  I love the imagery and the message of capturing each moment.  Take some to reflect on how the poem resonates for you.

(The above picture is of one of the journals I made for my women’s circle out of cereal boxes.)

Technorati Tags: may queen musings,writing prompt,journaling,sara teasdale,may day

 

Where I’m From

My version from the link in yesterday’s post ~ a template for writing your own version of “Where I’m From.”

 

I am from black and white pictures, powdered Tide and sprinklers.

I am from buttercup kisses, bare feet, orange groves and grooved dirt paths.

I am from honeysuckle, tomatoes and the persimmon we couldn’t pronounce.

I am from arched eyebrows and Mary Kay.

I am from Easter Mass, picnics, tea towels and apple cheeks; from Mary and Elizabeth and her sisters in childhood slips. 

I am from theater and writers, intellect and wit. From Irish fire and Saints. 

I am from rosaries, candles and cathedrals, from lush green hills and the sea.

I am from the swamps of Florida and the whistle walks of D.C.

I am from the beauty of McColl and the strength of single mothers.  I am from compassion and laughter, survival and tears.

I am my mom.

I am me.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Perspective

First you need only look: Notice and honor the radiance of everything about you…play in this Universe

Tend all these shining things around you:

The smallest plant, the creatures and objects in your care.  Be gentle and nurture.  Listen…
Anne Hilman

Have you listened to self lately?
Looked at life from different angles?
Write a letter or poem of gratitude to someone that has nurtured you.
Write a letter to self from someone that may not have nurtured you in the way that you wished…allow room for forgiveness.
For me, Mother’s Day is a good time to reflect on roots.  I love this template Where I'm From in creating your own poem.

Technorati Tags: nurturing,perspective,mothers day,writing prompt,journal writing,journal prompt,poetry