Sorry!

We had an unexpected evening together as a family tonight. Between all of our different schedules, having one is a sporadic and somewhat sporadic happening. But, tonight, we had one. I have not been feeling well, and so canceled an appointment in favor of loading up on cold medication and not leaving the house. Spouse thought he had a class, but the class he thought he had doesn’t start for another couple of months. And so we had some time together as a family. We could have popped in a movie and vegged out together (and I’m not going to lie…we have done that, will do that again, and have no shame about it), but tonight, we decided that we needed to play a game together. The game? Sorry!

And, let me tell you something: there is something precious and priceless about the time that we spent around that table. There were shrieks of laughter and shouts of joy. There were plenty of “oh man!”s, as pawns were bumped and giggles when pawns were swapped or sent back to “start”. And there were high fives and “good game”s shared every time a pawn made it “home”. 

They may have a lot of toys and gadgets, but the most important things we can give them is our time , our attention and our love. And for the ability and the privilege of having that to share, I am eternally thankful. #masters2020 #mundaneholy #familygamenight

A Box Full of Possibilities

When I was a little girl, my mom would cross stitch. I remember watching her work on a project, especially this gorgeous winter scene that she eventually had framed.

But, more than that, I remember her box of embroidery floss, all loaded onto these little cardboard bobbins...

Back then, cross stitch patterns that you would follow were always printed in black and white, and so you would truly only see the picture emerge once you embed added thread to canvas and allowed the picture to emerge, one stitch at a time

Until that happened, however, there the box would sit, a world of possibilities, arranged neatly into rows, a rainbow of colors waiting to be used to bring an image to life. 

Now that I have refound my love of cross stitching, I have collected my own little box of floss (okay, I have enough floss for more than one box), that teems with the energy of the possibilities. What shall I create today? What will those colors bring to life? What picture shall emerge from the rainbow contained in my box? 

I like to believe that we are all capable of great creative acts, of bringing beauty into this world. I like to believe that we have at our disposal the tools necessary to bring wonder to life, each in our own way. I like to believe that our toolbox teems with that energy, the promise of the rainbow of possibility...the promise of what is waiting to emerge at our hands.

What are your being called to create, to bring to life, to nurture into existence? What are the possibilities aching to be set free in wonder and beauty? What are you going to do to unleash creativity and joy into this world? 

Don’t hesitate, you have a box full of possibility, and beauty is calling. 

#masters2020 #mundaneholy #beauty #creativity 

My Own Personal Weighted Blanket

This is Chewie. She is my friend and most loyal companion. We (some would say stupidly) got her as a newly weaned pup when I was six months pregnant with our second child, so we were dealing with a sock eating* puppy and newborn at the same time.

Now that she’s four years old, she’s a lot calmer, and just loves to snuggle with her people, be it me, my husband or either of the children (you can often find The Oldest sitting on the floor, her laying perpendicularly behind him, leaning up against her almost as a backrest). And to be honest, there’s often nothing more calming than having her lay across your lap. Between the weight (she weighs about 90lbs) and the heat and the steadiness of her breath and her heartbeat, no matter my mood or the state of my anxiety, I find myself breathing more deeply and finding calm and peace. I know that she loves me, and I love her, and we don’t need much more than that in each other. Who needs a weighted blanket when you have a Chewie, right? 

So, here’s my question: who in your life is your weighted blanket? I’m not talking about who lays across your lap, keeping you warm and weighing you down. I’m talking about the people (or the animals) in your life that are your anchors and your source of peace…the ones that ground you, cause you to breathe deeply and become calm…the ones that bring you peace…the ones that you love and that love you and that you don’t need to know much more than that. Who are they in your life? 

And who are you a weighted blanket for? How can you bring peace and comfort and calm and love to in your life? How do you ground others and relieve anxiety? How do you show unconditional love? 

How can we all do better and be better in this regard? 

Friends, I am writing this late because, quite frankly, I’ve been struggling with the words all day. It’s a scary world out there…let’s love one another though all of this...let us be *that person* for each other. 

#masters2020 #peaceandcalm #anxiety #mundaneholy

 *seriously, when I was in the hospital having our child, my husband was having to take her to vet because she had gotten a sock stuck in her intestinal tract!

Do You Believe in Magic?

Do you believe in magic? The Oldest is 8 and a half, an age where many kids stop believing in “childish” things like the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the like. But he still does. Christmas Eve and tonight were two nights that he simply couldn’t get into bed fast enough, for fear that the magic would pass the house by should he stay up too late. (The Youngest, being not quite 4, still believes whole-heartedly, too, and was quite anxious to know if the Tooth Fairy was going to see his new Batman pajamas tonight when they came to get his brother’s tooth.) Maybe it’s the autism, maybe no one at school has ruined it for him yet, but he still believes. Whatever it is, I can’t help but marvel at how lucky we are that they still believe in magic... Kids grow up too fast these days. We all have grown up too fast in these days. We have lost our sense of wonder and awe in the magical and mysterious things of this world. We have become cynical and jaded, keeping an eye out for the catch at the end of the line we are being fed. But tonight, as I quietly slip in to my sons’ room and make the quick, and hopefully unnoticed, exchange of a dollar for a baby tooth, I am awash in awe of the innocence of wonder and magic. May your new year be filled with awe, wonder, and magic.
#masters2020 #mundaneholy #magic