Kathleen Botsford

Schools Out for Summer

The end of Victoria's freshman year in college

came upon us in the blink of an eye.

Even the kids were melancholy.

Glad to be done with studying and finals

but sad to see the year end.

 

Sometimes I need to be quiet.

To go inside,

to empty my head and become clear.

I get a little out of sorts when

the schedules get too full. 

As this summer starts to heat up

both literally and figuratively with

almost every weekend filled until August,

I found time this past week

to do the small  things

that get lost in the hustle and bustle

of everyday life.

I took the time to actually smell the flowers

as I cut them and scattered them thru

the house.

I sat on the deck in the morning with a cup of cappuccino

instead of jumping on the treadmill

or running off to the gym.

I struggled with my conscious,

feeling guilty and lazy

but I moved through it and enjoyed

each and every precious morning,

softly and quietly

beginning my day.

I played in my studio

doing a little of this

and a little bit of that

with no purpose or end in sight.

I took the time to plan some summer outfits

 so I am not in a panic at the last minute

finding things that fit.

And I made some new jewelry pieces

to accessorize said outfits without

the usual frenzied chaos that

accompanies getting dressed for an event

or packing for a weekend away.

The boys were on a business trip to LA

so it was just Victoria and me,

making our own schedule

and honoring our hearts desires;

eating salads every night for dinner.

And of course Rockne.

We let him bark almost as much as he wanted to!

 

 

 

Easter Baby

We are humbly grateful dear Lord

for Holiday celebrations

filled with love and laughter

of friends and family

And most of all

this precious little baby boy

Amen

 

A Spoon Full of Sugar

My office/studio is a huge mess.  I keep putting off cleaning and it keeps getting messier and messier.  These are just a very few of the surfaces that are piled high with projects in all sorts of stages of completion.

Scrap books and jewelry, collages and journals.  And not one clean surface to do anything if I should have the sudden urge to create.  Most times, I shove things over and find a space on the floor.

What a mess!  I cannot seem to get and stay motivated to clean and sort and purge and organize.  The task is getting so big, it's overwhelming me before I start.  I am going to have to resort to one of th games we played when the kids were little and their little heads swam in circles every time it was time to clean their playroom. 

We would sing a song from Mary Poppins.  "A Spoon Full of Sugar" to be exact and then we would focus on one category of item at a time.  First we would find all of the Barbie dolls and put them back into their proper homes.  Next the Ninja Turtles would find their way back together as would the Lego's and game pieces. 

One by one, we focused on one category at a time, stayed on task and the job was made doable in little pieces.  That is what I am going to have to do here.  This mess is getting me down and making me feel cranky even when I am not in the room.  Energy is like that.  It sits on your shoulder and follows you around, putting a damper on your day even when you think it is out of sight, out of mind.

Off to find my Mary Poppins CD!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishes Come True

A gray day has dawned

much to my delight.

Candles lit,

Debussy's tunes,

follow me thru 'til night.

 

 

 

Gray Day

 

I know this sounds odd, but I feel I have completely missed winter.  We have had an unusually mild winter here in the midwest.  That fact along with a very busy schedule (holidays, travel, and the hours upon hours preparing for each, not to mention work men galore), have left me out of balance and out of sorts.  I love the dark, gray sky and howling winds of January.  They speak to me of candles and fires, cups of tea and long hours of contemplation and stacks of books to read.  Time to hibernate and a built~in excuse to do so. 

The sun shines it's light into every nook and cranny and illuminates the shadows, demanding projects and activity and schedules and to~do lists.  Day light savings time brings a smile to most faces.  Not mine.  Dusky evenings and a morning slow to open are much more in tune with my inner workings.

Hopefully we have a few more dreary, gray days to come.  Days I will cherish and use to full advantage with a calendar wiped clean of commitments and pot of tea to keep me company.  Then I will be able to greet Spring with the appropriate grateful attitude that is due her sun~filled, breezy days.

No Judgements Allowed

The fun thing about art journaling

is that there is no pressure at all

to do something

"right" or "good".

The journal is for your eyes only.

Whatever happens to make it onto

your page is exactly what is appropriate

for that day.

Everything is worthwhile

when expressing ourselves creatively.

Everything.

The trick is to enjoy the process

for the sake of the process alone.

No judgements allowed.

 

That is Enough

A cold and windy January day.  I've spent the morning with a cup of tea catching up with some of my favorite blog writers and artists.  I am struck by how easy it is to get pulled off balance sometimes.  How others lives, writing, art, can seem so much more vibrant and worthwhile than my own.

I lunched yesterday with a friend of 40 years.  A grade school and high school companion.  We shared stories of our families, our lives.  We laughed and even shed a tear or two.  We are ordinary women, wives and mothers.  Sisters and daughters.  Doing our best to live our lives with love and compassion and integrity.  Each with our unique versions of creativity.  And that is enough.  There is no need for comparison. 

We are all on our own soul journey.  Each one is as different as a midwestern snowflake in the dead of winter.  Each one just as important and vibrant and worthwhile as the next.  Each one an intimate and necessary thread in the tapestry of the lives we have been blessed to travel with. 

And that is enough.

 

Descends the Snow

 

 

Out of the bosom of the Air,

Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,

Over the woodlands brown and bare,

Over the harvest-fields forsaken,

Silent, and soft, and slow

Descends the snow.

~H. W. Longfellow

Such is Life

The tree is down and my Kuan Yin fountain has again taken up residence.  There's lots of Christmas still about but getting the tree down is always the first milestone.  It is sad to see it go and yet we would not be as enchanted with it if we had more time together.  Such is life.

My husband, son and I saw War Horse last evening.  I cried through the entire movie.  I went to bed with a headache from the weeping and it still lingers long into the afternoon.  Such is life.

I was reading one of my favorite books for the umpteenth time this morning and the following except jumped from the page.

In order to keep our balance,

we need to hold the interior and exterior,

visible and invisible, known and unknown,

temporal and eternal,

ancient and new, together.

John O'Donohue

Anam Cara

Such is life.

 

New Years Non-resolutions

I don't make New Year resolutions.  I never have.  But there are things I do strive for in my life.   Peace of mind is always, always my goal.  Somedays it is easy to achieve and some days, not so easy.  I really don't like to think of "goals" and "achievements" in the same context as peace of mind, but those are the words that wanted to be typed at this moment.  And that brings me to another of my "goals".  Staying present in the moment.  And releasing all resistance to whatever is happening at the time.  I guess maybe I do make resolutions after all.......

I feel within me

A peace above all earthly dignities,

A still and quiet conscience.

Shakespeare