Category: freedom

blessings · Changes · daughter · freedom · new beginnings · son

So much has been happening in my world lately!

Joanne11 Comments

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November has been a time of change, of beginnings and endings, of children growing, learning, and maturing (sometimes trying to push the issue of maturing!) Decisions are being made and confusion reins supreme in my home.

The changes are not bad, just…..well…..changes!

My baby boy finished high school. Now that’s a monumental occasion for any parent, I know. For us though, it’s our last….our youngest child, going out into the big wide world, walking through the high school gate for the last time ever, from the familiar day to day hum-drum world that he couldn’t wait to end, then it did end, and he felt the sadness of not knowing any more where this next phase of his life would take him.

So many emotions, all rolled up in one big “change”. Happy to be free to make his own choices in life, yet not yet knowing exactly what he wants to do. Pleased to know that he is no longer answerable to school teachers, free of assignments, homework commitments, “arrive on time or else you get a detention” threats, yet he still felt a sadness of leaving behind him some of the happiest years of his life.

On the last morning, before he left for school, he posed for me with my new “grand-daughter puppy”, little Forrest. I can’t say that I was thrilled when he told my that he and his girlfriend would be buying a puppy, but how could I resist that cute little face? (The cute little face of Forrest, I mean…..oh, okay, you’ve got me…..I can’t resist the cute little face of my baby boy either!)???????????????????????????????

Here is Adam, all dolled up in a suit, with Forrest (a slightly younger version of Forrest, in late September) the night of the High School Formal.

And then, last week, parents were invited to the official graduation ceremony at the school. More photos were taken, of course, well at least I tried to take photos! My daughter, Emma, wanted to have a photo taken with her baby brother, and Forrest wanted to get in on the act as well.???????????????????????????????

That little girl cannot sit still for anything! She’s a little ball of energetic fun, the whole world is her playground and every creature in it is her friend! Here’s another one of Forrest getting in on the act ~???????????????????????????????

Big brother Ben thinks it’s all a big game as well, so Forrest has an ally! Finally, I managed a “good” photo. I thought it might be fun though to add a few bloopers first!???????????????????????????????

It looks as though, in the last photo, I have asked Adam to “say cheese”….I promise I didn’t! I think he had had enough of photos by this time though…..

Also, on the same day last week, Emma bought a new car! She was so excited…..her last car had been bought in my name, with her being so young…..this one has her name on the registration papers!???????????????????????????????

Oh, she doesn’t look that happy in that photo, does she……I promise she was, we were probably talking as I clicked the shutter……here’s a better one, she’s smiling now ~

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She even bought a new dress for the occasion, which will also be her birthday dress. She has a birthday coming up soon, and says the car is an early birthday present to herself.

So that’s a couple of the big events that have happened in my world lately. It’s been go, go, go every day!

It’s great to watch my children grow, share in their achievements, see the excitement they feel as they make major life choices for themselves. As for me and their father, we are so proud of our four children. Lately, we fall into bed exhausted each night, we worry, we talk, we wonder, but mostly we smile and laugh about the incidences of each day…..

And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

freedom · friends · new beginnings · photography

The Muse Who Disappeared

Joanne8 Comments

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I haven’t had anything to say here for months. That’s not because I’ve had nothing to say, I’ve been talking plenty, both to the people in my physical life, and those who I know online.

Every now and then I have been visiting my blogging friends blog pages (as you will know!) and I love reading your thoughts, and hearing about what you have been up to. I have even continued adding a photo a day at blipfoto, which I really enjoy, as it keeps a daily record of what I’ve been up to, and I pop into Facebook nearly every day too.

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Then I go to the dashboard of my own blog ~~ and there’s nothing.

Why?!

I seem to be in some kind of slump, but I don’t know why. So taking matters into my own hands, rather than awaiting the return of my “Homelife Muse“, here I am. Babbling on about nothing.

But it’s a start…..right?

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I do have a rather wonderful event to talk of (maybe my Muse just came by for a visit!) My husband and I just had a four day trip away together, just a two hour drive from home, but the best part of the trip was that it was just the two of us!

Don’t get me wrong, I love my children to the moon and back. But you know, they are all so grown up now, they have their own lives. And I will always be here for them if they need me….but they can live their own lives now, independently of me….I can actually go away with their father for a few days without the sky falling in on them!

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My photos today were taken while we were away. I’ll tell you more about the area we went to another day (I don’t want to exhaust my Muse while she’s here!)

