Spring Crochet

This is not all of the things I've been working on, but some of the things I really like :)

Spring Dirt

After I got the kids off to school, I spent about 20 minutes cleaning out a little flower bed in my yard this morning. Felt really good to get the weeds out and get some dirt under my fingernails. Recently at a store I found some little white hyacinths for 98 cents each, so I got 3. I planted them yesterday afternoon under my redbud next to my crocuses. I watered them this morning, too.

First Week of Spring

Good Morning to the World

Just thought I'd say good morning to the world today. I thought I'd give us all a pep talk. Things seem overwhelming for all of us at times. For some it is major events---fire, death in the family, earthquake. For others, it can be as simple as a sink full of dirty dishes and 3 baskets of unfolded laundry. No matter what your current place is, it is a season. It is not forever. I know I sound like a broken record. I'm always thinking about seasons and transitions. For the most part, though, the things we go through will change with time. Most of us have no long term trauma to deal with. Most of us are not starving or slaves or in any kind of holocaust of sorts. It's a matter of perspective, I think, because there are still those on the planet who have chronic suffering. And most of us in the soft comfortable world of first world problems have a tendency to ignore and put out of our minds those who chronically suffer today. We cannot forget those who suffer. We must remember them and try to help if we can.

That said, we cannot let things out of our control totally overwhelm and depress us. Only certain things we can control. We can control our thoughts and prayers. We can control our words and actions. We can control our choices.

I just want to throw out there that I think we can choose kindness and gentleness more, not only to the world around us, but to ourselves and our close families. Be kind to yourself. Be gentle with yourself. You don't have to compare your pain and suffering with another person's life. You don't have to say that your pain is not worthy of love and compassion, grace and gentleness. It is. Even if you compare it, and in the big scheme of things, you think think your pain is minimal. It might be. It might not be. It is still ok to be kind and gentle to yourself.

Most of us only show others a mere surface view of our lives. We crop it and photoshop it, and put pretty borders and filters on it til it looks just so. I showed you pictures of crocuses, but I didn't show all the mud and dead grass all around. I didn't show the carport filled with kid clutter--old broken bikes, cardboard boxes, rakes, stuff, etc. I didn't show the grass growing through the broken asphalt around our broken down van in our driveway.

And yet......the crocuses are enough. They are beautiful by themselves. It's ok to search and find those small things of beauty to be thankful for. I just want you to know.....hey guess what??? All the people you compare yourself to.......they crop and photoshop their world, too. They compartmentalize and crop out the ugly, and don't share it with anyone. They share the pretty parts. We all do. Let's be gentle with them, too, and try not to judge or compare. It's possible they're trying to hide their pain, too, and put on a calm front.

So I say good morning and I love you. Find some encouraging words to say to yourself today and also those around you. It sounds like a cliche but it's true. Your kind words or hug today may be the only kindness they hear.

Thought I was done with this post, but I remembered a story from when my girls were younger. When my 2 girls were like 8 and 5 (hard to remember), they had a habit of hugging people in the grocery and telling girls and ladies that they were beautiful. Well, one day they were doing their little girl thing, passing out hugs and kind words, and they made a check out girl cry. She said that it was the first time in her life that anyone had ever told her she was beautiful. This young check out girl made it all the way to college age without anyone telling her she's beautiful. Such a simple thing my girls did that day.

I'm pretty sure that check out girl will remember that hug and those words for a long time. So if no one has told you anything encouraging, I'll get you started. You have been created for a specific purpose. You are worth spending time with, and you have special talents and strengths that no one else has. Don't let the photoshopped world get you down.

Happy Anniversary to Me!

19 years.....it's been a while. Happy anniversary to the love of my life! Thankful that I met you. Here's to at least 19 more.....

All of Me

by John Legend

with Lindsey Stirling on violin

"All Of Me"

[Verse 1:]
What would I do without your smart mouth?
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out
You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down
What's going on in that beautiful mind
I'm on your magical mystery ride
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright

[Pre-Chorus:]
My head's under water
But I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

[Chorus:]
'Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, ohoh

[Verse 2:]
How many times do I have to tell you
Even when you're crying you're beautiful too
The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood
You're my downfall, you're my muse
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues
I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you

[Pre-Chorus:]
My head's under water
But I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

[Chorus:]
'Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, ohoh

[Bridge:]
Give me all of you
Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts
Risking it all, though it's hard

[Chorus:]
'Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you

I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, ohoh

Waiting for Spring, Enjoying the Winter

I like to try to enjoy and be present in the time I am in right now, no matter what season it is. Whether it's summer or spring, winter or fall, happiness or hard times, today and right now are things that I focus on. It always baffles me how much energy I see people use on complaining and worrying and wishing something were different. Always saying "if only"....You hear it all the time. "If only it were spring," "If only I didn't have these problems," "If only I were richer," "If only these people acted differently," ad nauseum.....

I like to enjoy the season I am in. It is winter now, and wow, we've had a memorable winter with 2 huge snows. My kids will be talking about these snows with 10+ inches for years and years after they're all grown and finished with school.

I love looking for signs of spring, too. I have seen my first crocus this year, in between the two big snows. It didn't bother me that they got snowed over. They did their beautiful job. Crocuses love to bloom when it's almost spring, even through snow.

Parenting is the same. My husband and I have always been given generous amounts of advice at each stage of our children's growth. The main theme was always something like, Just wait, it gets better.....or Just wait, it gets worse. Why not just accept the fact that each stage is wonderful and each stage will come with joys and challenges? No need to rush through each season. It is enough to know that each season has a time limit. Each season has joy and grief. Some seasons bring more death than life, like fall and winter. But even in the winter, the crocuses and other flowers and perennials are preparing to bloom again. Shoot, some flowers, like tulips, actually need a super cold time or they won't bloom at all in the spring.

So it is with life, too. Kids grow into young people, and then adults. Adults grow into adulthood and middle age, and then into older years. Watching friends and family mature and grow into older years is definitely a hard season. It has been hard for me to watch my grandparents and great grandparents pass on from this life. It has been hard for me to watch my parents grow older and watch them have more physical challenges, ones that come with everyone as they get older.

That is a comfort, too. Just knowing that growing and aging is something that everyone goes through. It is common to the human race. Moms survive the sleepless nights and round the clock baby feedings. Moms and dads survive toddlerhood and potty training. We all eventually succeed in reaching different milestones of growth and maturity. I find myself saying to myself encouraging words......if other people have experienced this and survived and even thrived, then I can, too.

When you get to different stages, I find that there are new levels of ways you can relate to other people, and that's good, too. Some things you just can't relate to until you go through it.

So again with the seasons.....it is winter now here where I live. I choose to enjoy the winter and enjoy the slow pace of snow days. Busyness and the urgency of spring will come soon enough. I just have to remind myself to not get too grumpy at times and look for the joys of today.