Look Up

The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness, fullness thereof.  

This week, the tulip trees (Japanese magnolias?) have begun blooming all over the city.  I notice them as I am rushing to drop of my daughter at school, rushing to work, rushing home, rushing to the grocery store, and generally, well, rushing around.

I notice them, and they call to me.
To slow down.  To look up.  To take time, just a moment, to appreciate them while they are here.  Because they won't last forever.  Some gifts are brief.

And so yesterday, I paused.  I stood under a tree in a parking lot and looked up.

And peace came. I didn't even know I called it.  But it came.


What gifts call you to pause, and notice them? 

Take in the Beauty

I've said before here that taking photos makes me appreciate the beauty all around me a bit more.  But, really, folks.  Taking photos?  Makes me appreciate the beauty all around me.

Take, for instance, the amazing and wonderful New Year's Day party my friends Kirsten and Ben threw yesterday.  It was altogether a grand experience--good food, great friends, fun for the kids, outside where we could experience nature--all kinds of relaxing goodness.

But because I happened to have my camera in hand, I think I got to notice so many tiny beautiful moments that maybe not everyone else at the party was able to see.  Like a quiet tiny girl with wispy hair gathering pecans.  And a boy wielding a stick rather gracefully.  And sweet toddlers hugging their mama's legs before they ventured out toward the band of older kids.  And the bliss of being about to slide.  And also, grown ups enjoying their conversation.  Grown ups staring at fires.  Grown ups catching babies before they fell, without even thinking about it.   Just a protective instinct.

The Weepies sing, "All this beauty, you might have to close your eyes.  And slowly open wide."  And it's so true.

So, happy, happy New Year!  Enjoy each little moment of 2012!

How do you remind yourself to be in the moment, and to take in the good parts of your life?

Forget not the Beauty of the In-Between

One of my favorite songs is Deb Talan's "The Gladdest Thing" (based on Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem, Afternoon on a Hill), and one of the best lines in that song is:

"I want to be champion of evening, to forget not the beauty of the in-between." 

I think of this line a lot when I'm feeling discouraged about my progress toward a goal.  I so often get caught up in my dreams of what the future will bring for us--a tenure-track job for my hubby, a new baby at some point (not anytime soon--don't want to excite the grandparents just yet!), our home decorated just like I want it, a bigger house, a comfortable savings account and no debt, well-trained dogs that don't bark like maniacs every time someone comes to the door, maybe a book I will write one day--that I forget to "enjoy the beauty of the in-between."

Even now, here, in this moment, I should be enjoying the beauty of our "in-between."

As I sit in my quiet, cozy, (messy!) living room in our little rental house, as my daughter sleeps upstairs (after praying so earnestly for a little sister before bed!), as my husband's job applications float out into the world full of hope and potential (and not a little anxiety!), as we live this comfortable life (even though our savings have dwindled to a pittance after the gazillion doctor's visits we've had this month!)--I can either focus on how far we are falling short of our ultimate goals--or I can look for the beauty here in the in-between.

I tried to explain this to Flannery the other day, the idea of the "in-between."  She was saying that she really wanted her bangs to grow out so that she could look just like her cousin.  And I told her that her bangs were growing really quickly, and that I really liked them this length because we could sweep them over to the side, and they looked cute and breezy.  I told her that once they had actually grown all the way out, that would be cute, too, but that the little wisps along the way were just beautiful.

I don't think she believed me.  But really, the in-between is beautiful on her.  Don't you agree?

Forget not the beauty of the in-between.  There really are things to love about the time we spend on the path to our ultimate goals.  Now if I could just remember this great truth more often than twice a year!


How are you enjoying the "in-between" in your life?