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It is early in the morning. I have never considered myself a morning person, and yet, I find myself embracing this moment. I notice the subtle morning essence; the way the quiet stretches between moments, and the fresh snow lays undisturbed out my window. The children are happy rediscovering their world of favorite trinkets and I just witnessed a spontaneous hug between brothers. Maybe there is a reason Mr. Stone doesn’t mind waking up with the kids early in the morning. I’m not sure I am ready to switch morning routines quite yet (after all, I do love appreciating the early morning from a warm bed), but I’ll let him sleep for now and just take this morning one sweet moment at a time.
It’s official! It’s Monday and mama’s at work! The holidays have died down and Mr. Stone is done working for the winter and it is my time to work. Work! Work? Who volunteers to work? I do! Mr. Stone could not be happier to be at home with the kids and I am having such a great time hanging out at the library and various cafes’ exploring what my work looks like. I see a regular updated blog, work on my book, networking and research and, of course, time just to think! It’s amazing what happens when you have uninterrupted time to let your brain just think. This is good! Yes, this feels good!
My son recently fully weaned and I decided to have a special activity that let us have regular one-on-one time every week. I think this is a good idea at any point and particularly during this time of transition in our relationship. We pick up our CSA share on Wednesdays and shop at the co-op and since he likes both these activities I invited him to come along, emphasizing that this could be our special ritual together. Ten or so weeks later we have a great routine and today while we were singing together in the truck on the way home with groceries and take-out burritos for dinner I realized I love our Wonderful Wednesdays! I am going to highlight some of moments that really make this ritual meaningful for Solshine and me.
I thought it would be great to start a series of Rainy Day blog posts. Thanks to my mom, who was always a fan of the rainy day, I have come to really enjoy these chances to snuggle in right, cook a warm meal, watch movies, do crafts, play music and best of all stay in pajamas all day. Today was a rainy Saturday but we managed to gear up and head to the Farmer’s Market. Luckily ours has a roof so we were able to catch some old time music. Solshine was fascinated with the young girl playing the fiddler. I am so curious to see if he will express interest in learning an instrument.
After buying some local, grassfed meats for the week, and of course a few delectable treats we headed home to clean, listen to music and have spontaneous magic shows! Solshine started being the magician for a few of his favorite “friends” and then he joined the audience while Dad entertained the family with some of his own magic tricks.
Enjoying the Show
Pasta for dinner, family movie night and wine and chocolate for later. Yup, a great rainy day.
Bedtime has historically been one of my biggest parenting challenges. I exclusively nursed my first son and we created a routine that included him nursing to sleep which also meant I was the only one who could put him to bed. At the end of the long day I grew to resent having to lay in a dark room waiting for him to fall asleep and since restlessness does not induce sleepy vibes, bedtime often lasted for what seemed an eternity.
When I became pregnant again I vowed that I would do it differently. At first I thought this meant that I would not nurse him to sleep and I did make an effort to change the nurse-to-sleep habit. I would make sure he nursed earlier in the evening and then wear him in our favorite baby carrier and let him fall asleep as I picked up the house for the evening. This worked wonderfully for many months but as he neared his first birthday I noticed that he was stimulated by staying up in the carrier and decided to bring him to bed with big brother. Naturally we began nursing while I read books to my older son and hence I found myself nursing my little one off to sleep everynight while snuggled close to big brother.
Somehow it is different this time around. I cherish that half hour of soft and cozy warmth. I feel my body sink into our warm bed and take some deep breaths as I take a moment to reflect on our day. I can feel some of the day’s stress disappear and quickly it is replaced with gratitude for finding my family healthy, safe and happy at the end of the day. I have come to realize just how fleeting these moments are and as I watch them change and grow so quickly I take advantage of any moment where we are quiet, conscious and peaceful.
So what I once ran away from I now embrace and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Bedtime has become a time for me to reflect and recharge. In fact, it is one of the few times in my day where I am able to find some quiet to meditate and it is from this space where I find my best inspiration.
When I reflect upon the difference between the two situations it is now easy to see that the only thing that has changed is my attitude. I am able to choose whether I am going to embrace and enjoy bedtime and also I get to choose if I want to make changes. In this case I found the only change needed was my perspective and what a gift that change has been for all of us!
