the kids at a recent nature class
I haven't been around this space much the past few months. Steady Mom has rested here dormant, just like the frozen snow-covered ground outside my window.
I haven't picked up my camera much either since Christmas--I've wanted real life to come first, trumping even the desire to document it.
I've been hibernating. It happens every winter in some area of my life--the impulse comes to be quiet, to stop pushing. My American productivity-driven inner voice always tries to guilt trip me - "Work! Accomplishment! Goals! To-Dos!"
Why on earth do we expect every season to look the same--to have the same output? When did we stop valuing the growth that happens below the surface? Instead of flowing with the natural intervals of our lives, we crash and burn in our senseless effort to control them.
A little snapshot of the unseen and seen growth happening for me right now:
* book writing - this is the 4th year I've been working on a book (yes, the same one!) - and dear heavens above, I hope this is the year I get to write "the end" on the final page! It's a project I'm pouring heart and soul into for you guys out there--tens of thousands of words that I hope will lead your families to fall more in love with books, the world, and each other.
Each word I'm planting in faith--in the hopes of a "someday" harvest.
* Simple Homeschool - My other home on the Internet has exploded by leaps and bounds over the past few months. I love that space and I love that others find it helpful and inspiring. Like any growth in our lives, it's come along with challenges. I'm learning to imperfectly manage those, too.
* my awesome kiddos - Trishna is ten, Jonathan nine, and Elijah will turn nine soon. These ages are beautiful and busy. I remind myself often that "this, too, shall pass." I don't want to miss a moment of the good stuff--or the bad stuff, come to think of it. I also want to honor my relationship with these precious souls, and the way I talk about them online as they get older is changing and evolving.
I find it unsettling when I visit someone's blog only to find out they haven't posted in months--or perhaps have stopped posting altogether, but never announced it. I wonder where they went--why they never said goodbye.
If that's crossed your mind at all in the past few months about Steady Mom, now you know - Steady Mom is peacefully hibernating. But there's so much good growth happening under the surface. And in the right season, I'll be back.
"In seed-time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy."
~ William Blake
