We've had a quiet beginning back into daily life after the Christmas season. At Mass Sunday the priest mentioned that it was the First Sunday of Ordinary Time. "Ordinary Time" sounds delicious to me.
We have melted into our daily routine. With the help of a new resolution or two of mine, I have felt so much calmer and in control of my days. I am loving the quiet during the day, I am appreciating the routine that I've established to help me get all my housekeeping done, and I'm soaking up the play time and sweetness of my new 3 year old.
Patrick brings me a stack of books and plops them down in my lap, or takes my hand and sits me down in a chair, so I can watch him shoot hoops. He looks to make sure my eyes are watching him. Undivided attention is what he is looking for. Hard to come by for #5 I guess, but I love the chance to give it to him...I look at his little legs jumping, and can almost see them growing longer. I try to squint my eyes and remember when the older ones were 3 and as much as I'd like it to, it doesn't come back to me. This age is so precious, but gone too fast.
I feel like a hibernating bear, safe and warm inside my home, puttering about, only going out for food and a quick pick-up from the older kid's basketball practice or sewing lessons. It is much easier to shut out the hustle and bustle and noise of the world in the snowy months I think. And if there is anything to love about winter, it's that, for sure.
I am surprised by how much I too am enjoying being a hibernating mama bear. And to think I was so about leaving sunny southern California! I haven't settled into my new routine quite so easily, but I am thoroughly enjoying my own little three-year-old. (I stop to inhale the smell of her hair and skin about twenty times a day!)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wonderful when Mother Nature forces us to slow down? Winter, to me, means healthy comfort foods, a fire in the wood stove, and hibernating!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I love the return of routine, too. And lately, our snow has been a peaceful, quiet, blanket - not too treacherous - the kind I love.
ReplyDeleteI am feeling the exact same way, Sarah! The only two posts I wrote last week were about routine and ordinary. It's very calming to just be and feel settled and not feel hurried to do or be anywhere. It's sure not snowing here, but I have the same feeling of comfort in staying inside this time of year.
ReplyDeleteEmily @ remodeling this life
I am not to that complete organized state yet, but I'm working on it, and once I'm there I know I'll feel so much better!!
ReplyDeleteWe are enjoying those quiet at home moments too.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the day Sarah
So much craziness in our lives this year, that this is the first time I have relished the calm and normalcy of "Ordinary Time". Christmas/Advent decor were packed up on Sunday, followed by a good cleaning Monday, and I feel like a new woman!
ReplyDeleteSounds like we are both hibernating bears then! I have to go out today and not looking forward to it at all! My kids are so content even in the winter to just stay home, its just the natural thing for us to do.
ReplyDeleteAmen to this sentiment! Oh, and do please share a little bit about the "routine that I've established to help me get all my housekeeping done". I'm working on this, and I like to hear about what works for others.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out a great reason to love winter. I'm really needing a reason right now!
ReplyDeleteMakes me wish we were having hibernation weather here. :) I have a 4yr old home sick today though so I'm looking forward to doing some 'hibernating' of my own.
ReplyDeleteI am hibernating and soaking up my three year old too- it is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI somehow got subscribed to Gweneth Paltrow's GOOP newsletter- so I had this in my inbox this morning-
http://goop.com/newsletter/112/?utm_source=Goop+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ba4427f2b8-Goop112_01_13_2011&utm_medium=email
(sorry about the long link- I can't figure out how to post it any other way)
It made me exhausted just to read it and I praised God that I am not an extremely busy working mom trying to do it all!
So many people I know hate winter and the snow it brings. They hope that school will be back in session so the kids will be out of the house.
ReplyDeleteMe? Not so much. I love the hunkering down, the staying inside, the comfort food and wearing PJ's all day. The games, the laughter and even the cleaning.
I love your blog! I would love a post on your cleaning schedule during the week and how you do it. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the slowness of January too...being all warm and cozy inside...finding things to catch up on around the house. I agree too about undivided attention...sometimes it's hard for us moms to do...but so so important.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned you on my blog today...hope you don't mind!
I think winter must be God's way of forcing us to slow down. Snow gives us a sense of new beginnings and a thankful heart for a warm house.
ReplyDeleteBeing Canadian we learn to bunker down during winter and build up the insulation fat by baking lots of cookies and drinking hot chocolate!
http://www.virtuouswomanexposed.blogspot.com
I couldn't agree more Sarah. I'm getting lots of "inside projects" done, and enjoying the coziness of home. I wish I too had a 3 year old to keep me company.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same. Lately I leave only for food, pick up kids or mine and Griffy's daily walk. I love being housebound.
ReplyDeleteI am excited to think when I have my 3rd and last child home with me while the other two are in school and all the time I will be able to lavish on her and her alone. And then I think wait a minute. Why am I looking forward to this? I'll be losing my baby but I suppose it has to happen!
ReplyDeleteI also love to putter around the house and find your blog and thought on parenting very encouraging.
great post!
ReplyDeleteAnd All of the rest of us, said "AMEN"!!!
ReplyDeleteI struggle with this! I feel like I run off stress all the time, without ever calming down :) What is your routine and how did you find something that can work daily despite all of life's demands? Also, I currently live in what feels like the arctic (thanks to a husband in school) and I'm not used to it - what kinds of things do you do to make winter fun for you and your kids, instead of focusing on the gray?
ReplyDeleteOh, that does sound so good to me. I wish we were more back into a routine then we are, but I need to make them happen...please share some of your tips...I would love to hear them!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Sometimes, though, I have this nagging feeling that I'm "supposed to be" out there...somewhere...doing something else. Something more. I don't get it. I love being home. I love the routine. I love keeping my house orderly and having time to snuggle with my children. I wonder why I feel so guilty sometimes doing just that?
ReplyDeleteRoutine is good!!!
ReplyDeleteI had the exact same thought at Mass. Ordinary time. Then I began thinking, is life every ordinary? For now, it is and I am thankful for the peace that comes with a new year, the hope that comes with a new year and the quietness that comes with winter.
ReplyDelete