What Season Are We In?

This week, we landed somewhere in the neighborhood of Second Winter, Spring of Deception, and Mud Season.  Inevitably, Third Winter followed and that's where we're currently standing as I watch white stuff flit through the air and listen as the wind howls in protest.

We soaked up the sunshine while we had it though, walking, playing in the yard, and working on the homestead, with light hearts and warmth on our faces.  There were towels on the line and breezes skittering through our home, refreshing and reviving us.

In a fit of spring rage-cleaning, I cleaned out the garden and planted lettuce in my mini milk jug greenhouses.  Outside work is such a healthy way to blow off steam.

I'm still not certain how much I'm planting in the garden this year.  This mama is juggling a lot and my normal Blossom work force is not always around, leaving me wondering how much I can realistically juggle.  This is a challenge, unique to the season of launching adults and guiding teens. 

Your work force graduates and you're back to doing many of the tasks alone...

or mostly alone.

Sometimes I feel emotional about this and sometimes I just barrel through. The core is still the same for me:

Work as unto the Lord.

Serve Him with excellence, by serving my family with excellence.

This is the guidepost I come back to when I'm struggling with my attitude.

Dominique

The (New) Little Old Ladies

A longtime family friend and the original 4-H leader to our Blossoms had a predicament:

All the little old ladies with sewing skills are dying off,

so all the little old ladies who used to volunteer to sew things like catheter covers, newborn hats, and NICU quilts are becoming much harder to find.

She texted me an SOS.  

Enter the (new) little old ladies:

the Blossoms and their Blossom friends thinking bigger than themselves.

With their time and

with their talents. 

We gathered and pooled our sewing machines.

They laughed and grinned and spent the morning

using their hands to bring dignity back to elderly folks in a local nursing home.

It challenged me not to get too busy to pass on the life skills that we value.

Coffee Shop Schooling Yesterday

We finally made it over to a local greenhouse coffee shop for our sometimes-monthly coffee shop schooling session. 

Blossom2 was home from college yesterday so she was happy to come along before she headed out for a State Council obligation.  The funny thing is that she wanted a break from school work, so we chatted a mile a minute.

Blossom3 and Blossom4 interjected in between school work, but truthfully, not nearly as much school work was accomplished this time.  Usually, I've found that we all lock in quickly and accomplish a lot.  

This doesn't really bother me when this happens.  We chose to homeschool long ago, to tailor this journey to our family's values and needs and rhythms.

The Younger Blossoms miss having Blossom2 here all the time, so I really didn't mind when the math problems sat, while drinks were sipped and laughter bubbled.

In hindsight, I should've left the schoolwork at home.  

Connection takes proximity and quantity time.   It builds the rapport for quality time.  

As a mom, I often hope for the "deep" conversations, but the precursor to deep conversations, 

is being available and invested in the outfit conversations, 

the coffee and energy drink opinions, 

the rants, 

the silly jokes,

all of it.

Dominique

Indigo and One-on-One

Connecting with our Blossoms is a lifelong pursuit of mine.  We've always held that mama or daddy dates are really important.  I'm realizing now that those times, in addition to the concrete of regular family time, were paramount for a foundation of trust and connection that is necessary in the latter teen years and into the young adult years.

Young adults have real adult thoughts and struggles and situations and feelings that they really don't want to share with everyone.  This makes sense to me.

We may be a big, beautiful, bountiful Blossom Bunch but it's really, really important to carve out the one-on-one time to talk about anything, everything, nothing, and all the things.

Maybe it's coffee, 

maybe it's a car ride,

maybe it's a Walmart run,

but it's an opportunity for one-on-one connection that says, 

"I'm here, walking alongside you today."

Dominique

I thought everyone could use a little glimpse of billiant indigo color today.  These irises, called "Flags" by old-timers, were a very late autumn surprise last year.  

Three Things I Can Do to Bless Him Today

I was brewin' a thought process the other day and I realized that I haven't done a post about thrifty things you can do for your husband in a long, long time.  It's a really good thing for me to circle back to because it's so easy to fall into the trap that investing in our marriage means spending a good chunk of change.

There is SO MUCH I can do that costs me only grit and time.

#1 ~ Clean up the yard.  

The Rugged Mountain Man pulls up our driveway and right away, sees what needs to be done, just as I sometimes let out a long sigh of frustration when I return home from an afternoon of errands to disorder and disarray.  Today, while I chatted on the phone with my sister, I luxuriated in the sunshine and 44 degree weather while simultaneously picking up old peanut butter jars, yogurt containers, random trash that blows through here, and some larger sticks.  There are frisbees, dog toys, and miscellaneous homestead tools to be put away too.  Maybe he'll notice; maybe he won't.  Either way, it'll lighten his mental load.

#2 ~ Sit by him.

The older we get, the more spread thin, and the faster the schedules become, I realize that we can't take physical proximity for granted.  It doesn't automatically happen like it did while we were dating.  There's something to be said for sitting together, leaning against one another, and remembering that those moments are special... even if you're just working on the grocery order while you're both watching the Olympics.  

Physical proximity seems to naturally lead to more affection.  It's like it wakes us up out of the blinding, grinding stupor of everyday life.  It leads to more casual shoulder touches, smiles, and flirty casual moments too.

Start out the evening with a gentle, "Will you sit by me for a bit?"  

#3 ~ De-escalate, especially in the evenings.

This is a skill that doesn't come naturally to me at 8:00 pm.  The Rugged Mountain Man does not always get to see me in my freshest Mary Poppins mom moments; instead, he often sees the end of the day when it takes all I've got to help the Younger Blossoms resolve some bickering.  Out of frustration, I give in, amp up the frustrations, and worsen the situation.  

The right thing to do, of course, is a calm answer and patient instruction or firm consequences... not my personal venting.  

It's interesting that the right thing to do, per the Word, is also a blessing to my husband.  I know need to work on this, but it is one thing I can do to bless him this week.

Preserving and building a good marriage doesn't follow a formula that guarantees the desired results, friend, but this is what I can do on my end to be a blessing, to act out what the Lord is working in my heart.  

Five Ways to Bless Your Husband

Five More Ways to Bless Your Husband

Five Thrifty Ways to Invest in Your Marriage

Fire More Thrifty Ways to Bless Your Husband

More thoughts on investing in each other under the Marriage label.

Pics are from one of our nicer dates, but remember that the inexpensive ones are just as important (and usually more frequent!)