I've been quiet lately. Maybe not in every aspect of my life, but I have been intentionally silencing a lot of competing voices and vices. Mainly of the online and social media sort. After having what felt like a gorge fest of social media presence, I retreated. And took a giant sigh of relief. Don't get me wrong, I still love to peruse facebook, pinterest, and instagram. I am just trying to limit my time on the two-dimensional screen, so I can intentionally spend my time doing, well, real life.
I've been gardening. For those of you who know me well, you know that me typing that sentence is like...well, frankly it's monumental. So we've been enjoying our strawberries, fresh lettuce and spinach, and the best cilantro in the world. I've been picking mint and putting it in my water (in my amazingly cute mason jar) and for some reason this makes me inexplicably happy. I don't love the weeding, or the dirt, or the actual gardening part. But I do love to see progress and to realize that sometimes the effort you spend on something is what makes it grow. I want a lot of things in my life to grow well. Mostly relationships. So I have been slowing down, unplugging, and spending time reading books about Fancy Nancy and pushing swings higher and higher. And every giggle is confirmation that this is how I want to spend my precious time.
And I've been doing projects that have been half-done or just dreamed up and not done. It's time to just start doing things. Dreaming is good. Dreaming is necessary for the soul and for this world to become a better place. But all the dreams in the world are for naught if we don't do something. So let's do something. Start small and I can pretty much guarantee, like my garden, it will grow. And that is pretty amazing. I just want to be more conscientious of how well I am tending to the important things, even if those might seem rather insignificant to others.
Here's how my projects turned out! I am super happy with them! These babies have been in my brain since last year (maybe longer), and I'm so glad to finally have them done. I've switched over to glass containers to get away from plastic and in the hopes of buying in bulk to cut down on waste. Now I am excited because I get to do some of the things I care about (less toxins for the family and less waste for the world) and like the way it looks =)
I made the dictionary entry labels. Every single one of them. Because I love words and dictionaries. I also love food. A lot. So this is a marriage of things I love.
Once I started with the anchor jars, I had to keep going with the spice containers.
I love that food can be this colorful and beautiful. Seeing it on display like this just makes me appreciate the creativity of its Maker. He didn't have to, but He gave us rainbow colored food. I seriously marvel at the variety of flavors and textures and my heart swells with gratitude. Why was I hiding all this beauty in a cupboard?
Anyway, there may not be as many blog posts about my ponderings for a while. Not because I have stopped pondering because that is quite simply impossible, but because I am on a quest to squeeze every moment of joy out of this life. To be present and to invest in what matters the most to me. To make phone calls and coffee dates instead of liking and commenting on facebook. To not just be a dreamer, but a doer. To push swings, hold hands, and capture giggles. To date the man I married, and celebrate who we've become on this journey together. To smell like campfire, harvest a garden, and count the summer freckles on my daughter's cheeks. To read books until 1 a.m., to find a new favorite restaurant, and to remember to take time to feed my soul.
I might not get pictures of every moment, and it's okay. I want to build memories, and that requires my full attention. I want to remember the tastes, smells, sounds, and textures and then weave them together with the emotions and thoughts of the moments. And it's my hope to take the time to write some of life's richness down to share. So here's to a summer full of rich memories just waiting to be made and dreams just waiting to be accomplished...
Call me so we can have coffee.
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