Experience Nature: New Growth

Oh, my!  There are signs of new growth all around at our house!   We've really been enjoying watching Spring take hold here.

This weekend, we found a robin's nest in a tree, and there were four tiny gorgeous blue eggs inside! The mama robin protects her eggs and squawks at us if we get close, so I had to snap these photos really quickly--she really means business!

Also, the little parade rose bush I planted back around Valentine's day has really taken off!  I planted two of them, and, alas, only one remains.  But that one is growing by leaps and bounds each week.

The bulbs we planted are also beginning to sprout in our front yard.  I'm hoping we'll get some good colorful flowers from them!  I think these are our gladiolas coming up.

I wish I had captured our azaleas last week--they were so full of blooms!  It's so nice to drive around in Atlanta and see all the azaleas and dogwoods blooming.  I had no idea Atlanta could be so beautiful!

What new growth are you experiencing right now?  

Marking the Passage of Time

At the park yesterday, Flannery found a stack of logs on top of which she declared herself to be the "Queen of All the Playground!"    The logs were newly cut and perfect for counting the rings that mark the tree's growth each year.  So, we counted, and the tree was over 40 years old.  Some of the years were obviously years of bounty and moisture, when the tree grew a good bit, and other years looked like they were perhaps drought years, because the rings were thinner.

It made me think about how our life is so much like that in retrospect.  Years of bounty, ease, health.  Seasons of illness, fear, grief.  Some years we grow so much.  And other years, we just hang on for dear life hoping to make it through intact.

I hope that one day, my daughter will look back on this childhood of hers as years of "thick ringed" growth.  As much as our life has been at times uncertain--with Robi job-hunting, and me being sick, and being stretched for money and time, and figuring out life in a new city--I really think that these years with Flannery home with us are "bounty years."  It's such a beautiful thing to get to watch her grow and learn, and to be able to be a part of her everyday.  I know it won't be like that forever, and she'll be off to college and making her own life in the blink of an eye.  As it should be.

But for now, I'm tracing my fingers on the rough rings of a tree trunk.  Listening to Flanna hum a Valentine song.  Watching the sunlight stream through her hair.   Marking the passage of time.

And trying to hold all these things in my heart.

Has the past year been a year of thin or thick ringed growth for you?   Does time seem to move quickly or slowly for you at this point in your life? 

Starting Seedlings

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I planted some seeds with 3 seedling starter kits.  Our seeds sprouted pretty quickly, and now our leafy green seedlings and soybean seedlings are almost ready to transplant.   Our basil is getting there, as well.  It's exciting!

Where are you seeing growth in your life these days?

Grow a Little Bit

One of the biggest things that makes me happier is to grow in some way each day. And right now, I'm really trying to grow by: a) learning Spanish, and b) learning to garden.

This weekend, we visited my in-laws, and, as promised, I took some neat photos of their amazing garden. It made me realize I have SOOO much to learn! Very inspiring!

Here are some of the little gems we found in the garden:












What would you like to learn from your parents or mentors in your life? There are so many things I never asked my grandmother about before she passed away (about her life and family, and just her take on things), and I think about that a lot. I hope we can learn as much from my parents, and Robi's parents and grandparents, as we can while we have time together.

Progress

Our tomatoes and peppers are growing! We can't wait for them to be big enough to eat!

And hopefully the squirrels won't get to them before we do!



Where in your life are you seeing progress right now?

Baby Steps

Is this not the cutest picture ever? I tried to find a picture of Flannery's little feet to post here, but this one of her with my mom when she was tiny was just too adorable not to post. Seriously. Those cheeks!

Annnyway.

For some reason, today I decided to take stock of where I am on my path to meeting my happiness resolutions for this year. Maybe it's because I had a few moments to myself after my last client before I had to pick up my daughter, so I could ponder my life a bit. Or maybe it's because I read a few books in Spanish today, which energized me. Or maybe it's because I get ambitious in a delirious way when I stay up late. In any case, here are my happiness resolutions for 2010, along with my current progress:

MY HAPPINESS RESOLUTIONS:

1. Learn Something: Read in Spanish at least 15 minutes 5 times per week. - I have fallen off of the-reading-Spanish-wagon for a few weeks, but today, I listened to Spanish music CDs in the car and read 2 books in Spanish, so I'm hoping to climb back on. Since I don't commute to Chapel Hill for work anymore, I've lost a good routine for learning Spanish. (I used to listen to the Pimsleur language series - conversational Audio CDs--to learn a little each week.) I really think tying the learning time to something that I do regularly each week is going to be key for consistent progress. But what routine?

2. Be social: Start a girls’ night by June. - done. OK, so it's not a regular girls' night yet. But all the mommies of young kiddos on my street went out for drinks recently, and it was a huge success. So I'm hoping it will be a regular thing soon. (Have I mentioned how neat and diverse my street is? The people are so wonderful.)

3. Really listen: Interview at least 5 past clients about happiness amidst struggles. - not addressed. Can someone send me some nerve, please? I hate to bug busy people. But I know that these stories are just lovely and would make the world a better place by being told. Sigh. Not sure why I can't execute this one yet.

