coping and then some

we each have our own ways of coping.

when things (be they family or world news or health) get dicey,

i tend to peel back the layers

in an effort to

simplify

down to the core of what matters to me

so i can focus on the meat of what’s important

and not get pulled off track by the chaos (whatever form it takes).

this week, in the light of more shootings,

i prayed a lot.

i also stripped the cork board in my little workroom down to nothing and started again.

there is something so freeing to me about having less to focus on.IMG_5404+it doesn’t fix anything and it doesn’t lessen the pain,

but it does ease the clutter of thoughts in my head a bit

leaving me room to process

and to think.

then i took my 6 yr old

to his friend’s kidz planet birthday party.

maybe i was looking for something to make sense,

because world events often don’t.

sometimes in the stripped down reality of children

things seem clearer to me.

so, i’m taking photos of the kids playing.

they’re helping each other climb

up the fake rock walls.

they’re taking turns jumping into the pit of foam cubes.

they’re sliding down big blowup slides, laughing all the way.

occasionally they run into each other or yell or cut in line.

tempers flare, but it blows over quickly,

like a passing rain shower that leaves the air smelling better than before.

and the thought keeps coming to my mind,

too bad we can’t get the grown-ups of the world togetherIMG_5427sqc(both the people making decisions and the people things are being decided for)

in their stocking feet (because it’s so much harder

to feel tough or self-important that way),

to just play for awhile.

i like to believe, that without posturing or over thinking,

they’d begin to help each other out

and even laugh together at their own mistakes.

that the inevitable squabbles

might have a chance of blowing over like passing rain showers

clearing the air to create some space for change.

we sure could use some change

around here.

‘showers’ from 10:1 of zechariah.

appearances

the fourth of july is supposed to be about freedom

and gratefulness for those who have served.

i feel those things,

but at our house it’s also always

about something quite different.

i’m gonna copy what i put up on fb and ig

a little while ago and

paste it right

here.

because the big patriotic stuff has its place,

but how we look at each other each day

and how we choose to treat each other based

on what we see, needs a place, too…

today

i am practicing

my “it’s just gonna be big bangs for a little while

and we’ll be right here the whole time – you so got this” face.IMG_4969sqbw

one of my kids has ‪#‎spd‬ (sensory processing disorder).

they’re hyper sensitive to smells

and certain textures on the skin (socks are always hit or miss),

and lights, and loud noises.

this holiday is always traumatic.

we can stay away from firework displays

(we record and watch them later on tv

so we can take breaks as needed and control the volume),

but there’s no escape from random neighbors who light stuff off

and you can still hear

the display of the town next door

even with the windows shut down tight.

so we turn on fans for white noise and play favorite music

and put them to bed early praying that they fall asleep before the noise begins.

it’s exhausting to try to protect

a special kid (who looks like any other kid)

from ‘normal stuff’ that will turn them into a shaking heap of tears

who clings to you because they feel neurological pain

from what others are enjoying. truly heartbreaking to watch.

please remember the next time

you see a kid acting erratically in a ‘normal’ situation

or a parent who looks

a bit haggard and hyper vigilant,

that there is always so much more going on

than shows on any ones face.

so much more.

‘neighbor’ taken from 5:14 of galatians.

photo taken by leslie buckley of blueeyedcrafty photography.

really? yup.

meg of a wool story

posted a pic of green onions

that she’d regrown in water in just a few days.

i decided to challenge my science minded son to try it.

he was, to say the least, doubtful.

‘too good to be true’

was basically his sentiment.

so, we bought a little handful of scallions at the grocery

to give it a go.

IMG_2935+

it’s so very simple.

just cut the green tops off of the stalks

(leaving the roots in tact),

then plop

them in water, set in the sun and see what happens.

here’s the complete play by play of what we did.

(‘read’ the pics counter clockwise from the upper left corner):

go collage

sine we were being ‘scientific’

we measured before and after the chopping,

then after 3 days in the sun,

we measured again.

now, i knew they’d grow, but the rate of growth amazed me.

all the darker green at the tops is new growth.

IMG_2984+

in 3 days the stalk that grew the least grew a full inch

while the ‘winner’ grew more than 3″.

that’s crazy good.

my son,

for the record,

can’t get over the fact that they’re growing at all

without dirt.

despite all the clippings i’ve rooted in jars of water

that reality is hitting him for the very

first time in these shoots.

i think i love watching his understanding

of what’s possible grow more than

having our supply of fresh scallions

constantly replacing

itself.

