The following is cross-posted from the Weekly Gratitude Blog. I will post there every Tuesday and decided to post those posts here, too. For those of you who read both blogs, I apologize in advance. Some weeks the content might be different and other weeks, exactly the same.
Before I changed the design of my blog, I used to have a tag line that read “Extraordinary Moments from an Ordinary Life.” I’ve had my blog for over ten years and, in that time, I’ve had many different tag lines but none of them rang as true to me as this one.
Life is so extraordinary. Especially the simple, ordinary day.
Last week, I was sitting at my kitchen table, feeding my nine-month-old some cereal and fruit while I helped my older one practice his lowercase letters and kept an eye on my email. And for a split second, I took a moment to look at my life from an outsider’s perspective and I felt a huge rush of gratitude. There was nothing extraordinary about a baby eating some solid food and a five-year-old practicing letters. Yet, everything about it seemed extraordinary to me. Did I really have two amazing boys who made my heart sing? This wonderful laptop to check my mails on and the great kitchen to prepare meals in? (I don’t even cook, imagine if I did.) I felt thankful for the warm house. (It was raining outside and my home last year was not insulated at all so I would be freezing if I were still there.) I felt thankful to be able to live such an ordinary life. To get to get up, feed my kids, help my kids, do my work, all in the comfort of my home. To have a kind, loving husband. To have a job. To have arms, legs, and a healthy body.
I know that some of these things might seem inane to some of you. I complain about many of these a lot of the time. There are days when I am tired and I don’t want to have to feed my son one more meal or I want my older one to be quiet so I can think. Days where I wish I wouldn’t have to respond to one more work email. Some days I am so tired, I wish I could sleep all day. And don’t even get me started on my body and what’s happened to it after having had two kids. (I don’t mind the stretch marks, but I would love to lose the weight.)
And yet, I love my life. There are so many good things about it. There are so many miracles that happen everyday. The tiny hug from my boy or even just a giggle. The baby’s soft hands on my face. Some small accomplishment at work. A hug from my husband’s strong, loving arms. These are miracles to me. Miracles of the ordinary life. The lives we get to live. How similar they are and yet how uniquely different.
I thought this would be a good week to celebrate the ordinariness of our lives. The fact that we get to have ordinary lives. The little extraordinary moments that fill each of our days. I hope you’ll take some time with me to observe, cherish, and be grateful for the extraordinary miracle of the ordinary.
EDITED TO ADD: As it always seems to happen, I found this incredible video in Jena’s blog today and I had to come share since it fits so well with my topic. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Well those last 8 items didn’t get done today after all. I managed only four. Eh that’s not so bad. Halfway there. Today started on a grouchy note but ended well and now I feel calm and relaxed. This week’s going to be a short week at work and I have to be super-productive tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me.
Nathaniel is quite squirmy. Especially when I have him on his back, he always tries to go back to being on his hands and knees. Today, he was sitting with me on the couch when he spotted something and went after it. As he sat up and started chewing David’s superman, David ran up to stand behind him on the couch so he wouldn’t fall backwards. I swear he did it all by himself. And the kiss, too.
He even grabbed the paper on Nathaniel’s hand to make sure he wouldn’t eat it.
Can anyone ask for a kinder, better brother? I think not.
Note to Self: I’ve realized that I still spend a lot of time thinking about the “next thing.” The next minute, the next activity, the next todo list item. The meal, the changing, the nap, the bath, the book. I focus so much on what’s next that I don’t spend enough time cherishing what’s now. I don’t slow down enough. This is something I need to work on. Being in the now. This was one of the things I wanted to focus on more in 2010. The whole reason I started the “note to self” section, so I can be more aware. So I can pay attention.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. Skype. I spend a lot of time chatting both with my mom and my sister on skype. It’s how both my kids get to “see” my parents and sister so regularly. It has changed the way we live. I am so thankful for it.
2. Video monitor. When David was a baby, we never bought a video monitor, just an audio one and then at around two, he went through this phase where he’d strip naked after we put him in the crib. After the second time we found him naked and covered in pee, we tried several tricks and of course he mastered all pretty quickly. So we finally bought a video monitor so that we could run in there as soon as he began to strip. It worked like a charm and it made me realize how much I’d been missing out. The peace of mind that comes with being able to see the baby is literally priceless. Highly highly recommended for anyone who has a baby. I cherish mine.
