A Springtime Reminder

I once heard a seasoned mom say, “If the walls are closing in on you, take the walls away.” 

Go outside!

A few notes on the outdoors and motherhood:

In the early years of motherhood with a house full of little boys, getting outside not only felt sanity-saving, but it ended up creating some of my best memories. And bonus, it formed nature lovers. This family rhythm is still going strong, whether it's the backyard, the neighborhood pond, or a daily walk. 

(Additionally, all the time in nature directly guided my art and writing, even creating the theme for my next children’s book. Don’t ever believe that focused motherhood for a season has to detract from other dreams and goals in their right timing. I have found it has clarified my vision and focus all the more). 

Each of our children spent hundreds of hours in the stroller walking the neighborhood in the early morning. We talked about the trees and birds and stray cats and clouds. Wow. Can you believe God is so creative? Isn’t this incredible? (Or strange!)

In addition to walks, there were visits to every park, hiking trail, and nature preserve I could locate. Still are.

When times were tight, it was free entertainment.

When we were working hard to minimize stuff inside, it was a stuff-free pastime. 

Nowadays, there are inspiring and informative websites and podcasts like 1000 Hours Outside that will have you running outdoors before the end of the episode!

It was always my goal and preference not to allow screens to steal those precious bonding and learning moments in the strollers, aside from music and the occasional children’s audio book. We offer our kids a gift when we teach them to look around and notice. 

Of utmost importance: Nature excursions with children will always result in found treasures! We’ve kept a few special dishes or trays permanently out in the house to display these wonders. After 15 years, our tiny exhibits are still showcasing new finds all the time.

St. Patrick's Day Round-Up

Right after the birth of our first son, a saint-of-a-friend carried a hot meal all the way from Queens to our apartment in East Harlem, NYC, on St. Patrick’s Day. It was corned beef with cabbage and Irish soda bread and that meal has lived on in family lore, told every year on this day. Now we always cook up an “Irish Feast” (or at least our version), pull out photos of Ireland travels, and have a retelling of the inspiring story of St. Patrick.

Should anyone be interested in beginning a St. Paddy’s day tradition, here’s what ours usually includes, best enjoyed with Irish music and friends:

Corned beef

Potatoes

Carrots

Cabbage

Irish soda bread

(There are recipes o’plenty online for all these)

Green additions for kids like grapes, cucumbers, and apples

Mint chocolate chip ice cream and brownie pie

Reading

Saint Patrick the Forgiver: The History and Legends of Ireland's Bishop

Creating

We had fun making art with a few St. Patrick-themed art videos from Art for Kids Hub! We’ve loved their videos for years.

Peaceful Home Hack: 8:30 Stop Sign

Since I know by now that molehills become mountains after dark, concerns ballooning into catastrophes as my brain loses steam, I set a rule for myself a while back: No worrying after 8:30 pm.

Seems like the worry train likes to barrel down the track right as my head is hitting the pillow, but now with that red stop sign in hand, it screeches to a halt.

If the concern is important enough, I hand it to the Lord and deal with it when I wake in the morning for prayers and reading. Perfect time to sort through what plagues me.

And you know what? The more the habit is halted at 8:30, the less worry ends up infiltrating the rest of my day as well. Boundaries bring freedom. Seems like Jesus knew what he was talking about when he told us to hand our burdens to him.

Sweet dreams!