It begins...

A friend recently forwarded an email to me titled "The Invisible Mother," a short essay comparing the tireless and often thankless job of a mother to the builders of Europe's great cathedrals. Both give their whole lives for a work they will never see finished, both make sacrifices and expect no credit, and both are fueled in their passion by the faith that the eyes of God see every detail. The writer of the essay was inspired by the thought that our endless efforts in motherhood, invisible as they may seem, are worth it and can make an enriching life.


For many of us, the way we choose to hold our invisibility at bay is by creating something tangible. For me, my days often end with knitting - my love of fiber and the need to do something relaxing end up producing something I can hold and look at. Nobody will know how many times I swept under the high chair that day, or how many toys I picked up, or how many times I tried to coax a "please" or "more" or "sorry" out of my 5 year old. But a darling, handmade infant hat? That you can see.


I start new projects every day, and my 10 year old does the same. In this process of creating (and yes, often not finishing our projects!) we connect with each other and a bigger picture of ourselves in the process. My plan for this blog is to share the projects that excite me and bring some accessible proof of my existence in this invisible world of mothering!


So, this blog is dedicated to the mothers out there whose days are filled with the minutia of tasks that build our children and our families. I often tell people that I haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. But for now, I am the builder of a great cathedral. With every shoelace tied, lunch packed, and forehead kissed, I build.


And I can hardly wait to create something new...


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

July

How can it be July 13 already? Wha?? I had sort of envisioned July as being my mental month "off." But no, I am incapable of mental breaks. I found myself without any children all morning yesterday and what did I do? Map out my entire year worth of Girl Scout meetings. I guess for me, 'planning stuff' is my mental happy place!


Rowan has decided to invite a few school classmates over next week for a tea party, with her teacher coming as a surprise guest! We pulled out invitation-making supplies on Sunday afternoon. I had some old blank 'library card' style invites from a baby shower I threw years ago, and they fit the bill perfectly. We came up with a plan, chose some papers we liked and got to work! I drew a freehand teapot shape as a template (oh yes, I'm that good.), and started cutting.
Rowan stamped the front of each sleeve with "You're Invited..." and then decorated with some tea party stickers I have had for years. 
We decided on the invite wording and printed it from the computer, then Rowan pasted our pieces together, embellished with a flower paper puncher, and voila - a darling party invite. She is only inviting 3 friends so this is probably overkill - but who cares!


We have been on a Harry Potter kick this past week - gearing up for the final movie! We've been watching the first few movies together as a family each evening (skipping over most of the Voldemort, Dementor, Werewolf parts) and I've been knitting like crazy on the Afghan sweaters. Here's the latest finished one, and the one I'm working on now...
Rowan and I did chat briefly last night about how hot Bun-Bun (Rowan's knitted bunny I made her for Christmas 2 years ago) might be in her winter sweater, so we might be planning a little knitted sundress for Bun-Bun this afternoon. I've got some great yellow bamboo yarn I've been itching to use...but we'll see what Rowan chooses.


And today for lunch, Rowan made her own grilled cheese sandwich! The last time we made one, I walked her through all the steps, and by gosh she made her own lunch today. She even made herself a grape caterpillar with a jicama head!
She was SO excited, and exclaimed it was the best lunch EVER. :) Gotta love it. 
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1 comment:

  1. KathyJuly 13, 2011 at 11:21 PM

    That DOES look like the best lunch ever. I love that she's a budding cook, and her creative presentation is just so HER! LOVE IT. The tea party invitations look darling and the recipients and teacher will love them, I'm sure. Hope all can attend. Wish I could be a fly on the wall and observe it all. :) You'll have to report about it in an upcoming post. Your vests are wonderful. I keep imagining them on some child with a big grin on his/her face!! I love your blog!

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