My house is flooded with kids, all under the age of 5, this week. I was in the kitchen this morning putsing and I kept going to the back porch to check on Scarlet who was outside. I was just far enough removed that she didn’t notice me and I simply enjoyed watching her small little body explore, stop and listen, feel, play, be curious, destroy my plants. I watched the morning sunshine on her skin and the summer breeze in her fair hair. And after a bit, I would catch her eye and she would give me that full mouth “chompers” grin of hers. And I felt full and happy. I was present to the moment, nothing before me, nothing behind me. Nothing pressing in on me or holding me down, simply enjoying my daughter.
Category: Scarlet Charlene
In an effort to get my head out of my ass, I sat down in the wintry kitchen nook and made plans for my garden. Yes, it is early. But I sure do miss my garden.
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This year I am making an electric propagating bed. Sounds impressive; it is. A box with a warming coil covered in sand and you put the seedlings on top of that. I spent the afternoon going through all my seeds, categorizing them, herbs, vegetables, full sun flowers, part sun flowers, etc. I then slowly, very slowly perused through the Burpee’s seed catalog making a dream list (that accounted for a couple hundred dollars and that is why it is called a dream list). How many different variety of tomatoes do I “need”? Do I need every color variation of nasturtium? Could I go without the bi-colored beets (probably not)? Dreaming about green things; caught up in a whole other fantasy world that involved rototillers, sand, and vermiculite.
I did all this while it snowed a couple of inches in my backyard and then I proceeded to go outside with the little snow-women (who looked just like Randy from A Christmas Story).
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Scarlet did not proceed to move one little size 5 foot in any direction; paralyzed by all the white stuff.
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We made snow angels, even Scarlet with such a cute, tiny wingspan. I jumped in more than once and I fear that may be why by lower back is a achin’ me and requiring multiple doses of Ibuprofen. Can you say, “Old Lady!”?
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We went for a little sled ride; me pulling them around the back yard until, unbeknownst to me, they fell off face first into the snow. I have a bad Trudi-habit of laughing hysterically in these situations. But I sure did scoop up the littlest of the two who had the most snow-plowed-face damage and provided some comfort and a windshield wiper blade sort of swipe with my glove.
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Gotcha! The one and only beauty of a photo amidst all the rest.
I love these two snow-women.
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This captures much: Audrey always getting in Scarlet’s personal space and Scarlet always swatting her away with a grin.
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Today my second daughter turned one year old. I was recently re-watching the video of me birthing her and bringing her into the world and something caught my attention I hadn’t noticed before. When she finally comes out and there is all the commotion (which actually wasn’t much in this scene), there is the normal chatter and me, the birthing woman, saying all sort of incoherent things that mostly mean, “give me my baby”. The first real intelligible words that leave my mouth are these: “That was so easy.”
HA!
Can you believe that? And it was, truly. I think I was the most well supported woman in that hospital probably for the entire month of November. I had so many people loving on me before the birth and so many surrounding me (in multiple ways). I was covered. I popped that baby out without any difficulty (all things considering) and I held her in my arms and was just amazed.
God buys back really bad birth experiences and gives us new ones. Right, Sarah? And he continues to do that in other areas of my life. He does.
So here’s to God and his love for me as a mother, as a birthing woman and as a courageous, pink-caped soul! And here’s to the little life he formed in my womb and brought into being, Scarlet Charlene. I celebrate her this day and all that she means to me.
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