Bookshelf

Offspring the Second is rearranging his room with an eye towards procuring a new drum set.  (His passion is drumming.)  To this end, he consolidated and organized some of his possessions and his books, allowing him to move one bookshelf out of his room.  It is now in Herself's room.

Her absolute delight at having a bookshelf is almost silly.  It's just a shelf.  Yet for ages, her books have sat haphazardly cramped like canned sardines either on the bottom shelf of a small table, within the base of her bedside table, or in various piles on the floor.  Now, they have proper places on shelves, and it is most pleasing indeed.

The Harry Potter books occupy their own section; the collection of nearly all of C.S. Lewis' publications shares a shelf with various writings of the Dalai Lama;  Italo Calvino and Kahlil Gibran contentedly share space with the Lord of The Rings trilogy, a few hiking books, log home plans, the magnificent Phantom Tollbooth and few other favorites; and a final shelf holds the miscellany -- tomes on various topics from language to science to religion, as well as some borrowed books that must return to their owners.  There's even a Klingon dictionary there somewhere.

Alas, the shelves are full already.  But they are tidy, and Herself is happy.

 

Heartfelt

This morning, Herself spent a bit of time reading a short story written by a high school friend.  Her friend described the serendipity that placed her in the right place and at the right time to discover a problem associated with her congenital heart condition, as well as her recent corrective surgery.  With the help of the surgeon's skill and a touch of miracle, her friend is happily on the road to recovery.  Herself confidently and fervently wishes that her friend will grace the world with her warmth, intelligence, and positive energy for many healthy years to come.    

So fragile and yet so resilient, the human machine. So mysterious and so wondrous, the bonds of friendship that connect us over time and distance.  Today, we are that much more aware of the love we hold for our friends, as well as the joy and the comfort they provide for us. Rare indeed is a true friend, and grateful are we for their presence in our lives.

No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth. ~ Robert Southey

Sing, Muse

Herself is on the cusp of writing several things.  One thousand miniscule thoughts -- sentence fragments, blog entries, plot possibilities -- have sprouted in her mind's garden.  She waters them carefully in contemplation, and turns each one toward the sun. She knows they need more time to grow into what they will become. 

It is difficult to be patient, but she knows these things cannot be rushed.  Which ones will bear fruit?  We shall see.

Nose

It is difficult to type -- as well as to orient a picture properly -- when a Tiny dog has wedged herself into one's sweatshirt atop one's cleavage.

Side By Side

Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue, a wonderful living side by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole against the sky.  ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

The Pile

It's difficult to be tidy when one is young.

When Herself was a child and a teenager, keeping her room clean was a fairly low priority.  She was not sloppy -- no food was allowed in bedrooms, so there were no crumbs or dishes -- but toys or clothes or possessions did not always find their ways back to where they belonged promptly. In high school, her classes were quite rigorous, so organization of anything except for schoolwork took a back seat to studies.

Occasionally, the mess of her room would become intolerable to her mother.  And so, when Herself was out at school or outside playing or elsewhere, her mother would go into Herself's room and make The Pile.  Any item that was out of place -- be it book, shirt, toy, or other item  -- would be put into The Pile in the middle of the room.  When Herself would return to her room, she would, without warning, find The Pile.  Her obligation at that point was to put away properly all of the contents of The Pile.

Herself hated finding The Pile.  She always found it to be a tremendous violation of her space and her privacy to discover that her possessions had been moved in this manner, and she no longer felt safe or comfortable in her own room.  She would cry in anger and frustration while she put her things away.  She vowed that she would never use The Pile upon her own children.

Now, so many years later, she has the Offspring.  They find keeping their rooms clean to be a fairly low priority, just as she did at their ages.  Herself reminds them to pick up when the floor is no longer visible, points out specific tasks that need to be done, and so forth.  Unfortunately, the Offspring have packrat tendencies; there are times when their rooms need intervention. 

Herself resorts to very specific sequential instructions.  Sometimes, little gets done. It is frustrating.  It is such a difficult line to walk:  to respect their autonomy and privacy, and yet to help them to figure out to clean and to manage their possessions properly.  Many times, it seems as though it would be easier for her to go in herself and clean up.  Yet what would truly be accomplished then, and at what price?  They would learn nothing. They may very well find it to be an intolerable invasion of their space. It is better that they should accomplish their own tasks. She volunteers to assist, but tries to leave them be when they prefer to do things themselves.

This has, oddly, been one of the most challenging parts of parenting.  Hopefully, in time all of the Offspring will become tidy individuals.  We shall see.

And The Year Is New

New Year's Eve was everything for which Herself could have wished.  She tidied the house, and then savored preparing a new recipe for dinner and kneading the dough for fresh bread.  She, her Beloved, all three Offspring, and Cherished Friend spent the evening together, consuming tasty things, watching a movie, and enjoying one another's company. Her heart was full. She could not have asked for anything more.             

And now we have landed upon New Year's Day, immensely grateful that 2011 is over and that 2012 has begun. We put behind us the raw sorrows and frustrations and worries of the year, and open our hearts once more to hope for the future. We cross our fingers and dream that 2012 will be better. 

Herself kept one New Year's resolution from 2011 all year long.  She is satisfied with this success, and plans to repeat the resolution for 2012 as well.  She has explained the resolution thus:

Like a lot of people, I struggle with my weight; when I figured out that some days my mood would depend on the actual number of pounds, I decided that my attitude was far more unhealthy than any possible excess weight. I resolved not to look at the number on the scale all year long. I concentrated on trying to eat better and exercise more, and to focus on how my clothes fit and how I felt about my myself. I had ups and downs, quite literally, but in the end, I gained a better control over my self-image and self-confidence by ignoring the number on the scale entirely. 

This morning, she weighed herself for the first time in a year; this will be the only time for another full year that she will do so. So, what did the scale say?

Despite it being holiday season (with its typical bonanza of consumption), and even despite her relative lack of exercise over the past month due to hip-associated issues and illness, a calculation of her Body Mass Index (BMI) using the number on the scale today put her at 22.4, which is squarely within the "normal" range.  A brief search using The Google further reveals that in relation to other women her age and height, she is in the 15th weight percentile -- which means that comparatively, she's maintaining a weight that is less than 85 percent of women her age.  In the grand scheme of things, all the statistics are Good.  Onward!

Her new resolution for this year is simple:  to improve her diet.  She plans to eliminate as many pre-processed and pre-packaged foods as possible, to increase her intake of fruits and vegetables, to cook more often and to watch portion size more carefully.  The results will hopefully be twofold:  one, she will maintain a healthy weight; and two, she will minimize migraine by reducing the number of migraine-triggering foods she consumes.  She can do this.  We will keep you informed as to progress.

My lovely readers, I wish for you security, health, laughter and kindness. May the Universe grant us a bountiful year.  Together, we can conquer all obstacles and find joy.