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!

 

 

 

Men Play on Sundays

Everything changes

and then changes again.

That is what I know for sure.

Some of our boys

are graduating and moving on.

They will be starting new careers in many fields.

Their employers will reap the benefits

of their quick minds and open hearts.

I know it's time for me to start thinking of them as men.

I know that is how they think of themselves.

Grown men. 

Adults. 

Ready to conquer the world.

And they are in many, many ways.

 

And in many ways, they will always be our boys.

Fun-loving and care-free.

Always ready to share or play a joke

on the next unsuspecting person to walk into the room.

Always there for each other at a moments notice.

These men. 

These young men we have grown to love as our very own.

Boys to men in front of our eyes.

Men who play on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

Maybe or Maybe Not

My boys are in LA on business all week.

That means a week of no laundry or dinners

and no interruptions

or the phone

ringing off the hook.

(They work at home)

I promised myself I would clean and organize my

mess of an office/studio.

But every time I start...

some new little artistic tidbit

peeks its head out

wanting to be played with.

I have been making my photos from Italy

into postcards.

It is so much fun embellishing

and collaging

and writing

and sending

to family and friends.

I promise I will

MAYBE

have my office cleaned by Saturday.

If you'd like a postcard,

hand written

and decorated,

leave your address!

As Time Goes By

 

This week was my son's 23 birthday.

It seems like only yesterday I saw this cute little face

peering up at me.

Where

has

the

      
   time

gone?

I have been blessed with

the opportunity to be a stay at home mother.

Thank you Steve.  Thank you God. 

For all of the blessings in my life.

Dear friends and Family.

 

**daughter #2 who is noticably absent from this photo is

at school.  But not to worry....

Stevie drove into South Bend the next day

to celebrate

his birthday with her and his buddies.

I tried to get a couple of photos from FB

but was not sucessful :(

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.

 

Too Late?

 

Hmmm.  I wonder if I waited too long to dig these out?  Oh well.  Such is life!

 

 

 

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.

 

Tiny Cracks and St. Nick

I have just spent the last couple of hours trying to update my blog with subscription buttons and FB connections.  I am having no luck and getting extremely frustrated.  Instead of seething and gnashing my teeth and yelling at my poor dog, I am going to take a shower and maybe, just maybe put away a little more of Christmas.

I hate to see St. Nick go and most years leave some of my favorite "wintery" decorations in place til February.  I don't mind the raised eye brows when we have visitors.  Just another opportunity to exercise my "no need for approval" muscles.  It's funny how those little voices can seep into the tiniest cracks in our heads when we aren't even looking, isn't it?

Ordinary Days

As the moon approaches her fullest light for the first time in this new year, the holidays  are beginning to wind down around here.  The tree is down.  The bowl game over.  New Years celebrations a recent memory.  Tori is getting ready to head back to school.  Stevie is on his way to his first college football coaching conference in San Antonio.  Alex is busy with her full schedule and Steve is de-constructing yet another room in our home to rework into a masterpiece of his own. 

I busy myself with laundry, dinner plans, cleaning and organizing with lots of side trips to my studio to play with jewelry designs and collage art.  While some days I find our routines a little old and boring, most times I welcome the time worn rhythms, knowing full well the fleeting moments of our nuclear family will suddenly disappear without a moments notice.  Boy friends and girl friends cannot be far behind as well as jobs and adventures that will entice from far away localities.   I don't spend much time thinking of the future but it is always there energetically, reminding me softly to cherish each and every boring and ordinary day.