I took over four-hundred photos during the four days, and I’m still sorting through them all. But I’ll be back soon ~ Pinky Promise!

trio

“Mistress Creation keeps calling my name… I long for her, and she, for me… we will be reunited soon. In the interim, I bide my time dreaming of her, writing about her and stretching her across the vast landscape of my imagination. “Soon”, I whisper to her, “Soon”.”
~ Jaeda DeWalt

blessings · freedom · friends

A Sad Day…

Joanne22 Comments

In Loving Memory

If it should be

” If it should be, that I grow frail and weak,
And pain should wake me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done,
For this last battle can’t be won.

You will be sad, I understand,
Don’t let your grief then stay your hand
For this day more than all the rest
Your love and friendship stand the test.

Together we’ve had so many happy years,
And what is to come will hold no fears –
You’ll not want me to suffer, and so,
When the time comes, please let me go.

I know in time you too will see
It is a kindness you do to me,
Although my tail its last has waved
From pain and suffering I’ve been saved.

Do not grieve that it should be you,
Who has to decide this thing to do,
We’ve been so close we two these years,
So don’t let your heart
Hold any tears.” ~ Author Unknown.

authenticity · freedom · happiness · inspiration · new beginnings

An Authentic Life

Joanne17 Comments

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For over a week now I have pondered my first post for 2014, knowing what is in my heart, but where to find the words, I contemplated?

I should never have bothered my brain, as the words arrived by magic in the form of an email this morning, from Rhonda Byrne, creator of The Secret.

“The New Year’s Resolution That Will Change Your Life

There’s one simple message that’s threaded through my books, and it’s the most important message anyone can hear if they want 2014 to be the best year of their life.

Do whatever you can to feel good, because when you feel good, life will be good. The better you feel, the better life will get! Think about, talk about, and focus on the areas of your life that make you feel good, and temporarily keep off the subjects that don’t make you feel good. When you do this one simple thing, everything in your life will get better, whether that’s better relationships, health, money, or better circumstances with your job. Nothing in your life can ever improve until you feel better, and when you feel better, everything will improve. Make feeling as good as you can your number one priority for 2014, and it will be the best year of your life!” ~ Rhonda Byrne.

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……which brings me to the point of why I needed these words.

For the last few years I have considered, rather than making New Years Resolutions, what would my theme be for the coming year? Some years, the word I am searching for simply pops into my mind unannounced, other years I have floundered around, searching for my word, without any luck. It always arrives eventually, when I have forgotten my desperation for such a word and I least expect to ever discover it.

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“As you become more aligned with the truth of who you are, the question of liking yourself goes away. It is a natural state of being.” ~ Rachel Archelaus

This time, the word arrived during December, unannounced, without even so much as a tap on the door of my subconscious mind. It arrived disguised as a feeling, a longing, a simple knowing that this is the direction my life must always take.

My word steered me, ever so gently, into the feelings of knowing that from that day forth and forever more, I must live my life as an authentic human being. So you see, my actual word for 2014 found me and began to weave its magic at some time during December, or, I began my authentic life at that time rather than awaiting January 1. Which came first, the date or the word, is of no consequence, and I don’t remember the date, for it flowed smoothly into my life and took hold of its helm.

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Rhonda Byrne’s words resonate with my soul ~ do whatever you can to feel good ~ I feel good when I am living my life as the real me, the authentic me, the person I am when I stop trying to be what I perceive others believe I am, the person I was as a child before other well meaning beings decided what I should be and began steering my life for me.

That last train of thought rattles my equilibrium, so I will banish it from my brain. Old thoughts, old habits, old perceptions, must go, if I wish to improve the content of my life as another year unfolds.

“Make a pact with yourself today to not be defined by your past. Sometimes the greatest thing to come out of all your hard work isn’t what you get for it, but what you become for it. Shake things up today! Be You…Be Free…Share.” ~ Steve Maraboli

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I already know, from both endless reading on the subject and having lived on this earth for over half a century (my god, I sound old!) that if you yourself are not happy, no one around you will be either. Happiness breeds happiness ~ isn’t that a comforting thought? It is so much easier to be happy than it is not to be and the condition is contagious!

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The following check-list that I came across recently poses the question “do you love yourself?” and asks are you…

* Following your heart’s desire.
* Taking care of your own needs.
* Taking responsibility for your life and happiness.
* Treating yourself with gentleness and kindness.
* Laughing often.
* Being yourself inwardly and outwardly.
* Spending time with people who make you feel good and limiting the time you spend with                  people who don’t.
* Forgiving yourself for what you perceive you’ve done wrong or haven’t done.
* Accepting yourself the way you are.
* Allowing love into your life.
* Spending regular time having fun and playing.

