Bless Her Heart

~ 30 Days with a Grateful Heart - Day 9 ~

Day 9 - Our New Holiday Groove....

So last year, just a few days before Christmas, the Santa bubble popped at our house. This year, every member of our household knew going into the holiday season that there is no Santa Claus.  I tell ya...even typing that out is hard. If you don't observe the myth of Santa at your house, it may seem over dramatic that it bummed me out so much, but I think that letting go of any family ritual can be kind of sad after observing it for years, no?  This year, I've had great trouble getting motivated to do all of the traditional holiday stuff we do as a family.  Without writing Santa Letters, and mailing them off, it has felt like a bit of the magic is gone.  It doesn't help that holiday merchandise is making it's way to the shelves earlier and earlier (October? Really?).  That, coupled with the fact that it's been close to 80 degrees all week has made it hard to embrace songs about White Christmases, Jack Frost, or anything roasting by an open fire. The Girl has been asking to pull out the holiday boxes from storage for weeks, and I've been wholly unmotivated to do so.  Luckily, The Man obliged, so that she could move forward with her decorating plans (and give us a breather from the non-stop questioning.) Then, this morning it bit me.  That bug.  The one where you realize that you're humming "The Little Drummer Boy"? Man, I love that song. Then, after a lazy morning, we made our way to the Cherrywood Art Fair, which we do every holiday season and I realized that there's no denying it...I'm all in.  So...we picked a tree tonight, brought it home and Fi decorated it without much help at all from anyone.  The Man sat in the living room admiring her fine decorating, while I baked up some cookies.  The Teenager made an appearance, giving a quick nod of approval to the tree, and grabbing a cookie before retreating back to his room.  All in all, I'd say it was a successful day, full of just the right amount holiday cheer.  Only 16 more to go.  Sloooooow and steady.......

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Day 8 - Silence

Especially these days, my ears are full to the tippy top with the chatter of the day..the work, the play, the chit chat, the stories, the meetings, and blessedly, the laughter of many, many children at the school at which I work.  While each one of these sounds brings a different kind of abundance to my life, I find I'm craving silence more and more.  I'm thankful to have a quiet corner in the house that I can retreat to for ten or fifteen minutes each day when I get home from work. It's equally as awesome that my kids have reached the age, that they can allow me (and each other) much needed space when we walk in the doorin the afternoon. We just seem to organically all need some head space before we can settle down into conversation with one another. Someone a long time ago knew exactly what was up.... Silence = Golden

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Day 6 - This Girl of Mine...

This girl is the spice of my life.  She's my number one cuddler, she lives big, she feels big, she teaches me daily to follow my heart. When I find that I'm trudging through tasks, she inspires me to lighten up a bit with her infectious laugh and ear-to-ear grin. She brings so much light to our world on the daily, and she makes a mean batch of cookies to boot....love this girl. Love. her. 

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Day 5 - These teachers + my favorite photobomber....

The girl went and 'shadowed' at the Middle School today. It's part of the admissions process to spend two days with an 'Ambassador', learning the ropes, immersing oneself in the culture and philosophy at the school, and making sure it's a good fit for all parties.  She's currently in a mixed-grade Montessori classroom and has had the privilege to be with her guides for the last 2 years.  Her visit today reminded me that her time in this Upper Elementary classroom will be over sooner than I have allowed myself to think about, and while I'm excited about her future adventures, it saddens me to think of her moving away from the comfort and community of her guides. They are both exceptional teachers, and I take great joy in watching how lit up they get when they start talking about curriculum, or a new lesson that they just can't wait to share with the children. These two incredible women, have 'seen' my girl in a way that every mama wants their child to be understood.  They listen. They observe. They support. They treat each child in their class with fairness, patience, respect, love, encouragement, and a sense of humor.  My gratitude for them is too immense for words.... xoxo 

~ 30 Days with a Grateful Heart - Day 4 ~

Day 4 - Fever Reducers

This is technically yesterday's gratitude.  I was feeling seriously thankful at midnight last night, when the ibuprofen kicked in and offered some reprieve from the fever I had been nursing all day.  Some kind of virus or infection or something had hit me hard.  I honestly can't remember the last time I had a fever. Anyway, it's a simple little gratitude...but you know....they can't all be grand.