3. Yesterday, when I was at Ikea, I bough a sixpack of their cinnamon rolls. Four of them are already gone. Sweet, delicious snacks make me happy. Yum.
I attempted to draw some windows and doors on another scrappy extra.
David helped me glue them on.
Of course, no project is complete without stickles, so we used them to decorate.
And here’s our final product, left to dry overnight.
It was pretty dark by then which is why we have blurry-ish photos. I love the whole scene in the original post and we’ll have to add to it at some point. But this is a cute start.
Happy Sunday. I’ve been sleeping a little more than usual lately and even the tiny bit extra has had a tremendous impact. I’ve been less grouchy, more productive, and just happier to be with my kids.
We started the day with a long and expensive trip to Target. We were out of everything so it took us two full carts to stock back up. And it took 25 minutes for the checkout person to ring it all up and it was expensive. But now we’re fully stocked except for veggies and fruits which is a different trip.
Then we came back, put all the stuff away and I put Nathaniel down and ran to Ikea for a project I am doing. I also bought a bunch of frames for the art I’d bought a while ago and came and put them all in their frames. Getting ready for my mom to come in March. She’s going to help me hang everything up.
When I came back Nathaniel was up and I snapped some photos. Can you ever get enough of the toes? Not me, I can’t.
And here’s the cute face behind them.
Then David and I did some crafts while Nathaniel snacked and had a failed nap attempt. I read a bit, relaxed and now it’s already 7pm. Amazingly, I am down to eight items left from the original 53 items. Not bad for five days. I am hoping to be down to only one or two by the end of tomorrow. Let’s see.
Or I might just relax 🙂
Note to Self:
I am not the best driver. I didn’t learn to drive until I was well into my late twenties and I’ve just always been nervous. I still don’t drive on the freeway. I also tend to have a space perception issue and don’t always remember directions really well so I am often nervous. Today, when I got to Ikea, I was looking for a parking spot and I realized that I was already stressing about driving back home. Would I be able to find my way? What if I got lost? I was worrying and worrying and I hadn’t even gotten to the store yet. I took a big breath and told myself to relax. Maybe I’d get lost or maybe not but right now I was here for a purpose and I needed to focus on that. On this moment. It was amazing to notice how much anxiety I was already carrying.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. I am really grateful that we have an Ikea so close to our home. In New York, the closest one was hours away and I know this is true for many people. Even though I don’t shop there often, I love the practicality of having one so nearby.
2. This is going to sound funny but today, I am grateful for Twitter. I love award shows and always like to watch them but I had totally forgotten the Golden Globes were tonight until someone twitted about one of the wins and I turned on the TV and started recording it asap. Go twitter.
3. I was thinking today that if we lived in New York we would never be able to do what we did today. There’s no Target closeby, carrying all those groceries back to our home would have been terrifying and we’d have nowhere to store them either. I love that here we have a home, a lot of space, cars and big stores nearby. Maybe others don’t but I do.
This was made with the October A Million Memories Kit. Here is the journaling:
one of the greatest gifts
my older sister gave me
was to teach me how to read
i know david can’t read yet
but one day he will
and looking at this photo
i am hoping that
he will give you
the same gift
my sister gave me
Happy Saturday. It was a hectic and yet calm day here today. I had a chat for my BPS class which was great and then I spent the day playing with the kids. Feeding them and doing workbooks with David. He can now write all the lowercase letters and spell words. I am flabbergasted.
Nathaniel gets around swimmingly and can play by himself for a long time now. He loves little, tiny things and spends hours with them. Little the sticker or the button on the Wii Fit board.
and he’s so so cute.
I spent the rest of the day doing some art, going down my todo list items, watching some TV and relaxing. In just a little bit, I am off to read my book. Feeling tired yet not stressed. I hope your day was good, too.