All of the above options are available to anyone, with just a simple adjustment of mindset and a touch of determination. It’s a way of life, not a grand announcement. No one need be hurt in the pursuing of one’s dreams of authenticity and any souls who cannot cope with the reality (of you becoming authentically you) will exit the stage of your life over time. I know this, therefore tolerance to change is also required.

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“How desperately difficult it is to be honest with oneself. It is much easier to be honest with other people. What is true is invisible to the eye. It is only with the heart that one can see clearly.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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If I am to be completely honest, which is a prerequisite to being authentic, I have edged my way toward authenticity for many years already. It’s a habit, just as surely as any way we choose to live.

I’d really love to hear everyone’s thoughts on 2014. Have you a chosen word which will steer the course of your world throughout the year? This year has a positive feel about it to me, for no other reason than it’s just the way I feel!

advice · challenges · Changes · freedom · inspiration

When Freedom Begins.

Joanne7 Comments
A quiet bay, my kind of beach. Note to Self ~ I must spend more time visiting the beach.
A quiet bay, my kind of beach. Note to Self ~ I must spend more time visiting the beach.

Some of the most memorable conversations I have are brief, and with total strangers.

During the past week I had a phone call from a woman who identified herself as Marina, from a magazine I have subscribed to for the last ten years.

“What a lovely name you have”, I told Marina, to which she exclaimed, “I’ve asked my mother what was she thinking, naming me after a place where boats were kept!” And so our conversation began.

You may remember last year, (when my sewing shelves were much tidier than they are now!) I received a brand new wooden sewing box in the mail, along with other goodies that I had ordered over the phone from this same magazine company. Well, it is that time of year again, when they tempt me, the sewing and craft lover, with no end of fabulous paraphernalia, in an effort to have me part company with some cash.

I have to tell you, this is cash that I am happy to part with! They offer tremendous deals and as their offerings are purchased sight-unseen, when the boxes arrive in the mail it is like opening up a whole array of exciting Christmas presents!

But back to Marina. When I spoke to her, her manner reminded me of that of my daughter Emma, honest, friendly and easy to talk to, and whilst very good at her job, she loves a chat with the customers too.

She told me that she wondered what I would be finding to make with all of my new fabrics and threads when they arrived and I assured her that I had plenty of craft magazines on hand to give me inspiration.

I went on to tell Marina that it was only within the last year that I had returned to my love of craft and sewing for fun, that my priority of being a mother for so many years had meant my own interests had taken a back seat.

“It’s so good to know that there will come a time when I will get my “me time” back again!” Marina said, as she explained that she found being a mother was both demanding and time-consuming.

Whilst I wouldn’t have changed my last twenty-eight years of living in the Land of Motherdom, I must admit to feeling relieved that my children are now almost all independent of my motherly care and their dependence on my time is diminishing.

My brief conversation with Marina reminded me of those days, so long ago yet they seem like only yesterday, when my children were young. I recalled their sweet young faces and innocent ways, noticing my feelings erring towards accepted nostalgia rather than sadness of a time long gone.

When Marina told me that she was looking forward to her freedom I advised her to enjoy the days with her young children rather than wishing her life away; she told me she’d try.

Occasionally I have thought of my conversation with Marina a few days ago and it has helped me to realise that I am contented with the place I have reached in my life. The days when I look into the mirror and wonder who that person with the older face is are diminishing. She has earned the lines on her face, the greying hair and the skin that is beginning to age and sag. These are the signs of a life well lived.

As my conversation with Marina drew to a close she gave me her direct phone number to contact her, should I have any questions at any time, she would be there most days until six in the evening, she said. What a long day that is, no wonder Marina had no free time to herself for her own enjoyment!

This morning I came across a quote which reminded me of Marina. I get the impression that she may be a fun and quirky woman, however short of time she may be feeling. It is also a reminder to myself, a reminder of what true freedom really is ~

“Freedom begins in the moment you allow yourself to be you; the you that is fun and silly, quirky and different, unique and splendid, funky and kooky.

Hide not the parts of you, the expression of which fills you with joy and rapture, beauty and contentment, humanity and aliveness. It is by revealing those aspects that you radiate to the world the shining light you are and that we all yearn to see. “ ~ Robert Beno.

I’ve reached a place in my life where I am far more comfortable with revealing the real me, albeit with wrinkles! 🙂