Well, Ben certainly understands what a birthday is. This was evident when on my birthday he said, "Mommy, you are one year older." Yes, I am, I guess. Talking about growing up is so hard to do. As children we dream and play grown-up. As adults we shake our heads at our children, our hearts filled with envy for their innocence and endless opportunities for play. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence!
I am pretty pleased with my year. I wish I had worked with the fleece more. The story of my life is big ambitions and very little time. I stare at that beautiful fleece everyday in my classroom. Yes, I brought it there thinking I could sucker my students into carding it all. They love the carder. They loved felting beads for necklaces. One of my students even felted a patch for his backpack. Most of the wool still sits uncarded just because there is so little time in the day when the kids are free to explore. That strikes me as incredibly sad. I will get to it though.
What else, my garden. Pretty successful this year. I had of course dreamed bigger but the reality is that I am caring for two kids and teaching full time so until my kids are more independent I should say that I am quite proud of our progress. We are still eating garden tomatoes that we froze, bags of zucchini are in the freezer as well. Our supply of freezer pesto has been restocked. The pantry is full of pickles. I have almost 100 cloves are garlic sprouting. Salad greens, spinach, and beets are still growing in the winter garden. The strawberries didn't show out well this spring at all, I think we got them in too late. I have replanted them and they are doing well, so well that this warm December weather has spawned some blossoms on several of the plants. We are picking buckets of pecans and munching on those is simply heavenly. Hopefully we will have a good rain one of these cold days if they ever come so that we can burn the large brush pile. It is currently residing on space designated for perennial edibles like asparagus, raspberries, and other things yet to be determined. Adam is feeling juiced to work on some of the rockery he has planned. I am looking forward to planting that with him. Georgia is great for the gardener who likes to inspect their work all year long.
My house. I am learning how to live with busy kids. I was able to keep the place spit spot when they were infants. Now it is pretty common to step on a train, slip on a book, or stub a toe on a tricycle. I keep telling myself these days won't last forever and I should enjoy them while I can. Simon is just too cute riding that little red trike down the hallway nude as can be, can't stay mad at the trike forever. The dogs have re-entered the building. It was definitely too much when the kids were super small but as Rama ages his presence inside the house is nice. I wish his hair would stick to his body but again, his days are numbered as he approaches 13 this January and I have learned how to walk by the fur caught in the corner with a deep breath knowing I will get it later. Sounds so silly but this is growth for me. Growing up in the environment I did I would never have expected a neat freak to surface but upon owning my first house I realized there were several obsessive behaviors that had been buried. For a while I vacuumed twice a week. Now I am proud if I get to it twice a month. My life is fuller than ever and I think I like it that way.
The boys are really beginning to play really well together. Sometimes I find myself telling myself to hurry up and get something done, seize the opportunity. But what I find myself doing is listening in to their little conversation, role play, and laughter. Being a mom is my biggest blessing.
Yes, one year older. There are a million cliches for growing older. They all make perfect sense, life happens and we can't change that. Enjoy it while we can.
