A Mindful Life

I sit at the dining table, just having put Claire to bed at 7:45 p.m. Husband is out seeing a movie with a friend; he deserves an occasional fun outing too. The challenge has been that last week I started doing something different with Claire’s schedule, and today I’ve decided it probably isn’t working out.
Before [...]

At least, this seems the case with certain people who have the misfortune of being adult and being prominent in my daily life. (Now, who might that be? Poor guy.) *sigh* I really need to find a way to release tension more constructively so that it doesn’t turn rank and poisonous in me and then [...]

In between shopping for a new car seat, providing the usual care for Claire, doing laundry, buying groceries, vacuuming and mopping, watering outdoor plants, and making lemon buttermilk pies for a potluck, I’ve been squeezing in another book. The library books are momentarily set aside so I can complete a book I started months ago, [...]

The next step up from “the bucket” we had her in. This is another sign of change, of Claire growing up.

We call it a throne because she sits so high up, so now she can see the world roll by, and because it cost a pretty penny (although we think she’ll be able to use [...]

This is one of three pinwheels I stuck in a flower pot in our back patio. Claire loves to watch them spin, especially when sunlight causes them to reflect light into the house.

My energy seems to have returned, which makes me feel cheerier and optimistic. This shift occurred over the weekend when I got some time to myself.
A Guatemalan friend recommended some authors to me, so on Thursday I dove into Antigua and My Life Before, by Marcela Serrano. I finished yesterday completely satisfied with the [...]

Well first, it takes time and energy, which are increasingly scarce for me.
Second, and more importantly to me, it creates an often one-sided relationship with people. It puts people in a spectator role and removes incentive to connect directly with me, because they already know what’s up in my life.
That doesn’t provide the most [...]

In addition to riding the swing, pulling up grass, scrunching sand between our fingers, and generally trying to put all interesting items in the mouth:

And happy, happy news! Uncle TP is coming for a visit to meet my Little Eclaire in August! It’s funny, because he came out in August last year for a visit [...]

For reasons I don’t want to go into (mostly because they’re boring), the past couple days have been rough for me. I am raw and short on energy and patience. At a stoplight, I had my right turn blinker on. It’s an option to turn right on red (unless there’s sign prohibiting it). I was [...]