Highlights

Despite my best efforts and homeschooling know how our days at the moment vacillate between high bliss and high pitched screaming.  Not all of it from the children.  The usual bickering, wailing and gnashing of siblings goes on as it does in all homes all over the world.  It can be easy to feel that our lives are dominated by these moments but I know it isn’t true so I’m trying to refocus and remind myself of the highlights.

Picking a basket of dew soaked salad and chard is definitely a compensation for the mania of a 6.30am wake up call because the dog has pooed on the landing and up the wall.  Yep.

Standing in the garden, listening to the sounds of many birds calling each other quietens my spirit a little.  I can feel the frustrations and stresses that exist within any normal family home, slip away as I focus on bending, picking and sorting.

Cashews soaking on the counter promise a vegan cheesecake later today; my new to me breadbox reflects the morning light on it’s super groovy 50 year old surface and the yet-to-be-constructed bee super pleasantly scents the air around it with the hint of pine and beeswax.

In between those moments there’s stories, cleaning, lego, more cleaning, cooking, even more cleaning and the ever present moderation of the ongoing battle between two small people who really do love each other very much.  Despite all evidence to the contrary.  It can feel trying, it can feel frustrating, it can feel joyous, these are the ups and downs of motherhood.

But I don’t have to look far, not far at all, to see the beauty and life that literally surrounds us.  The sweet scent of summer earth wafting through our open windows, the distant chit-chit of birdsong and the ever present pulse of thuds and bumps that affirm the children are up to something, somewhere.  That’s ok, I’ll deal with that later.  For now I’ll enjoy the view.