Muddy Boots :: { A day in the life of }

It has been a few really enchanting weeks as we've made our way through the first month of the New Year. Even though January is only 31 days long it truly seemed to go on for weeks longer, at least in our home. The weather in the northeast is not behaving as it 'typically' has over, well, as long as I can remember. We've had 40, 50, even some 60 degree days, warm nights, hardly a drop of snow, rain, rain, and more rain, and mud! Yes......mud! The kind that makes the back road we live on get all rutty, and the kind that gets itself deep into the paws of our four-legged friends. The kind of mud that will hold on to your boot should you step in with too much pressure........and inevitably leave a young child immediately shoeless and falling into the wet and muck around them. *sigh* These are our days and we love them. We laugh at those silly moments when we've lost our shoes in the mud, dropped something in the wading pool that has grown along our driveway, or when we've tried to make it to the house before getting completely soaked by the downpour of rain, groceries in hand and babes in arms.

It's nice to know that everyday you get a clean slate. A fresh start, no matter what! We're known for doing 're do's' in our house on account of a little one or maybe a big one waking up on the wrong side of the bed. I do appreciate those times when we all quickly return to our warm beds, sometimes we all pile into a family bed, snuggle, whisper.......reset. These quick little stops allows us to be more present in our moments with each other, they help us to be more aware of ourselves and how we feel and we make others around us feel. It's a honing in that allows for the freedom to 'be' in our moments, loving unconditionally, and freeing ourselves by working through any burden or stress.

As we start a new month I realized very quickly that it has been a 'nose to the grindstone' kinda week. A dear friend needed our love and support while she watched her Mother cross through the veil, our littles have been battling the potential for stomach bug catastrophe, we celebrated Candlemas and welcomed the coming of the Light, we have a birthday yet to celebrate for another dear friend, and last but not least we would like to make connections with our community neighbors which (even though the seven families that live on the land live within a stones throw away from each other) in the winter I feel it is really hard to do because we're hibernating, after all but......I feel it's important community building work that needs to tending to! (horrible run on sentence, sorry folks!) Tonight we will gather for our weekly potluck and share some laughs and catching up and allow for that community time to unfold.

Now, as I sit here and take a glance at what tomorrow may bring I am remembering that my Love will help our wonderful new neighbors build their new hoop house and I imagine all our littles will be running about breathing in that fresh winter/spring air (and will undoubtedly get all muddy!). I will attempt to bake (haven't had much opportunity this week and I find I go into withdrawal when I don't) and then visit with my elder friend who I see throughout the week. Among this list of what I know is planned already for tomorrow I will remember to be conscious about how we will build on and support our individual creative ambitions as well as meaningful time for us to just be together. We have a lot of 'doing' this weekend.......I look forward to the moment when we will all come together, kick off our muddy shoes, make a bowl of popcorn and chat about our days adventures. Life is pure and simple joy.......and I am grateful!

Friends, how did your week go? I'd love to hear and meet all you amazing folks who share this space with me! Wishing you all a lovely weekend spending it however it is meant to be! xoxo