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Day 3 - Voices for Marriage Equality

I was making dinner tonight, listening to some Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.  I love these guys and they often end up on repeat while I'm cleaning house cuz they keep me moving. My play list cycled through to this song:

 

...and then there I was trimming brussels sprouts, listening to the words. Crying. I can work myself up into a state of despair when I think about all of the children that are made to feel 'less than' because they're LGBTQ. My heart aches when I think about my gay and lesbian friends who leave the state (Texas) to marry, or choose not to marry as a show of solidarity until all gay people can marry in this country.  I have tried to write this post for the last two hours, and I keep stumbling on my words.  I'm a pretty average hetero girl. I'm not a minority. I'm not treated unequally in any relevant way in my life. So...I worry that my advocacy will be phrased poorly, or that I'll put my foot in my mouth, because I don't have a true understanding of what being gay in America feels like. I might mince words. I might offend someone because I don't know what it's like to walk in their shoes.  If any of this comes out wrong, please let me apologize in advance. I just feel like it's more important to say something rather than say nothing in fear that I might not say it exactly right. I assure you, my heart is in the right place even if I can't fully grasp all of the complexities of the issue. The only frame of reference that I really have is love. I do know love. I do know that there is no way in this world I would want to deprive another human being of it.  I do know that love begets love. I do know that it can only serve humanity to honor the love of all people.  This is why I feel so moved by those around me who are gay or straight who are speaking out on every level, whether it be a quiet family conversation, a blog post, canvassing for the cause during elections, posting videos to youtube, tweeting, or supporting larger movements like the Trevor Project's "It Gets Better" campaign. This is the video that the Austin Police Department and LGPOA produced as part of that campaign:

 

I guess I just want to express my gratitude to all of the people who are keeping this conversation current. Who aren't backing away from it. Who are insisting that we keep moving this cause forward. I thank you for using your voice to make this world a more equal, more loving place each and everyone. xoxo....

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Day 2 - This One

This one who has walked the walk for our family nearing on 17 years.  If you've visited this blog before then you probably know that I am close to exhausting all of the adjectives in my own personal vocabulary to describe all of the things I appreciate about my husband (my sounding board, best friend, business partner and father to these kids of ours). Our lives have changed so much since we laid eyes on each other all of those years ago, but the core of who he is has been unwavering throughout and my gratitude is this: That our little pocket of the world has this man...because he is an uncomplicated, hard-working, exceptionally giving human being. I feel so unbelievably blessed to have found him...

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~ 30 Days with a Grateful Heart - Day 1 ~

A few blog resources...

A few folks have asked about how to get started with a blog, so I thought I'd list a couple of resources here. If you are looking for a simple, free service that offers straight forward (and free) templates, you have many options.  The platforms that I have experience with, either with my own blog or setting up blogs for various family members (yes, my kids have or have had blogs) are: Typepad (not free), Wordpress.org, Blogger, and Tumblr.  All are relatively user friendly, and offer several different free (theme) templates.  I have to say, that if you are just wanting to share photos, links or shorter amounts of text, I find Tumblr to be a great blog 'gateway.' Whichever blogging platform you choose, you will be led step-by-step through the process to get started publishing your first post.  Do it! And if you have any questions, give me a holler and maybe what you have is a problem that I've run into that I can help you out with.  All of these providers also provide FAQ sections and helpful communities.  You don't need to know any HTML or coding in order to create a simple yet beautiful blog. Once you're set up, if you'd like to be added to that blog roll over there on the right, just shoot me an email, and I'll post a link to you (if you'd like.) xoxo

~ 30 Days with a Grateful Heart - Day 1 ~

Day 1 - Wanderlust

Wanderlust...defined by Merriam-Webster as "strong longing for or impulse toward wandering." I have it...and I have it bad.  I'm embracing the spirit of adventure that's welling up inside of me and acknowledging that it's about damn time she decided to reappear.  It feels good to feel excited about what might lie ahead. I need to run away from the suburbs for just a quick trip. I'll come back I promise. I just require some mountains, or the desert, or snow, or a temperate rainforest...something.  Now I simply have to figure out where we're going and how we're gonna get there. Suggestions? Bonus points if I can drive my 4WD there. Did I mention that I might be having a mid-life crisis? While I'm not sure I've found my gratitude around that bundle of mess, I can at least be grateful that it's stirring up some changes around the joint.