It’s nearly the end of July and we are having mild summer temps.
This week was no exception. While the summer rains have taken a break for the moment, we haven’t yet sprung into action. We swam a little, went out for pizza, played some games, and tried some new things. We have not quite sparked the enthusiasm for the lingering days of summer, although I have found myself daydreaming of how my time will be spent when a new school year begins.
Clay class, botanical painting, a day at the hot springs, coffee with friends, the bookshop once again. This week was a daydream and an exploration of what could be…
An ooting…
Spy Family cartoon morning and everyone seems tired of each other already.
We jump in the car and make the drive to get pizza.
There is a lot of time at home lately and I get it, it’s comfortable and we don’t need to always be going from one place to another. And Yet…
there is a desire for me to make sure they become the kinds of people who do things, not just sit in front of the tv or play video games.
I don’t know how to build an adventurous spirit in these boys, but I do know that we can go grab slices of pizza on a random Tuesday. That we will play “Go Fish” while waiting for said pizza or at the chiropractors, or any where.
That despite their love of consistency and going to the same places, we can and will bring our own kind of fun. Pizza and sodas on a Tuesday afternoon, felt like a good kind of outing.
Finally!
It’s not perfect, I probably should have done one size bigger, but I love it.
The matching skirt (which I added pockets, I’d like to mention!) is equally cute.
Yes, I can see it now, come fall:
wide legged pants,
over sized cotton shirts,
a quilted jacket that makes me think of the desert,
a black skirt and top just like this one I made.
There is a lot of joy in making this set. I can’t wait to make the next outfit, to get better at this craft. Hopefully it won’t take me 10,000 tries to master this,
but I’ll take some less than perfect pieces in pursuit of learning to be the master of my own beauty.
Network Chiropractic
They were so excited to go. I met with Dr Stephanie on Monday and got my attunement before I brought the boys on Wednesday. It felt so good in my body, the touch lit my body up as it recalled these sensations. It has been over five years for me and never for the boys, I wasn’t too sure how they would react to it.
All reservations set aside as she asks them to stand up straight so she can see their spines. It’s clear they are holding so much in their bodies.
Given the nod, they jump on the tables. Being the only ones in the room, their true relationship shows:
gentle teasing about who goes first, comments about no breaking each other’s back after this, expressing they could sleep here forever.
I watch as their bodies wiggle on the table, settling and shifting.
A full exhale here and there.
I notice that I exhale too.
There is so much I want to do for them, to help them feel into their bodies—
to make sure we move beyond the struggles. Transmutation,
I think this is the start.
Raising Knights
I always love our conversations.
Despite my starvation for real conversations with my friends, I try to focus.
There is some chaotic energy on my part and I know that a lot of that comes from the near constant time with the boys.
She reads me this piece about the development of men and it hits me in the heart: Pages & Knights.
”Page (birth to puberty): -Knight wanna bes, adventure on a smaller scale, they are very interesting and interested, love to be your hero….
-Most common mistakes- expecting them to be modest, quiet and hygienic, care why you don’t want them to burp at the dinner table and trying to turn them into girls. Boredom is intolerable to these little men (it is like dying real slow. If a page is bored, recommend immediate action, if you don’t find him immediate action, he will and you may not like what it is).”
”Knight (in shining armor; puberty to late 20’s/early 30’s):
Adventure is the dominating theme
-need for adventure will effect all area of his life, very passionate, life in the present…
-all men are always some part knight, men need challenges and adventure”
While I don’t agree with everything that was shared, it resonates in a way that I have been struggling with a lot lately. I only have my feminine experience and I truly acknowledge the importance of letting them be boys. Pages, Knights in training.
Our first foreign film, Anime (JJK)
Not gonna lie, I was really hoping it was dubbed.
Alas, it was subtitles.
They were so excited to go see the Jujitsu Kaisen movie in theater, A specifically was literally pulsating with excitement. We even had a brief moment as we drove to the theater “what if it’s in Japanese and there are subtitles?”
Neither boy really flinched about my query, but as it started, Bear wanted to leave. A hushed us and our first foreign film together began.
Bear climbed onto my lap, A moved a seat away from us, and I whispered the words into Bear’s ear. Was it perfect? No.
But it was a great movie and by the end of the night, we all were so exhausted from the full sensory experience (reading and observing for almost two hours!!!) that we crashed out easily.
In hindsight:
I have been noticing little things like this more and more.
Early in the day, I had read a blog about “Renaissance Girl” era.
I don’t remember exactly what had me down this rabbit hole, but some of the things it mentioned had me really considering what pursuits I really want to be spending my time on. I’ll elaborate on the things that I took from this article in my five invitations, but one thing was foreign films! And how perfect serendipity is when something feels exciting in your heart.
A wants to learn Japanese.
Bear’s excitement to read better hasn’t so much flared as much as he sees the importance of it when it comes to things he wants to do.
And I’ve committed myself to one foreign movie a month.
One classic film too while I’m at it.
If we want the world to be different, we have to choose differently.
Five Invitations:
I wasn’t really sure what I wanted these to be, but this naturally came while writing one of the joys this week. Why I was so drawn to the “Renaissance Girl” post probably has more to do with my internal question of what do we do with ourselves/how do we spend our days. While travel is heavy on my life list, it’s not the season for most of these trips, but my commitment to myself and becoming the kind of person who travels in outside of the box kinds of ways stems from being a well rounded human. The points made really consider all the ways I truly can spend my time. The list was more expansive than the notes I will share with you here, but these were the things that interested me in doing more of:
Slow movements like tai chi. Even five minutes a day of this mindful practice has been known to improve heart health and reducing stress, both of which a need. While actual Renaissance women didn’t do such activities, there was a lot of slow moving in those heavy dresses they wore and it toned the bod and cared for the heart ;)
Make art! Okay, hear me out… women used to embroider, paint, play musical instruments, and so much more. Of course, this was if you were lucky to be born of a certain class, but there was still mending and making even if you weren’t on the stratosphere on lounging couches and ladies in waiting. I’m once again looking at being a student of the creative arts (when am I not?) and am considering signing up for classes in the fall!
Poetry, letters, journaling! Truly, what would we know about these times if it weren’t for the copious journals and sonnets written at this time. In an age of electronic everything, writing in a paper journal with a good pen is an art. Pensively building a poem is pure genius and who doesn’t love to receive a hand written letter! I can’t wait to pick up more blush pink stationary and write letters to friends.
Beauty in all things. It is very feminine energy to care about how you look (for yourself above everyone else. When you feel good, you carry yourself in a certain way. Try it!): how you dress, your hair, skin care and eating well.
This applies to home too. Beautify your life, because you can. It doesn’t mean spending every last penny (or I guess nickel now), but I do see a benefit in feeling beautiful and seeing more beauty in your every day life.Appreciate culture. I feel like this can mean way too much. Art museums, plays, concerts, a foreign film, studying something new (historical or new). It can be Americana or something that has always called to you. During the pandemic, I had wanted to pick a country and learn all about it: the language, some history, THE FOOD. Food is as much a part of the culture as anything else, why not take the dive all the way in? There is so much life out there, so much to learn about. Why limit learning to those short years of youth?
This week, like most this summer have been a fair mix of every day home life and a push for the “more.” I realized after looking through some old journals that we are set to have the “mad dash” of summer activity in the last two weeks of our break. The time where the boys finally see that the time is up and there were things we didn’t do. I look forward to the cram in and until then, I‘ll spend my time researching and plotting for fall. How’s your summer?
xo, liz
Share this post