April and May have come with much rain and cold weather. But nothing compared to the weather in Iceland, where Balin just spent 10 days running around with friends Paul Cartee and Troy Haines. Balin wanted to celebrate his 45th birthday by exploring all the natural wonders of Iceland. He said it was pretty spectacular even though it was often snowing or raining. We had been to Iceland before with the kids and my mom and I decided the cold weather in August was enough for me, so I was happy to let Balin head off to Iceland with friends. They had a great time but Balin said he can check Iceland off the list of places to return. Amen.
Meanwhile, I stayed home and joyfully started a new book my sister had left behind, “French Women Don’t Get Fat”. Ah - what a book. Mirelle Giuliano gives away the secrets of the French way of looking at life: beauty. From food to dress and home, it all comes back to enjoying the beauty of life. “You owe it to your loved ones as well as yourself to know and pursue your pleasures. And since everyone’s taste and metabolism are unique, you must pay attention to yourself - to what delights you- so you can tailor your system and preferences.” Interestingly enough this concept of knowing what truly pleases you and what you find beauty in, corresponds to the spiritual practice of knowing yourself so you can know God. My community group from church is on a similar spiritual journey learning the practices of Jesus, which start with deep reflection and understanding who you are. One would think that after practicing the ways of Jesus for over 30 years I would be farther along and have these practices down but alas my path has been filled with distraction.
I digress. Back to the book. As with most adventures in living, I find bringing friends along with you far more interesting and memorable so I have reached out to two ladies, one a friend the other an acquaintance (soon to be good friend I hope) to join me in the journey of seeing the world through the French culture. We’re starting with the book and hopefully meandering through other practices such as plein-air sketching, French class at the local college and ultimately heading to France to experience the theoretical. With all my heart, I am enthusiastic about this journey. I find it’s helping me to be present and quiet in my head and soul, which I find rejuvenating. I’ll keep you posted on the journey…
Another really great event that happened was meeting Julie Johnson. She and I met through the Nature Conservancy, where she serves on the board. She hosted an evening at her house in Hayden, Id for the International Justice Mission. IJM is a faith based group of lawyers who see the solution to poverty as first eliminating violence. They’ve done work in the human trafficking space, indentured slavery and general enforcement of existing laws. The work is done primarily through indigenous staff. At the meeting in Hayden, we heard the heart breaking and yet victorious story of “Victoria” who traveled from Uganda to tell her story of being kidnapped from school as a girl of twelve and being enslaved to the Lord’s Resistance Army and how she bore two children, escaped and went on to get her undergrad at Norte Dame and is changing the story for countless victims of the LRA. It was inspiring and motivating to support the work of IJM.
I have to say even though this spring has been crazy cold and rainy, it has been spectacular. The forest is literally in bloom. Flowers on the ground, trees ablaze with flowers - incredible. We have been getting out hiking and mountain biking as much as we can, which is generally daily. I’m super thankful to live here during these times.
I’ve continued to work at my painting. I recently came to an “ah hah” moment that art doesn’t happen for most over night — it takes practice doing the same thing over and over. So I decided that I would practice peonies and Lilacs over and over and over. The realization actually brought freedom to not be perfect but to keep practicing.
Mother’s Day 2022. Several of my friends have taken to traveling during Mother’s Day because they’re tired of the disappointment they feel from their kids not putting effort forth for the day. With that in mind, I decided I should forewarn my kids a week in advance that the day was quickly approaching and though I have low expectations, I did have some expectations of being thought of. Balin was out of town so there was no outside encouragement or direction to make something happen.
As of late, I’ve been volunteering at church to serve in the Café on Sunday mornings, which is what I did the morning of Mother’s Day. I was thinking the kids were going to join me at church for service but when I didn’t see them, I headed for home. Upon my arrival I was greeted by Sam at the griddle and a table set for a queen. Perrin had made tea, purchased flowers and both had written lovely cards. It was a delightful surprise! They then asked what I wanted to do for the day and I had a little list: take Piper for a hike, go to the nursery and buy a few plants, and have help working in the garden. They moaned a little as it was hailing/raining outside, but they dutifully hopped in the car and joined in the activities. I think they secretly enjoyed it!
Lastly, Sam and I have worked out an arrangement for sanity in our house. We’ve arranged for a 4-6pm internet free time where kids are welcome to play, hang or do homework. From 6-10 they can be on the internet but it can’t be just for entertainment. One of my pet peeves is when people entertain themselves ad nauseum - adults and kids alike. Sam in particular has to actually leave the house at 6pm and go to a co-working space that Balin rented, and work on his work that he’s trying to accomplish. He’s currently working on having a YouTube following and working through a computer programming course, plus his homework. It’s been a painful push to get that kid out of the house, but it’s starting to payoff. The concept came from Atomic Habits where James Clear recommends creating a clear working zone that allows you to focus and get stuff done. I’m hoping that the habit of “going to work” becomes a life long practice but we’ll see. Baby steps.
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