4. Cut the chaos: Tidy up the house for 10 minutes each night, every night. - Wow. My house is so not tidy right now. I've realized that now that the "100 Day Clutter-Free Challenge" is over (from the inspiring Clutter Free Journey blog), I've really let this resolution fall away. Maybe I should start the challenge again from day one by following her archives. OK. I think I'll try that.

5. Exercise: Dance with Flannery on Mon, Wed, Fri afternoons. - met on days that I'm home (I work Friday afternoons now, but we do dance pretty regularly on Mon/Weds!)

6. Eat Well: Bring a lunch on Tues/Thurs. - Um. Sometimes I drop by my house between clients and grab a cereal bar for lunch. Does that count? Yeah, I didn't think so. A scary thing has happened to make this resolution more difficult. I now pass a Taco Bell every Thursday around lunch time, between clients. And I admit it, I am a sucker for a 99 cent bean burrito. I mean, it's cheap, it's fast, it's protein, and it's not as terribly unhealthy as...um, a hamburger? yeah. I still do need to pack a salad.

So, there we are, folks. This progress report is not as glowing as the last one was. But maybe that will make me get myself in gear so that I can focus on growth this summer.



Have you kept any of your new years' resolutions this year? What areas of your life are you moving forward in? Stalling in? Do you think that taking stock of where you are makes you happier or just depressed? Or depressed in the short run and happy in the long run if it inspires change? OK, I promise I'll stop asking questions now, especially multiple choice ones. :)

Grow Each Day

One of the major things I've learned about myself during my little happiness project so far is that, for me to be happy, I have to be growing in some way at all times. You know, like learning Spanish, or exercising more, or learning about gardening. Right now I'm on an herb garden streak, so forgive me the zillions of photos I'm posting today if you're not at all interested in plants.

Our basil that we started from seed is now all grown up! And it graduated to a bigger planter this weekend. The cutest planter ever, if I do say so myself. Which I do! I used some for homemade bruschetta today. Yum!

Our marjoram is also growing to be gorgeous. I still haven't used any yet, though. Maybe I'll put it in my pasta tomorrow. Ideas?



We started some new basil and oregano seeds in our windowsill this weekend. Flannery has dutifully (over)watered them every day. And I love that she has crazy bed head in the watering picture. It's kinda endearing.


The roses are my neighbors' bushes, but I just had to share them! So beautiful!

The herb "garden" now consists of: basil, cilantro, rosemary, mint, chives, & marjoram. I'm also trying to grow some peppers and tomatoes. I had no luck with starting my strawberries from root bunches. I've been faithfully watering a planter full of soil and rootlets for 2 weeks now, and I'm rather disappointed. Apparently there must be a trick to that. A very secret trick. Oh, well.




In what area are you currently "growing", and is it boosting your happiness? Or, if you're not growing right now, what area of your life might you think about "growing" in?

Grow a Little Bit

My basil is beginning to sprout. (Chives, too, but I didn't post that pic!)

My windowsill herb garden is beginning to actually work! I picked some fresh cilantro to go with our chickpea masala last night. Yum! And the little basil and chive shoots make me really happy every time I see them peeking up through the soil. My daughter just wants to touch them and water them constantly, which I'm sure isn't the best gardening technique, but I like that she's excited by the growth.

The whole idea of growth has been really important in my happiness project so far. I've found that the times I'm the happiest are when I can see myself growing (not wider..hah!). When I stick to my happiness resolutions and actually do get more exercise and clean my house regularly and learn my Spanish each week, I really am happier.

And those times when I get overwhelmed by work and laundry and dishes and let things slide and don't work on Spanish for a few days...well, you really don't want to hear about that. Lemme just say that it's not pleasant. Definitely not happy.

There's something about continual growth and learning that is a safety mechanism for my mental well-being.

Maybe it's just feeling productive. (I heard an interview on NPR today about the qualities NASA looks for in astronauts, and was really interested to hear that one of the ways they try to preserve the psychological health of their astronauts is by building little daily successes and daily productive tasks into the astronaut's work schedule each day. Cool, huh?)

Anyway, growth. It's pretty cool to watch. And even cooler to be a part of.


In what ways are you growing right now?

Keep Growing

My daughter likes to say, "Mommy, when I get big and you get little...." It's sooo cute.

Growing is such a big part of who we are when we're young. It makes sense that it makes us happy even as old folks to continue to experience growth.

When one area of my life seems to stall (like, for instance, when money is still tight after ten years of marriage :), or when I'm still trying to figure out how to integrate regular exercise into my routine after 7 years of failed attempts), it's nice to find a small area (or two) where I can still experience growth (like how I'm learning Spanish, or how I'm almost keeping up with our laundry for the first time ever in our married life!).

Here's a quote one of my friends introduced me to. It works for me right now.

The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it’s the same problem you had last year. ~ John Foster Dulles

What problems have you overcome in the last few years?