Finding Balance

I know that I have posted this picture before (just last week as a matter of fact) but I felt that it tied in so beautifully to the rest of this post that I needed to use it again. Read on and you'll understand why.  

Today on Facebook I read this fabulously spot-on blogpost. And while I rarely devote a whole post here to something that I read there I just couldn't help but feel that what I said there needed to be shared here as well. Kara over at Quill and Camera posted about life as a recovering Waldorf perfectionist. This post is beautifully written and resonated deeply with me (even though we've never been 100% Waldorf). 

"My kids’ favorite toys continue to be open-ended. We don’t push early academics. We bake. A lot. We have a rhythm.

We really dig gnomes.

But I don’t sing a song when it’s time to leave a public place or mop the floor.

The parts of Waldorf that just don’t work for us, I leave for other families. I admire those families very much. And yes, a little part of me sometimes wishes we lived in a community where none of the kids had Xboxes, because something about that just sounds very nice.

But when we opened up our world a bit, when we joined a diverse homeschooling co-op for instance, so many wonderful things happened for us. So I don’t regret at all embracing the parts of Waldorf philosophy that work for us, and letting the rest go."
-Kara from Quill and Camera

We have never been Waldorf purists (or perfectionists) though we are happy to be connected to this beautiful community. I must admit that there have been times when I've wished that we could be *more* Waldorfy than we are. Truthfully though, when we've tried to be more Waldorfy it never really felt right either. So much of what we've embraced about the Waldorf philosophy are things that we just naturally did or things that just inherently felt right to us. We've experienced new festivals and new things along the way (and met some amazing families) thanks to our connection to the Waldorf community, all the while adopting only what truly felt right to us and leaving the rest for other families for who those things are a better fit. It's all about balance, my friends. It's all about finding what works. For us, it's a blend of a whole bunch of different approaches to life and learning (seriously, we really don't fit under any one category these days), but it's that blend that makes us the family that we are! Oh, and we *really* dig gnomes! xo

Tuesday Morning. 7:40am.

What a storm!  Hurricane Sandy has come and gone.  No sooner did I post yesterday than our power went out.  We heard the transformer pop and that was that for roughly the next 26 hours.  I do have to say that we really had a fabulous time sans power.  Thankfully we are not a family that struggles to unplug.  Sure, we love to have light in the darkness, and we do love to check in with the world via Facebook, but it is lovely that we're able to unplug and take it for what it is too.

Dave and I were first up this morning thanks to the sound of a lone chainsaw in the early morning darkness.  They were working on the tree that had fallen at the end of our street, trying to make the road passable for the morning commute.  No such luck.  Traffic was blocked from that end of the street and rerouted a different way for the entire day (and the evening commute as well).  The girls were up next and there was much playing, laughing, snuggling and chatting before we went downstairs to see what destruction Sandy left in her path.  While Dave set up our outdoor kitchen, the girls walked around saying their good-byes to the fallen leaves, branches and trees.  "How will we fix them, Mama?"  "When will they come back?" were questions I spent the day fielding as we drove around town (and the neighboring towns too).  A library trip, complete with super heavy library bag, made the morning pass beautifully, lunch at Wegman's, a late afternoon play date with the neighbors and a lovely dinner with some of our dearest friends rounded out the day.  All in all, it was just another fabulously lovely Tuesday!

To those of you who experienced this storm too: we hope that you made it through safe and sound.  That you are finding light in the darkness to be lovely, and looking forward to having a completely normal day tomorrow.  To those of you still without power: we send many good vibes your way and hope that life is back to normal for you soon, too.  You will be in our thoughts and prayers.  

Storm Doins' In Instagram

We've hunkered down and are just beginning to see the true wrath of Hurricane Sandy.  A major branch in the backyard has sadly come down and we're sure that it won't be long before we loose power.  For those in Hurricane Sandy's path we pray that you stay safe and that the storm leaves little damage in it's wake for you.  We'll post when we can.  Stay safe, dear ones. 

So Glad I'm Here

Yesterday was the first day of the 10 Day Family Recharge that we are taking part in. The email that Erin sent was inspired by the song "So Glad I'm Here" by Elizabeth Mitchell (who we love!) along with a video that she found on YouTube.  I just love how the creator of the video gave us a glimpse into her world and showed that while everything might not be picture perfect that it's the messes and piles that show that life is being lived.  I grabbed my camera and decided to take a few pictures of our world to share with all of you.  While this is by no means the messiest our house has ever been, it does get across the point that not everything is in it's rightful spot.  We certainly would not pass for a Pottery Barn catalog house by any standard anymore, but honestly that does not even matter to us.  What matters most is  that we are living, loving and enjoying every minute of it (even the bumpy parts).  Thank you Erin for creating this recharge and thanks to Elizabeth for this beautiful song.  It's going to be an amazing ten days! 

"I'm so glad I'm here, so glad I'm here, so glad I'm here everyday

So glad I'm here, you know I'm so glad I'm here so glad I'm here everyday

You know joy brought me here, joy brought me here, joy brought me here here today

Joy brought me here, joy brought me here, joy brought me here here today.

And love brought me here, love brought me here, love brought me here here today

Love brought me here, you know love brought me here, love brought me here here today

I'm so glad I'm here, so glad I'm here, so glad I'm here everyday

So glad I'm here, you know I'm so glad I'm here so glad I'm here everyday."

-Elizabeth Mitchell

Thank You Mother Nature!

65 degrees in January in New England is very rare.  In fact, this entire winter is not anywhere like our normal winter.  And while we do miss the snow, we are really loving this mild winter we are having too.  To get to be outside without jackets in January on Saturday just blew our minds!  What a gloriously amazing day Mother Nature blessed us with. And we were happy to take full advantage of it!