Honoring the Wishes of Children

It's been a busy few weekends. I've had a lot of fantastic art opportunities, and for that, I am very grateful. However, it's required a lot of weekends spent in the car, driving at least an hour away to deliver art to be exhibited.

I've tried to make the best of it each time, turning one such trip into a fun-filled day at Congaree National Park outside of Columbia, SC. If you are in the area, I highly recommend spending a day at this magical, mystical place. I've never seen terrain like this! We can't wait to go back. We spent the day there with a friend after dropping off a piece of art for a Women Speak, an art exhibit for Women's History Month Exhibit at the State Library in Columbia. I bought a sun printing kit there in the visitor's center that we can't wait to try out!

As this weekend drew closer, I reminded my son that I'd been invited to attend a gallery reception this weekend in North Carolina to see a friend's show, meet the gallery owner and network for possible exhibition opportunities in that area for the future. Professionally, this was important. And while this gallery is not too terribly far of a drive, but it would have meant another Saturday in the car.

Normally my son is as excited about weekend adventuring as I am, but apparently he'd had enough road tripping for a while, and expressed a deep desire for just a 'stay-at-home' weekend. For both of us. He wasn't whining; he just really, really, really wanted to be home.

Home. Our refuge, our favorite place above all. The place that inspired me to start my Radical Homemakers of South Carolina group. The place where we live and love. Where I create, where I gain my strength, balance, and focus.Yet for the past couple of months, it has seemed that on weekends, we've barely been here. This was an important networking opportunity....but...I am mother before all else. There will be more receptions and more networking opportunities. He is young and in my care only for this short, sweet while. And his voice deserves to be heard. His feeling and opinions matter. And if I, as his mother, don't teach him that his thoughts and feelings are important and deserve respect, who will?

It is always a bit of a balancing act when your life's work doesn't operate around weekly 9 to 5 hours. As an artist, you worry people won't take you or your work seriously if you don't attend or participate in events. But when you work full-time as well, the balancing act can begin feel like a juggling act. I found out that I, too, needed some stay-at-home time. Somehow, in the fun and adventuring of delivering art and attending events, the weekends have been slipping away with very little real, actual rest. Lying in the meadow in the sunshine yesterday, feeling the earth warm beneath me, hearing Spring come alive all around me, I remembered how important this balance of rest and energy is. How important time in nature is. Not just for children, but for all of us.

At the end of the day, my son, the aspiring chef, made Lemon Bars and I made Fudgy Vegan Beet Cupcakes.  A friend visited for coffee and conversation and had the delight of sampling both! Our evening ended peacefully as the day had begun.

Today I'll make some carrot soup with carrots we picked up at the Farmer's Market yesterday and banana bread with the Quinoa flour I splurged on because I've given up bread for Lent. Or maybe I'll let my son make one of them. Or both. Because it's easy to adventure without leaving home, really. And of course, I'll work on a few paintings here and there in between, as I always do.

Happy Weekend!

I currently have work on display at The South Carolina State Library and The Richland County Library, both in Columbia, SC. Pending exhibits in July and August; more information to come!

Being Outdoors vs. Being 'Outdoorsy'

Someone asked me if I was 'outdoorsy' type of person a while back, and I wasn't sure how to respond because I don't know all the connotations that term is meant to imply. And I don't really like labels that categorize me as one type of person or another.

But this week, I did something that was really glorious...it was so simple, yet it made me feel youthful and fully in the moment, outdoors.

My son attended a Lego camp at a local university, which is about half an hour drive away in the middle of the day and last for three hours. A dear friend lives in this town but we weren't able to connect on the first day of the camp, So there I was, three hours to kill in a small university town where nearly everything, including the local coffee shop, (bummer!) was closed for summer holidays.

So, I took my trusty Hello Kitty and trade picnic blankets, which are always in back of the car, spread them out under a nice shade tree, grabbed my knitting, and had a most pleasant afternoon in the summer air, at one point even taking a nap!

Working on a pair of matching hats for twin girls coming in October! 

It seems such a small thing but how often do we, as adults, enjoy simple time outside without boating on lakes, swimming in beaches, or driving for hours to find mountains to climb? How often do we just spread a blanket on the ground outside in the shade and simply relax?

Though it is mid-summer here, on this day I was blessed with overcast sky and a breeze which made temps feel cooler. In the South, summer is often the great exodus from outdoors, especially during midday, due to the heat. Busy towns look like ghost towns between noon and 5pm. So I was pretty much on my own, minus a bit of occasional traffic passing by, but that was okay too.

My view!

I have spent time in Europe and lived in the North, and there I always saw people spread out blankets enjoying outside time in pleasant weather, not doing anything more strenuous than perhaps tossing a frisbee on a nice afternoon. Parks and university lawns and public places would be dotted with color as people found and took their places with picnic baskets and toys for small children who might be present. I think maybe here in the South we take pleasant weather for granted a bit, especially in summer when a cool day randomly inserts itself in the midst of almost triple-digit temps. Had my friend been free that afternoon, or the coffee shop been open, I might not have enjoyed this time outside, either!

