Tuesday, June 25, 2013

June in Seattle

And I meet, coming through the dew

Another summer's Day!
-Emily Dickinson



Dear reader- where I live in Seattle people have warned us about the treacherousness of  June

"June is better known as Junuary... bitterly cold"  we are told

But June has come bursting with golden days.

Outside 

We spend as much time as we can outside

So many interesting things to discover in our city.  Its as though this city of constant rain knows how to make the most of the 3 months of summer - so everywhere you turn - there is a park and a lake and a little place to sightsee

And





R is nothing if not a creature that loves tradition and every evening we are at the park to swing and have a little picnic of junk food 



A Sense of expanded time
I tell people that my 30's will be marked with just one factor -

A  starvation of time. 

The 40's dont look like they will be much better 

Needing more time, wondering where the time went, gasping at how fast the weekends go by, trying to multitask ( which we all know does not work ), trying to do things faster, prioritising etc 

These days I have found a new way to expand time 

Which is to pretend that I have loads of time. 

This really really works 

Next time you have 30 minutes to go to the park, each minute act as though you have endless time 

I look - really look at what is around me

I notice the bits of magic and whimsy all around me

I notice, this child's endless love, how when I push R in the swing - he puts his hand behind himself so I can low five him each time he swings to me





I learn from R as he stops  and smells the roses


 Oh I have so much to write and so little time

But if I dont write, I will forget all about this special time and all the little things that made it special

1. That DH and I are addicted to "The West Wing"
2. The we eat a lot of mangoes and broccoli
3. That R loves to match his clothes these days - his blue pJ's with blue green socks and blue shirt and his pink shirt with his  Red PJ 's pictured above
4. That these days we read poems at bedtime. Since they are from the days before political correctness - they are really quite inappropriate
5. That we have drunk more Expresso these past few months than we have ever done before
6. That I no longer ache( at least not all the time )  for my small southern town and am starting to feel settled
7. That DH plays again ( squash )
8. That DH had a massive impressive meeting proposing homeschooling and the support we needed from them  ( by showing exhibits of his work - that in school R was counting 1-5 , while at home he was doing factors for multiplication )
9. That R loved butterfly cookies

And a million more things that matter ohsomuch to me

So here I am dear reader, writing from a W in Chicago after a 14 hour work day

For if I dont write, I will forget what happened

“If you want to live a memorable life, you have to be the kind of person who remembers to remember.” — Joshua Foer


14 comments:

Yuji said...

I'm glad that June has been better than expected... it feels like you have had nothing but rain since you moved there so it must be nice to experience some sunshine for a change.

I love your blog for reminding us all to take in the special moments in our busy lives.

So glad you are aching less... those things take time, but you are gradually building great memories of your new place.

How long are you in Chicago? Sounds like you have no free time but I'll send you an email and see if you can get away for lunch.

ggop said...

Wow..I really love the thought you put into your posts. So sweet about R's high five move on the swing.

Kris said...

Yes it all goes so fast. Enjoy!

Bright Side of Life said...

As always, I loved your delightful description of your days and the photos that fit the theme of your words. Enjoy your sunshine. xx

jazzygal said...

I like your theory. I too, when I'm rushing and panicking that there's not enough time, tell myself that I have plenty of time. The relief is instant! And less haste does make more speed ;-)

Your days sound great and I love that R is mixing up his clothes!

xx Jazzy

Looking for Blue Sky said...

Glad you're feeling more settled and I really love that quote :)

Gypsi said...

So glad you are starting to settle. Love seeing the photos. It looks so lovely there!

R. is growing so much, and filling out now, too!

I look forward to hearing how much he progresses with homeschooling! (And know that I am always here to bounce off ideas with, always!)

Anonymous said...

Always good to read you. Thank you for taking time to write. This idea of pretending you have loads of time, stopping to really live in each moment - I love that. I'm trying to do it, too. xo

Tanya Savko said...

So glad the weather is agreeable! And I love your suggestion to pretend that you have loads of time. I'm going to have to try that! xo

Rachel said...

The low fives... I love those. I love his well-earned affection for you!

And Junuary... well... it did come back for a good week or so, then vanished with some hot temps now!

I am so glad you are settling in - we must visit again soon!

ZisforZen said...

I love your comments about endless time and the magic that stems from that. Beautiful. I recently had a day in the park that felt just like that (after a retreat!) and since then have been trying to recapture that feeling. Great advice - "pretend you have endless time".

Kim said...

Love the idea of pretending to have lots of time, I'll have to try that! Love the photos and so glad that you are able to get out and enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I love what you said about pretending you have endless amounts of time. :) I am going to try that. I also need to find the time to write or I won't remember all the little things going on in our life right now...

Jenny Saul-Avila said...

I can't believe how long it's been since i've read your blog! This summer has been flying by, with me spending lots of hours at the computer, but too disorganized of mind to remember to read or write everything I wanted to.
I always love how you list. I'm a listing person at heart, but haven't been lately. I should start making lists again.
Your playground/park looks so wonderful! We've been spending a lot of time at a much more traditional playground lately, as even our supposed all abilities playground isn't even that cool, with my son getting more comfortable with the bigger slides & moving about even if there are other children around, even seeming to enjoy being near them sometimes. But I would love to have that swing you have at yours! My son is afraid of swinging, was working with it with his OT, but she had to switch offices & no more platform swing. We're changing again in a couple weeks, as our OT office is closing completely, laying off our wonderful OT person. I don't relish starting over, but we will have the platform swing again at the new place. Small mercies.
I read your July post as well - so sorry you had another brush with Crohn's in a bad way, but glad that overall, things are sort of improving.
Looking forward to see how August is treating you all.

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