Monday, June 24, 2013

~June Garden~


It's been wet, wet, wet out in the garden. Saves me the hassle of the hose though it has also kept me from getting to savor June's bounty.
Luckily I was able to take a quick ramble this morning before the next set of showers began. I was rewarded with this . . .

Oh hydrangea! . . . every year you remind me just why I consider you my favorite flower . . .

Not only do your blooms make the most luscious bouquets and elegant dried flowers, but you also know how much I adore the romantic colors you come up with each year . . .

Can you believe all these colors are on one bush? I get a little bit of everything, and for a girl who has a hard time making up her mind, I consider this flowering perfection.

For now I will enjoy all the slight variation of pastels these beauties offer and later on down the road, they will shift to pale green and then a rustic pinky-red in the fall. 

The veggie garden is finally taking off . . . need to get some harvesting done.

And in another week or so the trumpet vine will burst into bloom and frame this arch with orange.

On the other side of the garden a sea of yellow creates a cheery view from the kitchen. The daisies are also just beginning to appear- they'll bloom straight into November if the weather stays mild.

And here, along the back alley, draped over the garage roof are the wild climbing roses all mixed into the laurel that grows along it's side. I see this sight every time I'm about to park the car. It's like my own secret English garden- wild and romantic. I see this and my mind races to crumbling stone walls smothered in old-fashioned roses, heavy with fragrance. It really doesn't take much to bring delight!

Well, it's time to pull myself away from the garden and out toward the car . . . I'm off to spend a week in Seattle with family while the Husband holds down the fort here. I'm just hoping he'll remember all the spots that need watering if the sun finally shines forth. Fingers crossed and off I go! Have a lovely week. . .

Cheers!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

~Catching Up With June~

Oh, June! Where have you gone? How can you run off and leave me stuck still in May?

Why, oh why are you always so full?

Our fifteen year wedding anniversary . . .



and a trip to celebrate it with . . .



School presentations, conferences, graduation parties.
Sunshine and flowers and gardening . . .


A tea party for friends . . .







And a week of virus-fighting within the family. 
Father sick for Father's Day. The Oldest's last day of seventh grade.

Somewhere in between it all time slipped silently by. And a personal achievement was gained- one without recognition or fanfare. No ceremony or cap. Just an empty 'school' room left in a thoughtless jumble as the final day ended in a blink of an eye- our final day of home school. 

My final day of teaching.


After eight straight years of home schooling my sons through elementary school- it's over. The Youngest has finished fifth grade and next year he'll join his brother in middle school.

 Eight years.

And it came suddenly too- a phone call one morning saying our paperwork was done. Everything was satisfactory and the final conference I had been expecting wasn't even necessary. Goodbye.


 So I stood there- in the middle of our school room- just stood there among what had in a moment become a remnant of what has been.
And I cried.

I can't even explain all that I feel . . . exhaustion for sure. And the bittersweet. And the relief and excitement for what lies ahead. I'm grateful to be done. Happy to finish what I set out to do.
And yet . . .

how do you mark eight years of your life? How do you cap it off, nod to it with respect and then lay it down forever when there's nothing there to do it with?

At each life transition there seems to be something which celebrates what was and welcomes in what is to come . . . graduations, marriage ceremonies, bridal showers, baby showers, housewarmings, anniversaries and even funerals- they all mark a person's story. But parenting . . . ?

As I stood in that room and cried I realized I was grieving time passing and my children growing up and I thought how this moment was only a little taste of what is to come.
It seems so strange that we should give so much of ourselves and then it is suddenly done.

And I thought-
No wonder so many parents suffer with 'empty nesting'! We celebrate our children and all they've accomplished, but do we celebrate what we have given, as well? Do we allow ourselves to pass with grace into this next chapter of our lives? Because our story is part of their story.

So, as I've been pondering this all week I'm thinking two things . . .

1. I need to do or create something that will celebrate what I have given and received over eight years of teaching my sons. Something personal and meaningful so I can lay it to rest in peace and enjoy the next thing, and . . .

2. We need to start a movement for those parents whose children have grown and are on there way out- 'Empty Nest' showers! Seriously- it's time to celebrate parents. We do so before the children even arrive, so how much more do we deserve a party once they leave? Wouldn't it be wonderful to throw a party for one another to celebrate not only the rearing of our children, but also who we've now become through the rearing of those children? Might that not help us demystify our own identities and separate ourselves once more toward dreams that so often get put aside as we parent? 


Anyway- it's a thought. I have five more years to go until my Oldest departs, and without a doubt we will celebrate all his achievements to the fullest. And two years later, we will do it all again with our Youngest. But the partying isn't going to stop there . . . though, I do think we will put it off until September since June is quite full enough!

Cheers!