12.31.2011

Nothing Lasts Fir Ever

I turned the tree on last evening, something I might have been ashamed to do Januarys past.  It is the new year, after all, and Christmas is over.  There hasn't been much time for undecorating here, and not a lot of pressure to do it anyway.
I felt a crescendo of anticipation leading up to celebrations last month, but I didn't let the holiday season breathe down my neck the way I have before.  And I've continued to usher adagio days, welcoming twenty twelve at an easy pace.  I won't be listing resolutions in some New Years manifesto, but I will acknowledge a desire to find purchase in each day, to make time for the things that matter.
 Tollie's learning to roll over!
There's a common notion that doing nothing, or very little, is somehow bad.  Confronted by rushaholics caught in the grip of urgency, I want to remind myself that slowing down is a noble alternative.  With three small children, doing nothing, or very little, is hardly an option.  But days with soft edges and shiny spots, prosaic days when we're all happily alive at the end, are the goal.
 Tucker's learning that stamps are meant for paper...
Plenty of things serve to remind us that children grow up and leave home.  Plenty of things serve to remind us that not all children grow up and leave home.  Right now rolling and stamping matter, and we just can't be consumed with the future much.  We'll get the tree down eventually.
JEB

2 comments:

Poppy John said...

Jenni Baby,

Cool message...fir sure!

L2A5

P.S. Are you certain that Tucker is YOUR kid?
That boy is going to end up on "Cops" one day.

Groves said...

"There's a common notion that doing nothing, or very little, is somehow bad. Confronted by rushaholics caught in the grip of urgency, I want to remind myself that slowing down is a noble alternative."

So right. We lived outside the US several different times when I was growing up, and it really influenced me. People in Africa (at least the ones I met) and Nepal know how to sit still and BE. They laughed as us, because we - being Americans - still rushed around like ants.

I think you are right on. We are doing this more "still life" at our house, too, and I have never been sorry.

Your kids could not ever, ever be sweeter. I just love to see them. Thanks for sharing them.

Cathy in Missouri