A Few Old Pics, A Major Milestone, and Thoughts About Change

I always get the urge to "nest" in the fall, focusing on family, our home, and the holidays.  Lately, though, some changes have affected the rhythm of this season for me.  My kids are growing up, and my nest is just a few years away from being empty.  I know  my life is about to change in ways that I cannot predict or control.

Christmas 1997...seems like a lifetime ago.

So what now?

I was the Girl Scout leader mom, the volunteer in the library mom, the help with school parties and teach Sunday school mom.  Life was sometimes too full and it was absolutely never quiet or lonely.  In some ways I will forever mourn the passing of that season.  It was so very rich.  

The huz and I celebrated an important milestone on August first of this year.  It has been twenty-five years since we plunged into married life with unfettered dreams, strong opinions and naive confidence.  A few years later we entered into parenthood in the same way.  All of it has changed us, softened us, humbled us and hopefully we are a bit wiser these days.  We are certainly a bit older!

  Newlyweds...in Mountain Home, Idaho (1988)

We had so much ahead of us...still do.

I look forward to the coming transformation, the next metamorphosis in our life together as the kids become increasingly independent.  Having an empty nest will mean huge changes for me personally and I want to embrace it all with a sense of adventure.  I'm not sure I will be entirely successful, but I'm going to give it a go.

I think a lot about the woman I wrote about in this post.  The story of the way she handled a very big transition continues to inspire and encourage me.  I want that kind of grace in my life.  I want to honor and appreciate what was while boldly walking toward what will be.  

And do you know what?  Deep, deep down I really do believe my life is unfolding just exactly as it should and when I focus on that I find peace that I cannot explain.  At the end of the day I truly, deeply believe that the One who loves me more than any other is on my side.  He sees me wrestle with my questions, my disappointments and my fears.  He knows how I dream of a bright future and He assures me He has great plans for me and my family.  I need not fear or regret change.  The story is much, much bigger than just what I see and feel today.

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11

I pray that you are increasingly able to embrace the transitions you face in your life and that a sense of assurance and adventure will permeate your thoughts about change and the future.  May your awareness of the "bigger picture" increase and may you find deep peace beyond explanation or understanding.

I hope you find beauty in this season of your life and celebrate each blessing this day brings.

Secret Gardens

After spending a few days visiting family last week I arrived home yesterday just in time to put together my favorite bouquet of the season. Spring at our place begins with the blooms of narcissus and grape hyacynth bulbs.  Happily, for just a few days their blooming season overlaps that of our azaleas and I gather the blossoms into small bouquets of riotous, glorious color..

Most of the bulbs I grow were harvested from flower beds planted by my grandmother over fifty years ago.  I found them in this old garden, hidden in the woods just a few hundred yards from my back doorstep.  Grandmother lived in a house that used to be nestled in these woods.  The house is gone, but the bulbs and plants she cultivated there have continued to grow and multiply.

Entering this place I feel like Mary in Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, stepping softly as if she were afraid of waking someone.  This is a sacred space for me...a place where I dreamed childhood dreams and shared happy times with people I loved.  It is a place that captured my imagination even when I was very young.  I dreamed of living on this property when I grew up, of carving out my own nitch in the woods and planting gardens of my own.

Sometimes I forget that I am actually living my dream.  Sometimes I think I might like to live someone else's dream.  Really, though, this one is best for me.  Here I have room to breathe and stretch and grow, just like the buds Mary unearthed in Burnett's garden.

So this week I am going to spend time cultivating the garden around my own home and in the process I know I will be renewed.  Warm spring days have arrived and I am eager to feel connected to the earth with the sun on my back and the rich, damp soil in my hands.   My spirit yawns and stretches as it wakes to this new season.

I hope this week you will do some maintenance in your own secret garden...that quiet place, whatever it is for you, where seeds of promise and hope were planted long ago.  Pull a few weeds.  Clear a little space.  Give your dreams room to grow.

Always Somethin'

I just re-read yesterday's post and wowa...a bit serious, eh?  I am happy to report that this is a beautiful sunny Saturday morning and I am definitely not in a tunnel today!  The sun is streaming through the windows onto my incredibly messy work space.  No joke...the mess is substantial.

