Thursday, August 21, 2014

Satisfaction

I'm not completely dissatisfied and that's good.  If you don't think so, try being wholly dissatisfied.  It has nothing to recommend it.

Seeking Your Equilibrium

It's like being in the primate house. These kids, they're one step above flinging their poo sometimes.  They squawk at each other, in a constant squabble over anything as a way to prove their dominance in the family community. 

Sometimes you need a break.  The caretaker, you get worn out by the chaos.  I noticed that even Frannie (the cockatiel) reacts by screeching at them.  There's a ball of energy that pulsates and spins wherever too many children gather, especially if it is in too small an area. As an adult, you may nit notice this until it's too late.  You find yourself depleted and surrounded by insane monkey-kids. 

Nature.  Get them outside.  Get yourself outside.  Separate them.  Take a bath.  Something to disperse the disparate energies.  Cleanse, breathe, sigh, relax.

Special Needs Mothering

Me: “Talking to Isaac is like talking to God; You don't get any response and you just assume He/he heard you.”

The Middle

My husband was surprised to find out that I wasn't aware that all female birds will lay eggs, no matter if they are fertilized or not.  Not just chickens do this. All birds do this.

I don't know why I didn't know.  It was one of those assumptions that you form as a youngster and it continues on throughout life unchallenged.  It never gets a quality-control check later on when you can reason better, although it so needs one. 

“I grew up in suburbia!” I told him, “I am neither country-strong nor city-smart.  I know how to use a crosswalk safely.  I know how to avoid strangers in vans.  I know how to get to the closest chain store for whatever I need.  I've come to trust in the security of that.  I'm suburban-aware.”

So, yes, I might not always grasp the natural rhythms of birds or the intricate connections urban bus systems make.  But I can point you to the nearest Starbucks or Golden Arches.  And for me this is the Golden Mean, the happy-medium.


I'd argue we are meant for moderation.  Our bodies perish if they become too cold or too hot.  We seek a happy-medium, a range in the middle. Balance.

My Hope Chest

My Hope Chest

Just like my life....
Just like me.

Spills, marks from kids,
A cat scratching post at times,
Sometimes too many things get piled on it


However, within, it stores memories of love and family,

Be it well-loved,

Love is an action...

I made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because I love him.  And love is an action.

Solitude Under the Moon

There is a rhythm to our days and nights.  We might not notice this current, but it's there.  My favorite time is late at night.  I know I should be sleeping.  But I lay in bed tonight, I can't sleep and instead of forcing myself, I go with the flow.  I enjoy the clean, fresh sheet on my bed and the cool, soft breeze coming through the open window, only slightly ajar.  And my cleansed and lotioned body, shampooed hair, encasing my soul which marvels at all, under the light of the full moon.

Quiet and solitude, encased in darkness and coolness.  As a mother, there have been times I have craved you during the chaotic day.  Desperately.  I will not chastise myself for not sleeping right now.  I will not zip past these magic moments of rare peace and into sleep. I will savor this.

My father would not have me sleep with my window open.  If he knew.  And if he had any control in the situation.  You know, if I wasn't 35-years-old. 

But I so dearly love the cool breeze over my face as I drift off to eventual sleep and then throughout the night. 


You see, to me, it's about savoring the things  you love.  Not necessarily the material things you love-actually, frequently it's not the material things, but rather the simple pleasures.  It's about the quality of life not necessarily quantity of life.  So if some calmity befalls me because I left my window open while I slept, know I did it because I so dearly loved the pleasure of it all the other times.