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...


Friday, August 12, 2011

Slack No More

I had several days of some serious slacking. Laundry overflowing, kitchen always a mess, piles of "deal with it later" all over the place. But somehow today I am getting it done and taking care of business. Brad never comments when the house is a pit (or when it's clean, really) so you know it had gotten bad when he arrived home a few minutes ago, walked in, and said, "Wow, you guys really cleaned this place up!" Rock and roll. Now, there is still the random junk that needs to go to Goodwill sitting in the piano room that I have gotten very good at ignoring. Gotta tackle that job. But Rowan has a friend over to play, Brynn is asleep, and who wants to deal with all that when there is crafting to be done!


My last sweater for Afghans for Afghans is blocked and dry, so I took a group picture before I box them up and get them mailed off. I made a serious dent in my yarn stash!
I also managed to slyly finish the last of the Brownie beanies under Rowan's nose this morning (too wrapped up in her TV show to notice) and wove in the last end.
Some are slightly smaller than others (I may have lost track of where I was in the pattern a couple of times!) but they turned out cute. I need to buy a pack of the little clasps to put on each beanie loop and then they'll be ready to give. We have our first Brownie meeting on the 31st, but we don't actually Invest the girls and get official until the 2nd meeting - I am waffling on when to give them their gifts. I think I'll wait for the Investiture and make it more meaningful as a ceremony closer. But it's hard to wait that long!!


I continue to work on my Flutter scarf, but it's inch by inch and doesn't look that different from the last post so I won't bore you with a picture. But since that is my "challenging" knitting, and since the beanies are done, I am needing another project that's the "easy" thing to grab and do. It's not too early to start making Christmas presents, is it? Food for thought.


I had planned to do a ton of printing for the Parent Guidebooks I am making for my Brownie moms this afternoon, but Brad showed up to work from home which means I have to bother him constantly with my in-and-out and printer noises. :P I could also make some more of the Brownie bags, now that I have more iron-on transfer paper but I need the printer for that too. He just might have to live with my interruptions! (After all, home is my office.)


Oh, and the "flush" is going well - we're 6 days in and craving carbs, but holding steady. I am feeling much more comfortable in my own skin again (and my clothes!) and have dropped 8 lbs since Saturday morning. Yes, most of that is water weight, but it makes a difference! Halfway there...
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1 comment:

  1. KathyAugust 12, 2011 at 10:38 PM

    Eight pounds??? Holy smoke! That's incredible. Keep up the resolve and I bet it will stay off! Amazing.

    Those little miniature beanies are just perfect. Bet the girls will love them.

    Your group shot of all the vests is lovely. I love to imagine happy little people in them, feeling so colorful and alive.

    It's never too early to start Christmas projects! Go for it. I just finished two hats for charity, that were easy and fun to make. I particularly liked the one called The Marsan Watchcap. It was a joy to make from start to finish and looks very good and fits great. It's a free pattern. Let me know if you'd like it.

    I am making a Stephen West scarf/shawl called Pagona now. It's fun, too. Gosh I love to knit. Too bad work has to get in the way. HA!

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