‘understanding’ taken from 2:11 of proverbs.

the papahood

father’s day

is pretty much like any other day at our house.

the kids still need what they need.

david and i still spend most of our time making sure that they get it.

bedtime is still snacks and a family story, singing and good night prayers.28b294360e8e07aeb0d26618132a3c76it’s good.

we know it won’t last forever.

the wee ones get taller and older everyday.

so for now,

we’re both busy and grateful.

especially today we are grateful for papa.

‘grateful’ taken from 4:6 of jonah.

anonymous

someone,

perhaps a parent,

who designed the playground equipment at the bridge center,

put this great 3d swirl in the cement of the stairsIMG_0108briright where i was staring as i watched my child walking up.

if i had been alone, i would have climbed the steps

looking up

and missed it altogether.

perspective and the priority of our moments

accounts for so very much of how we see the world.

‘watched’ taken from 10:13 of job.

experimentalization

the science of the weekend

was twofold. the first trial was chemical:

can warm hardboiled egg in a confined space

really re-tarnish my necklace to its original aged glory

after the jeweler’s free post-repair cleaning?

results, a little tarnish formed, but there’s still a long way to go.IMG_9173cropthe second trial was more psychological:

if i bring my yarn filled yarnit to the new playground

is it up to the rough and tumble of

chasing after 3 or 4 kids?

result:

although the yarnit fared well,

the mama (that’s me) should have known betterIMG_0298cropthan to think that any knitting would be accomplished at all

during a first visit to a new playground.

lessons learned.

‘known’ taken from 14:33 of proverbs.

yarn that almost got cast on at the playground is artesano yarns hand painted alpaca.

colorway shown is ‘meadow flowers‘.

it’s in the execution

no amount of effort,

or planning or sweat or worry,

can make any of us perfect by our own doing.  no amount

and kids seem to know that.

my son spent days asking his papa and i

what seemed like oddly unconnected questions.

he then announced to us that he was writing

a book titled ‘inventions’.

as he presented us with the beginnings of his manuscriptflying table illustrationwe recognized

that all his questions had centered around

the book’s first project:

‘the flying table’ complete with an orderly materials listflying table materialswe congratulated him on a job well begun,

and he replied with a wry smile as he mumbled under his breath,

‘if only it was as easy to make a bike fly’.

if only.

‘questions’ taken from 2:46 of luke.

of course, a train conductor

this is the picture

that i wanted to take today:

‘kelp’ in the sun (it’s nice & knit worsted).IMG_8979crioa lovely box of this color arrived just this week and made me smile.

maybe spring isn’t coming soon, but this is spring-like.

next, below is the picture

that my 4yr old wanted me to take today.

he says that the conductor just trekked across ‘wastelands of snow’IMG_8982 again(see the ‘wastelands’ in the background),

then hiked up the yarn mountain to find spring.

see how he holds a piece of ‘spring’ above his head with his right hand

to show his mastery over winter?

and the sun shone all day.

how was i to know

that one little plastic man

(and my son’s avid imagination)

would be all it takes to lead us around the corner

into sunshine, receding snow, and spring?

someone give that little man a cookie quick,

before he moves on to

greener pastures.

hand one to his 4yr old friend, too.

‘green’ taken from 17:8 of jeremiah.

childhood

one of the great things

about the nine year old boys i know,

is that if you shovel only one path from the back porch to the bus stopIMG_8958upand it’s a zig-zag,

then you tell them that they have to stay on the path

(even though the snow is only 2″ deep),

they will roll their eyes

at you,

and say ‘no way’.

then they will go ahead and do it, and

by the time they are halfway to the door,

they will be laughing from the bottom of their hearts

with unadulterated joy.

‘heart’ taken from 17:22 of proverbs.

curtain call

it is only the shoveled paths

and the driveway, that the kids can play on now.

the actual snow is so deep that they mostly can’t move through it.

we’ve resorted to more and more inside activities this season.

the latest is acting out things

that the kids like or find interesting.

my 8 yr old picked ‘peep and the big wide world‘.

she assigned everyone parts and organized the ‘costumes’ (ie: papa’s bunny ears).

it was so much fun.  here’s our cast of characters:

teenage sister = quack, the cranky big blue duck who always wears a hatIMG_8912crop

4 yr old brother = chirp, the always looking on the bright side red baby birdIMG_8909crop

the 8 yr old ‘director’ herself = peep, the philosophical chickIMG_8913crop9 yr old brother = the overly enthusiastic racoonIMG_8917crop

papa (the good sport) = the bunny (who was instructed on exactly how to hop properly)IMG_8919crop

some laughs and eye rolling was had by all.

what are you doing to fill your days with all the

unrelenting weather outside?

 ‘paths’ taken from 38:19-20 of job.