Outside time doesn't have to be grand or involve doing 'outdoorsy' things (which I think means boating, hiking, swimming, etc.) But fresh air and time out-of-doors is good for mind, body and soul. I don't believe one needs to necessarily drive many miles to enjoy time outside in nature - my hours on the university grounds were rejuvenating and restful, and such a simple thing to accomplish, and something I can do anytime in my own neighborhood when weather allows.

So the next pleasant day, when you have a few hours to spare, spread a blanket on the ground, grab a good book or fun project and a bottle of water, and enjoy some outside time. You don't have to break a sweat, I promise!

Wednesday Photo Essays - a mini post plan

After last week's unintended blog break, I promised to return with a post on raising happy minimalists - in other words, a child or children who find more joy in moments and experiences than things. And that post is coming over the weekend; it's a subject near and dear to my heart. In the meantime, I'm sharing a few photos from yesterday's post-summer-storm-deluge stroll with a friend around the grounds where I live. It's no secret what I'm in search of on these walks....

...mushrooms!

I don't know why or when or how I became so obsessed with fungi, but my phone is filled with images like this. I think they are so magical! This little mushroom village in the above picture was almost too much for me to stand......then I found this wee red-capped one. Oh my golly gosh!

Then we came across the twins here...

And this little guy at the base of the big oak tree...

Nature is so fascinating and amazing, and I love photographing it. I feel so grateful that there is no need to drive to another area, town, or state to do this; there is breathtaking beauty right outside my front door. Each Wednesday this summer, I plan to do a mini-post showcasing some of the natural beauty that we are surrounded by, including wild beauty, which I believe sometimes is the best of all.

My friend and I rounded out our mushroom-hunting stroll yesterday evening with a stop by the garden to pick a fresh spring bouquet for the kitchen table (the produce is from our local farmer's market; it will be a few more weeks before we can harvest our eggplant and sweet potatoes!)

Even though this is an indoor shot, I'm counting it as a nature photo and throwing it into the mix! I'll be back next Wednesday with more nature photos, and I'll try and keep the mushrooms to a minimum! Look for my post on children and minimalism Sunday!

Happy Wednesday all, and thanks for stopping by!

Amy

Rewild Your Life April Challenge: Update and Pics

At the beginning of the month, I joined up with the awesome folks over at We Are Wildness for the April thirty day Rewild Your Life Challenge! (For more information on this, visit my post from March 28)

For my son and I, this wasn't too difficult of a challenge as we spend a lot of time outdoors in nature. We're blessed to live right beside a wooded area with trails, a large creek, and nearby ponds. Wildlife is abundant, which is a good thing...for the most part!

We have not only been able to spend plenty of time in our garden, where I was crowned queen...

but we've also been out in the woods...

...and we were even able to spend a lot of time each day out in nature when we visited the coast for Easter weekend!

Here are a few more pictures from our rewilding adventures! I'll be honest, this week it's been a bit challenging with all the April rains, but we've managed!

I love mossy trails!

April showers bring mushrooms everywhere!

So. Much. Love. 

When my friend's family bought this land about 80 years ago, this post was there!

Nature in the city - an old Southern yard on my parent's street!

Beauty along the way

The junkyard dog and I!

Surveying his domain...

Are you participating in the April 2015 Rewild Your Life Challenge? If not, it isn't too late to join! Sign up here and rewild your life today!  P.S. you can follow on Facebook for more rewilding tips!

Wild Outside People...a challenge for April!

Or perhaps that should read: Get Wild Outside, People! For your own health, both physical and mental.

And you don't have to trek, hike, ride mountain bikes or traverse zip lines over precarious ravines while wearing spandex neon clothing. While it's certainly cool if you enjoy doing that, it's not a requirement to being an outside person.

Just like an enjoyment of hunting, fishing, and camping are not requirements of being outdoorsy. It seems we're always categorizing and labeling and defining ourselves in terms of whether or not we are this or that depending on how well we fit a definition coined by someone else.

,
We need nature. We were born a part of it, and we need to stay a part of it; whether we fit the definition of outdoorsy or not, our well-being suffers when we do not spend enough time in nature. Just Google well-being and time in nature and you'll find the research.

And so, I challenge you, for the month of April, to shed your notions about what being outdoorsy or an outside person is and get outside! In nature, in nature, in some way, every day. Join me and others around the world as we participate in Rewild Your Life's 30 Day Challenge! You can also join via Facebook!

Thirty days, with time spent in nature carved into each one. You don't need to travel beyond your own community; time spent in nature doesn't need to be adventurous or expensive.

It just needs to be spent.

Hope to see you being wild outside with us during April!!

A