Monday Musings: A New Year

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Right now...the house is cool because the fire has died down overnight. The kittens (who are now teenagers) are chasing each other and making a ridiculous amount of noise. Everyone is asleep; someone just got up to pee, but thankfully crawled back into the warm den of their bed for more sleep on this dark January morning.


This weekend, we celebrated New Year's Eve with friends, here at the homestead. A lovely meal, wine, kids running all over the house, then sliding outside in the dark followed by fireworks! Sunday, we turned down two invitations to parties and opted to laze around in our pyjamas. We've had a really busy holiday, and it was a real luxury to just eat whatever came to hand (leftovers!), and watch a few more movies than usual! We all napped in the afternoon, which was a rare blessing.

Some plans for the week: My sweet nieces will be arriving today for a few days; we love the time we get to spend with them (though somehow it never feels like enough). We'll just hang out here at the farm; I hope the mild weather since yesterday will create perfect snowman snow! I hope to get into my classroom to get organized for next week. I want to look into ordering some books on creating a cold storage room, and saving seeds. Recommendations?


If I find some time for myself...well, I've been intentionally carving out a bit of time each day. I wake up earlier than everyone, and have been writing morning pages (Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" is such an inspiring book) each day. I love how it frees up some space in my brain, to get those early-morning, free-form thoughts down on paper. I'd like to go out walking, and will look into yoga classes. It's part of my New Year's goals, to be intentional about time for myself (rather than hoping for leftover time to fall into my lap) to exercise, reflect, and rest.


I am grateful for dear friends and their sweet children, and to my parents for floating us a small loan for this past week when money got really tight. I'm also grateful for the fact that today is my payday, and tomorrow is my husband's! Feeling grateful for memories of my Grandmother, who passed away a year ago.


Something that makes me smile: Snow-people. Cats sleeping on a bed. Children sitting on a snowbank in the dark, saying, "Oooh!" as they watch fireworks against the backdrop of cedar trees. Cold cheeks warmed by hot chocolate. Playing Strawberry Shortcake with Margot in the bathtub. Violet's storytelling. Jude's dance moves. Old men clearing snow from their driveways with big old tractors. Hearing my children say, "I remember when we visited G.G. and...", knowing that they haven't forgotten her. Cuddling up for stories. A whole week to just be with all three of my children, resting, playing, doing puzzles, colouring, reading.