Note to Self:
At some point today, I was reading my mail, feeding Nathaniel, and helping David with his lowercase letters. And, no, this is not about multi-tasking and whether it’s great or evil or possible. For just a moment, I felt like I was out of my body, watching myself and felt such a rush of gratitude for the ordinariness of life. For getting to sit with my sons. Feeding and helping them. I always loved school and homework and it’s such a pleasure to help my son with his studies. It’s a joy to get to feed Nathaniel some fresh vegetables and see his smiling face. It might sound silly or stupid, but I love the everyday life I have. I love being a mom. I love my home and my husband and my life and I am so so grateful.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. I am grateful that David likes to practice his letters and numbers. I love seeing how he learns and seeing the joy in his face when he gets something right. It’s such a pleasure to get to take this journey alongside him.
2. I am grateful that bedtime is so painless in our house. The kids are great at taking their baths, listening to their stories, and then going to bed without any complaints. David puts his own pullup and pajamas on and gives us kisses and hugs and says bedtime words (I love you with all my heart, sleep tight, i’ll see you in the morning.) and just goes to bed. No whining, no complaining.
3. Fabric. I got to play with a lot of fabric today and I love touching it. I love the texture, the softness, the thickness. All of it. I love it.
There are several tutorials online for camera straps, but I like this one the best because:
1. It’s removable so I can wash my strap if it gets dirty and since I carry my camera around all the time, chances are, it might.
2. It covers all of the strap, including the leather ends.
3. The stitches are on the sides and not in the middle (which bothers me for some reason.
4. It’s really simple. (really important cause I suck at sewing.)
The hardest part of this whole thing was choosing the fabric. I had several ideas and I couldn’t decide for the longest time. Finally I went with the one I loved the most. The one I loved touching. I felt bad using the fabric. I wanted to save it. But I am trying to let go of that “I should save this for a special occasion” habit. Life is now. I use my camera all the time. This means that I will get to see and touch this fabric every single day, why shouldn’t it be the fabric I love?
So I picked the one I loved the most. Then I measured. I measured 100 more times. I was so scared of cutting. I kept thinking I was going to get it wrong and I didn’t have more of this fabric if I messed up. I should have done a trial run with another fabric but I don’t have a lot of time on my hands and I wanted to just go for it and have faith in myself. So I just took the plunge and cut.
The directions have a bunch of ironing which I knew I wasn’t going to do since I have no idea where my iron is. (Still packed I think.) The nice thing about this fabric was that it didn’t really require ironing. I folded and stitched the opening through which the strap goes in and out.
I didn’t do the pockets in the tutorial cause I didn’t want them, so I just went ahead and stitched the whole thing. I then turned it the right side, checked that it was fitting and then stitched on the edges which made it a much tighter fit, but, thankfully, it still fit!
And here it is on my camera. Low quality photo cause I had to take it with my other camera.
I love it! I love touching it. I am so glad I used this fabric I love.
A piece of art I am in the middle of for my sister-in-law. I don’t think she reads my blog so I am pretty sure I’m safe.
And the little boy. Today went by quickly. Come to think of it, this whole week went by really quickly. And now we have a 3-day-weekend. Love those. Honestly, just love not having to drive David to school. Not sure why that’s such a chore for me but it is. We had playgroup again today and as much as I love Nathaniel to be able to play, those things are so weird for me. Even though I talk so much, I think I still am an introvert at heart. I prefer to be home, with my books or art, and my kids, and just be here where it’s safe.
Note to Self:
Sometimes it’s better not to overthink. There are some decisions I go over and over and over and never seem to be able to quite make. I wreck my brain thinking there must be an answer somewhere there but often times there isn’t. Or I think I know it and then the next day, I feel the opposite. So today, I decided to just let it all go. I won’t search for the answer anymore. I won’t make the decision. I will just continue life until the solution comes to me. It might not work but it’s worth a shot. Learning to let go, one step at a time.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. This will sound silly but I got a new battery for my laptop at work yesterday and the difference is amazing. My old one could only go around 18 minutes unplugged. This one goes for 2 hours. I can’t believe I waited this long to get the new one.
2. I am thankful that I had some time to sit and do art today. Stitching and working with my hands. I do love it and it’s so relaxing.
3. Thankful for the 3-day weekend and a short vacation coming up. I am looking forward to reading and relaxing and being present with my boys. All three of them. (and seeing some old friends and making new ones.)
The journaling reads:
I am full-time work-at-home Mom. I have a relatively demanding job and an eight-month-old baby and a five-year-old son. I have no help. My older boy goes to school from 9 to 11:45 and I spend two hours of my day driving him there and back.
