I began writing this intending to talk about Jenny's post back in April about Catherine Newman's book Catastrophic Happiness, which I promptly added to my reading list. But I kept staring at a blank page unable to write. Feeling tapped out.
Life the last two months has felt rather full. Wonderfully full. But I've been doing a lot of "just keep your head down and let the momentum carry you" in an effort to keep myself from feeling overwhelmed.
My husband has been traveling nearly every week over the the last two months. Doing all the grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, Lego building, preschool drop off and pick up and the bedtime routine solo and trying to keep my own teaching schedule going is proving to be a bit of a challenge. That said, as much as I feel overextended I feel equally grateful. We've paddled through some tough waters as we both ventured out to be self-employed right before the recession hit and everything tanked. And here we are a handful of years later on the other side of it, with a great deal of work that is meaningful to each of us. We are profoundly grateful.
We are busy with work (just as everyone we know seems to be), and are in the thick of the child rearing years. There are never enough hours in the day to get it all done, nor will there ever be. And the things I'd like to do for myself quickly fall by the wayside - my own Pilates exercise, meditation, dance class, reading a book, writing a blog. I know that will change down the road. But right now I am working on fully embracing just being "in it."
“Life isn’t about avoiding trouble, is it? It’s about being present, even through the hard stuff, so you don’t miss the very thing you’re trying so hard not to lose. I understand all at once the title of a Zen book I haven’t even read: Full Catastrophe Living. That’s what I’m doing. It’s the full catastrophe, and I’m in it, and if I wait for it to be over, well, it will be over.”
So go on and read Jenny's post and if you need even more summer book reading recommendations, her latest post is just that.
A few other little things...
More Catherine Newman, I also really love this article she wrote in the NY Times a while back about the importance of giving kids your undivided attention...or none at all.
And from the NY Times last week...
"The Chinese philosophers saw the world as one of endless, shifting relationships. That’s why they emphasized that we have influence over the trajectory of our lives when we focus not on who we are, our plans for the future, and self-assertion, but on learning how to relate well to others.
Caring for one another is hard work. It requires endless awareness, adaptation and responsiveness. But it is one of the most important and rewarding things we do. This is not just how our children will become better people and live better lives. It is how they can create a better world."
I am really enjoying listening to podcasts, especially Here's the Thing with Alec Baldwin. In the most recent one with Michael Pollan, Pollan talks about one of the best ways to remedy a picky eater - get them cooking in the kitchen.
I've also been wanting to share a bit about my son's 4th birthday party we had earlier in the month, especially the slow-roasted side of salmon I served which is a foolproof recipe everyone should know. I have a handful of favorite skincare products I'd love to talk about, loads more recipes and I finally found a really great, good-looking outdoor umbrella stand. I hope to get to all that soon.