August

With the end of summer fast approaching, I've been searching for glimpses of autumn in the world around me.  A sharper gust of wind, a cooler shift in the air, an early golden leaf.  Baby A. is my constant companion in these outdoor jaunts, peeping over my shoulder and looking high up into the clouds from her vantage point in the carrier.  I have to try pushing her around in the stroller because she's getting bigger and bigger - where does the time go?

Motherhood has become a sort of coming-of-age story for me, an awakening.  If I could go back in the past I'd tell myself to be kinder, to cut out the incessant worrying and the frustration because it's all happening for a reason.  The reason may be elusive in the moment, but there is always a point being made.

As the verdant colors of summer shift to those of autumn, I look forward to sharing my favorite season with my little one.  The golds and browns and oranges and reds.  The cozy sweaters and the hoodies.  I also look forward to celebrating her first birthday, helping her take her first steps, and taking road trips with her Daddy and her.  She already says 10+ words on her own; reading/studying books is her favorite pastime.

New Year Thoughts

via impressus

Ah, 2017.  It still feels like 2016 to me, probably because last year was when all-wise little baby A. came into our lives - but back to the present moment...

My goals for 2017 are to enjoy family time (I often forget to take pictures!), make new jewelry when time allows, and begin again on expanding my writing services in shop.  I'm of the mindset that family comes first, so I'm continuing to accept custom orders on a case-by-case basis.  As I look at all the changes being made on Etsy and in our world, I'm astonished by the money-driven nature of it all - at the expense of creativity and ingenuity.  And need I mention old-fashioned integrity?  This I think about as I'm now a parent.

This I now realize as the first month of the new year unfolds.