The rest of the time, they are both at home with me. I have to make food, nurse, put down, pick up, change diapers, and do the million other things that come with being a mom. I also have to attend meetings and video conferences and send email and resolve problems, and the million other things that come with being an employee.
Most days I can balance the two okay. But there are times when everything seems to happen at once. The baby is upset but something from work really needs my attention at that very moment. During those times, I am extra grateful for these little puffs that Nathaniel loves so much. Once he’s properly fed, I know I can give him a handful and he’ll eat quietly while I give undivided attention to my work.
I snapped this photo of my morning ritual for an upcoming weekly gratitude entry.
Good day, today. Thanks to Jake mostly. He was home today so he could take David to his dentist appointment. He then took David to school and back, too which meant my morning was a lot calmer and more productive than usual. That started my whole day on a different foot. Here’s a shot of Nathaniel from the morning while he was crawling around in my room. He regularly stands up now and likes to come to the edge of the bed and smile at me.
See the top teeth? One’s out and the other also broke through the skin. My sweet boy.
Took two trips to work today and then a trip to the place where we’re having David’s fifth birthday. Got a ton of work done and even started a piece of art tonight. So, all in all, a great day.
Note to Self:
It was great to go to work today even for a short time. I had to get my photo taken but I ended up getting my computer fixed too and walking in the hallways at work, I just remembered how much I love that place. How l lucky I feel to be working at Google. I love being there. I love being a part of this wonderful place and working with these wonderful people. I truly feel blessed and lucky. I think sometimes when there’s a lot of stress or work, it’s easy to lose sight of all the good stuff but today was a reminder for me. I love the people I work with. I love the product. I really do love it. Must remember this more often. And must make time to go to work occasionally.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. Work. Ok I know I said a lot above so I won’t repeat it. But I really am thankful for work today so I couldn’t not put it on my list.
2. Mentioned this too, but I am thankful Jake took the day off to take care of David all morning. Made my day go 1000 times more smoothly than it would have otherwise.
3. I did two hours of hand stitching and sewing and machine stitching tonight. I am thankful for the time to do this. I don’t know what I am doing at all so I am thankful to YouTube for teaching me how to make a French Knot. Thankful for people like Rebecca Sower who inspire me. Thankful for art.
I am tired. I say this and feel it so much of the time. I can’t even remember anymore what it feels like not to be tired. I wonder if I ever will.
Here’s David because I don’t take as many photos of him anymore and that makes me sad.
And here’s the daily Nathaniel.
Relatively good day here besides being so tired. Not doing so great on the food thing either. I’d like to. Especially reducing the coffee since I am not sure it’s not affecting Nathaniel. And who knows if it’s one of the reasons he doesn’t sleep well….
Note to Self:
Making a todo list does work wonders. I got twenty-some items done yesterday. Of course there’s still a lot to do but it’s nice to get some things done and nice to have it all on paper. It means I don’t have to keep waking up at night just to send myself an email on something. (Yes, it’s stupid I know.)
I need to remind myself that I don’t always have to be ahead of the game. It’s okay to live life as it happens. Sometimes it’s even better. It’s ok to slow down. It’s ok. I’m still taking my time with the driving and that has helped a lot. Need to do that in other areas of my life.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. A little walk I took with my neighbor Sara today. I don’t get to spend a lot of time with grownups and I don’t get out much. So it was nice to take a walk with Sara and our kids and get some fresh air and chat.
2. Amazon delivery. Last week, I finally gave up and ordered some baby food instead of going to buy it. I cook some but I also supplement with Earth’s Best. Amazon shipped immediately, for free, and arrived in my doorstep in less than two days. And, no, I don’t have Prime. I love Amazon.
3. I am extra grateful for my home and health today especially in light of all that’s happening in Haiti. It’s so devastating and I can’t even imagine.
You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you’d like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don’t have to but I’d appreciate a link back if you do use them.
This is part of a weekly digital download series. They are posted every Thursday. You can find all of the ones that were posted here. If you like my downloads, please click here and give me ideas/requests for 2010. I would like to continue this feature but I am not sure I can come up with enough ideas on my own.