The funny thing is that just after writing about the need to balance creative pursuits and relationships, I was challenged in that very thing. (It's amazing how often that happens.)  Immediately after hitting the publish post button I received a call from my friend Jennifer, a gifted fiber artist who is very good at maintaining a healthy balance between work and play.  She wanted to stop by to share a little inspiration she'd found and what were the first words out of my mouth?  "Can we make it another time?  I'm in the middle of a big project."  Ha! 

Really?  Was I so busy that I couldn't take a five minutes to connect with a friend and be rejuvenated and inspired?  The tunnel was definitely trying to suck me in.  I ended up meeting Jen for lunch and our interaction - the laughter, the article she shared, the "connectedness" - did inspire me and give me renewed energy.  I am so grateful for friends who save me from my tendency to isolate myself.   

So this morning I'm going to work a bit to catch up.  I've got a big order due soon that has been a lot of fun to put together.  I'm working on some items for a spring display...stamped spoons, decoupage boxes, and something new...collage eggs.

These are paper mache, covered with pages from vintage books, painted and embellished with hopeful and inspiring words, quotes, and images.   I just love working on spring projects with messages of life and new beginnings.  I sent the first few out the other day and I'll be working on some more today.  I also have a pile of sterling spoons flattened and ready to stamp (thanks, Em, for your help) and a collection of painted pots fitted with styrofoam and ready to have reindeer moss applied.

All these happy projects are giving me spring fever!  Now I am off to the neighbor's house, hopefully to find a UPS package that should have been delivered here last night.  I ordered some new stamp sets...some pretty fonts to use on the spoons but they were delivered to someone else by mistake.  UPS can't help me find the package until Monday but I really need it today!  Well, okay...I really want it today.

And so it seems appropriate to leave you with the words of the great Roseanne Rosannadanna: 

It's always somethin :)

Summer House

Our summer house has...

...time for impromptu sleepovers with friends.

...time to rediscover our passions.

...and time to enjoy our favorite things.  (One of my new faves is limeaid with a splash of orange juice, absolutely the best when served in a glass that belonged to my grandmother.)

I love our summer house!

Nesting

My son brought this butterfly to me yesterday.  It's wings were a little tattered and it moved very little as he held it on his hand.  I'm sure we were witnessing this marvelous creature's last few moments of existence.  What a privilege.

A little later he brought this flower to me...It was the last spider lily left blooming.  I'm glad he brought it in.  A big rainstorm moved through last night and this exquisite bloom would have been pummeled.

I sense a theme emerging.  The fading butterfly...The last lily...The world around me is in transition.  Fall is settling in and nature is preparing for winter.  I notice my own thoughts are turning toward my nest, wanting to create a warm and inviting environment where my family will take refuge from the chill of winter.  Time to pull out some soft blankets and make soup!

What do you like to do when the weather turns cool?

No "Givens"

So after all my talk of sunshine yesterday, look what I saw upon waking this morning:

The weather can be so unpredictable as we move from summer to fall.  One day I'm dancing barefoot in the sunshine, the next day I have raindrops dripping from the tip of my nose or I'm hunting for a sweater to ward off a fresh chill in the air. 

Life is just that unpredictable in so many ways.  There are no "givens."  Rain clouds appear unexpectedly.  Frosty evenings send a chill through my bones.  All I know to do is look for the hidden blessings and trust that even the darkest night is broken by the sunrise.

The Sun is Shining! The Sun is Shining!

After several (eight, to be exact) days of sopping-wet weather, the sun is finally shining!  I am finding all sorts of unusual things growing in the woods.  (That sounds a little creepy, doesn't it?)  These newly sprouted beauties probably won't last long.  They are already starting to deteriorate.

How about this...whatever it is?  Such gorgeous color and texture.  Look quick before it's gone :)

A few fall leaves are showing up here and there.  In East Texas we tend to have a lot of false starts to Fall.  I'm sure we're still in for some very warm days.

I hope you're enjoying the beauty and color that surrounds you today.  What seasonal changes are you seeing?