Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Elizabeth Lesser - everytime.

Via her FB page.  "This week between the holidays always throws me off kilter. I like routine; I like knowing what comes next, and so the “in-betweeness” of this week stirs up uneasiness, insecurity, bewilderment. But the “in betweenness” also makes it the perfect time to go within (if you can get away from kids on vacation, houseguests staying too long, family you are visiting, etc.) and ponder your New Year’s resolution. It takes a sense of bewilderment and insecurity to know what you want to let go of, and what wants to be born within you. It takes sitting in the discomfort of bewilderment long enough to ask yourself the deeper questions: What am I ready to release? What is calling to me? How can my own change contribute to a world that needs wise, kind, strong, awakened human beings? I make the writing of my New Year’s resolution a spiritual practice of sorts. The same thing happens every year. Right after Christmas I go into a weird mood, a slump, a confusion. I rattle around in my own head for a while, until I finally remember what this week is for. Finally I let myself rest in the discomfort of being “in-between” and I snatch some moments each day to contemplate what I want to let go of from the past year, and what I want to give birth to in the new year. I’ve been re-reading two books to help me frame my questions and resolution. Because I’ve been so upset about the state of affairs in our country, I’ve been studying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s small masterpiece, Strength to Love. And because I am a devotee of the Sufi teacher, Hazrat Inayat Khan, I’ve been reading his book Mastery. I like re-reading books that have been important lights on the path—I always find something new, something clarifying. I hope you’ll take some time in the next days to find inspiration and to consider a resolution for the New Year. I’ll share what I come up with on New Year’s day."

Friday, December 11, 2015

This week

A few journaling prompts from the 5-minute-journal.

What made this week great:
1.  Doing the pickups/dropoffs at Joe's preschool.  I love seeing him and his friends "in their element."
2.  Addressing my Christmas cards.  Sending/Receiving them is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.
3.  Finding an hour with my husband to keep up with Homeland.

This weekend we'll celebrate Christmas with my side of the family.  My siblings and nieces and nephews will be in for the weekend and we've got plans to take the 6 kids on a Polar Express train ride, do our gift exchanging, and attend our annual big family party.   Merry making for sure.


(image)

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Faces

We had so much fun with a little impromptu photo session from a family friend.  I couldn't justify the time or money to do professional shots as we've done in the past but I really felt badly about not having some special photos of our precious boy at this precious age.

A friend of ours, a hobby photopgrapher, was willing to come to our house and in the comfort of our own backyard - a space Joseph and I treasure so much - we were able to take these shots.  He captured the essence of our 3 year old.  Silly, patient, kind, curious, gentle --- perfectly, you.

Photos by Tony Sacco Photography