Many, many summers ago, when the kids were too old for day camp, but young enough to spend their long summer days with me, I started a project with them. Using our own artist notebook, every morning, I would put out a quote that I had them copy into their book, and illustrate with pens and chalk pastels. That was a wonderful summer where for about twenty minutes each day, I had the joy of seeing my kids be creative.
While that was a long, long time ago, the motivation behind this project has stayed with me. While I’m not illustrating quotes on my own, I am posting quotes into our family group chat each morning (and also on my Instagram feed). With my eldest off at university for the first time, this is a way I can reach his inbox first thing each day, but also, hopefully, impart some of the words of wisdom that have hit a chord with me. Often, I chose to group my quotes into themes, so there is a common thread throughout the week.
This past week, the theme was courage.
To be honest, I’m not sure who I was posting these quotes for more – me or the kids. With one of my two kids away at university, and the next one to follow in just a few short years, a big chapter of my life is coming to a close, and it’s coming time for me to start looking ahead and to what I want the next phase of my life to look like.
For me, courage this past week has looked a lot like house cleaning. I have been moving from room to room, getting rid of all the things that we have outgrown, reorganizing the things we still need, and storing the things that mean the most to us (like the aforementioned artist notebooks). I won’t lie. It’s been hard to face some of this cleaning out. It’s hard to let go of the things that bring back memories of a past that has been filled with magical moments. However, as my physical space has begun to resemble both the stage in life I am in, and the person I am becoming, I’m finding it’s a lot easier to start contemplating where it is that I want to go, and what it is that I want to do in the years ahead.
Speaking of which, here are a few things that have made me smile this week:
- Finishing off several quilt tops that were started months ago. Turns out I am very good at finishing quilt tops – I have ten hanging up and ready to finish – I am just very bad at finishing quilts.
- Listening to lots of good things while I sew and clean including Big Little Lies on Audible, Angela Duckworth on the Good Life Project podcast and my favorite podcast right now, Pivot.
- Getting back into the kitchen now that the temperatures are starting to cool down and making some of my favorite fall foods like this apple cake from the Pioneer Woman, but with Greek yogurt instead of applesauce for a little more protein to appease my trainer.
As I look to the week to come, I am excited to immerse myself in a special quilting project I’ve been toying with for over a year. I am also working to property organize and store all of my Liberty of London tana lawn fabrics, and I’m hoping these two projects will progress well together.
Wishing you a magical week.
Xoxo
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