Thursday, May 2, 2013

{p,h,f,r} Auntie Leila's Pearls

... of wisdom, that is.

I'm going to run this {p,h,f,r} post like an Auntie Leila post with pictures sprinkled in that might or might not have anything in common with the writing...

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~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter

There are a few people I have "met" in this online world that I have had the pleasure of actually meeting in person. There are a few more that I have on my list of people I'd love to share a glass of wine or iced tea with someday and Auntie Leila is definitely one of them! You can't beat the wisdom of a mom who has done her time in the trenches of motherhood and has come out the other side still sane and so willing to share that wisdom with the rest of us.
{happy} The weather outside can take away the sunshine but these sunny yellow wildflowers bring it back to my windowsill.
Auntie Leila shared a post from the archives of Like Mother, Like Daughter on FB today and I'm so glad because it was one I needed to be reminded of.

{pretty} Our Lady
I've heard and even said myself that there are many seasons in motherhood. It's true. We've had seasons that were filled with crafts and fun food, parties and games and we've had seasons of simplicity and solitude, flowers from the garden and maybe a cookie or two. It's also true, as Auntie Leila says that a young mom in her zeal to share the faith with her children can easily get in over her head but there is also something to be said for striking while the iron is hot and filling up your liturgical year planner with activities while you have the energy to do that, if you have the energy to do it.

{pretty} Our Lady
Right now, simplicity is our season of choice. We have a toddler who has decided to jump feet first into the Terrible Twos at the early age of only 20 months old. We started homeschooling high school this year and that has been a challenge of a different kind. We have seen our pediatrician more in the last six months than in the last six years! We are still working on getting well and staying well. I'm hoping we ride out the coming drop in temperatures without any new allergies or illness. My pediatrician confirmed for me that 1/3 of the population will react to a significant shift in barometric temperature with congestion... just because. We seem to have a lot of those thirds in our house!

{real} These painted letters and the Mary crowns were the products of a high energy season. Saving them all these years has been a blessing during our slower seasons.
When I poke through my archives, I see things that we enjoyed doing, that I just don't have the energy for right now and that's ok. Less scheduled during the day means more time for conversation and some one on one time. There are ways to celebrate simply and pass on our faith.  My oldest children have been enjoying the Prove It Series from Amy Welborn which has prompted many great conversations. Conversations that then become an opportunity to share and strengthen their young adult faith. It's time to enjoy those conversations and see them as the beginnings of an adult relationship with my children. It's time to make a little extra effort here and there to include those who try to be so big but are still little at heart. It's time to crown Our Lady as queen of our hearts and home whether we have the energy for an official May Crowning or not (we can always have a party later). It's time to break out the tiny jars and teach the littlest to share her outside bounty (mostly dandelions) with the lovely lady dressed in blue. It's time to enjoy the simplicity of this time. To be content with this season.
{real} My grandparents' statue... chips and nicks, but oh so much devotion.

11 comments:

  1. I love this post, and thank you for linking to Auntie Leila's original one.:) I needed to see you taking the road of simplicity. I, too, feel like shutting things down a lot. I even mentioned to Paul today that I want to shut down my blog. The kids are so needy right now, and I feel spent most days. I am content living things very simply liturgically speaking. Incredibly, they remind me of feast days and say the most profoundly meditative things.:) I guess it's all good....goal-wise. BTW...I, of course, love the letters on your mantle!

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    1. Hah hah! GRACE!!! I hope some day to decorate some smaller ones that say "full of".

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  2. I love this post too! I just don't have the time and energy to celebrate feast days like we used to, and frankly, I began to wonder if the saints would be more appropriately honored with prayer or acts of charity than sweets. That being said, I do hope one of these years we have time to make a dragon cake again for the feast of St. George. It's been years!

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    1. Tracy, I think like St. Paul said, we give our little ones milk and treats to celebrate a sweet saint until they are ready for the more substantial meat of a more grown-up faith. I know for my older kids, they would not have missed a dragon cake this year, but my 8 year old "really looked forward to stabbing a dragon". We can try to find a balance though. We start by throwing lots of different things at them and then the older they get, they will tell us which celebrations mean the most to them. I think those are the ones to make an effort to continue when time and energy allow it.

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  3. I was just pondering simplicity and seasons today. And the liturgical year and how to celebrate it when we're at saturation point with sweets but want to make a feast day meaningful.

    The season of motherhood I'm in doesn't lend itself to elaborate plans. Not at all. We're barely getting in the basics. If it's grocery store day then math and reading don't happen. If the baby has to go to the pediatrician, math and reading don't happen. Last month we did math a grand total of 11 days. That's less than three a week. And cleaning doesn't happen unless something else gives. Like school time or baking time or making dinner. We live in a very small, very cluttered, very messy house and I don't have time to declutter it. And so we are forced to do things simply just by necessity. And I think perhaps that's a very good thing otherwise I might be very tempted to overdo it.

    Anyway, I mostly wanted to say thank you for sharing your thoughts. It makes me feel like I'm not alone, not the only one wanting to do more but recognizing that it is what it is.

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  4. Excellent thoughts. I too have a nearly 20 month old who is my busiest and most challenging toddler yet. It certainly is hard to do a lot of extras at certain points in our lives!

    May I ask where you got the book stand holding your saint book that is in the background of one the photos? I have that same book and would love to find a stand that would hold such a thick book! I have tried to use decorative plate stands to hold up books in the past, but alas - they try to fold up and collapse when I place a open book in them!

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    1. According to my Amazon account, it's this one but it doesn't look like it's available anymore.

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  5. I am in a newish season, as well, Charlotte, as my older children are now fully adults (but don't always act like them, sigh), and the younger boy wants to be an adult but has no business trying (wink), and then Faith is still young and I want her to stay young and she does not remember many of the celebrations we had when the boys were much younger. It's hard not to leave someone out without losing one's mind.

    I'm glad I'm not alone.

    And I look forward to that glass of tea.

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  6. I love everything you said in this post, and all your beautiful pictures!

    I'm so thankful to have met you here online, and in person! :) Hopefully it won't be too long before I can visit again - I've been craving some of that Texas Pecan Coffee. Yum!! ;)

    I smiled when I saw your post, since I was thinking yesterday morning that I should take pictures of some of our various statues and images of Our Lady to share, but never had a chance to pull out my camera once the tutor arrived and before the sun went down.

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  7. Well said, Charlotte! We have to obey what the time is telling us. Sometimes we can do more, sometimes less, but if our mind and hearts are on God, all will be well. God sees us where we are!!

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  8. Beautiful post Charlotte. I am in one of those simple seasons. I just can't do anything not simple right now. (and that's OK)

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and yourself!