Thursday, May 23, 2013

Excellent Accidents of Parenting

Tree Roots Drawing by Enchanted Crayons
All this living small seems to be paying off. For someone who hasn't really been anywhere in a few years I seem to finally be getting somewhere.

I have nearly entirely eradicated "Oh my God" and the addictive, incorrect use of "like" from my vernacular.

I'm starting to get the hang of meal planning and I'm actually sticking it to it. It's been six successful weeks of grocery shopping only once a week (with the occasional extra milk run) and I figure I'm saving nearly $200 a month!

I won't go so far as to say that I've come to know myself more as the years have passed because I think I was much more of a black and white open book in my youth and I'm glad to say I've only grown in complexity these past few years.

Sometimes it feels I know myself less as I let go of the emotion-based truths I held so dear and my youthful passions are tempered with rationality. It can feel like I'm diluting my dreams but I know I'm only changing them and leaving some behind. This process can be painful and lead me to wonder the local cemetery pondering the brevity of life but I believe it's a necessary part of growth.

I also find that I am less swayed by those who impress me but fail to take to the time to get to know me. I must be growing up. Or at least I'm coming to comfortable terms with being in my thirties. I am learning that there is a great deal of terrain you can cover when you stay home. Roots certainly travel farther when you stay in one place; it's just hard to see them growing underground.






Thursday, May 16, 2013

This Week's Book

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon & Illustrated by Marla Frazee

The world of this book is just small enough that you can see from one end to the other, you can recognize many of the same people from page to page, and see where you just were from where you now are. It's like streetview on Google Maps for preschoolers! 

My 3 year old and I both enjoy finding familiar details such as the the tandem bikers, the beach ball left at the pond overnight, the family's red truck as the day carries on in the book. There are no protagonists here just people doing what they do. 

I also appreciate how the text is written into the illustrations. The words fill a cloud or bump along the top of the garden. Their appearance even illustrates the meaning of words: the word "up" is raised and the word "down" is lowered. The font is similarly suitable, straightforward and legible yet whimsical in the way it is sometimes level and other times free flowing.

This book reassures both me and my children telling us this world is safe and inviting and exciting and varied and beautiful - exactly the message I want to tell my kids every day about our world.