dearest readers of the utmost kind,
you have bought tears to my eyes,
for indeed i feel like i have been hugged time and again by your kind words of yesterday.
i am thinking we all need hugs every now and then,
that indeed it is okay to feel a little sorry for one's self
but then i am thinking it is also important to continue with high hopes of things getting better...
and so today you find me with high hopes and my overalls on.
my high hopes are for the grocery store,
my kitchen cupboards are positively echoing.
i fear i may require a zimmer frame to complete my one task of the day.
as i know no whereabouts of such a handy contraption, i am taking a volunteer with me.
i am thinking to find a volunteer amongst my delightful offspring i will also be requiring a carrot to dangle in front of them.
for yes indeedy, ten whole weeks of peachy closeness stretch out before us.
school is out and now it is just
me, Mr Vertigo, three teenagers and one pre-teen in close proximity
it would be quite true to say,
i fear for my shiny place,
i fear for Miss Ethel seeing any action,
and most of all i fear for my sanity.
but i have a cunning plan
and
my cunning plan was thought up whilst dallying with Mr Hook.
a cunning plan with a name...
and that name is
the 'high hopes happy' plan.
just saying it makes me feel so much better.
try it for yourselves.
smile a smile to a random passing stranger within your nests
they will stop and
wonder what knowledge could you possibly know that makes you smile in such a way.
and if they by chance enquire, then you may enlighten them
"why i'm thinking about my high hopes happy cunning plan"
they will be intrigued, wishing to know more details
and so dearest readers, for me the 'high hopes happy' plan
is about seeing happy and hopeful things each and every day this summer.
for i hold my hand up high and say,
i am positively shaking at the thought of losing my precious alone time where i do my thinking, my crafting and my rambling...
but i also know i will have that time again.
the time i will not have again is time with my children living altogether,
close by me where i feel like i can keep them safe from the world
even if in reality i cannot.
i need to take the precious moments of good and crappity crap...
listening to them bicker,
the exasperation that comes from the trails they leave behind them,
the moments when you think you will lose it super big time if one more child fights over the telly.
when we sit around the table, another orange colored meal laid out before us
and i look around me, they are laughing, probably at my expense, but none the less laughing together.
when a cup of tea appears by my side, thoughtfully made for me without request,
when i realize i am fast becoming the shortest in the family,
and
indeed listening to "mum, there are no clean undies, where are they?"
yes those are the precious moments
i need to take it all in,
hold on to it whilst i still have it,
see the happy in each and every day
september will roll around fast enough.
Our #1 will have moved so far away across the pond
and the other three will be back in school here.
the shed will take on hushed tones
and i will once again have alone time with my thoughts, my crafting and my ramblings.
with a little bit of luck, we will be left looking back
at a summer of 'happy' and looking forward
to our futures with continuing 'high hopes'
she is off to 'stock up' with her chosen volunteer ~ Tif
28 comments:
Dear Tif: Didn't Mr. V visit you about this same time last year? Is he predictably unpredictable? Hmmm....I wonder...
Enjoy your progeny AND the future Of the Empty Nest....The EN is definitely underated....:D
Well said Tiff, very well said indeed. You have made me stop and think about how I will, in a blink of an eye, have an empty nest and plenty of time to sit and craft so I should enjoy the here and now.
Oh Tif, you are a joy! Lots of love, Amanda xxx
lol...i love your post...you are real!!!! i like it....i have 2 teens, one just over teen, one pre teen and twin tweeners...but i love that they are all with me...i would love to have a huge summer break like yours...we are coming up to ony two weeks for our winter hols soon!!!!not enough time if you ask me!!!the trail they leave must be the most annoying...and oh the extra washing...once i read that the best hint for bringing up children is to always smile at them each time you look at them...this does really work...similar to your theory...enough ramblings from me...take care...xxx
i too have a summer vacationer here who will have his senior portrait taken next week in preparation for his senior year in september....and, while he and the older one work all day, and i am fortunate enough to have that time, there are still days, hours, whatever, when the house is full of farmers, farmhands, male dogs and it all becomes a bit much for a girly girl such as myself...that is when i get that little smile you spoke of on my face...because i am in my "happy place"...even if i can't be there physically, just thinking about it brings a smile to my face, and the knowledge that i shall return asap, does indeed bring a little smile to my frazzled face and mind. so you just keep smiling that smile dear dottie angel and enjoy what "is" while thinking of what "will be" in a little while....and do try and blog over the summer....the thought of no dottie angel for 10 weeks would be too much for me to bear....
A brilliant, wise and thought provoking post. I have only just read of your mishap and to hear your humour and determination to get over it is a tonic and a lesson to us all. Take time for yourself, even in the hustle and bustle of school holidays. Yes it is good to enjoy all around you and take each day as it comes, but give your loved ones the time to appreciate you too!
Jenny x
Ditto to all your momma-heart sentiments. You are looking FORWARD with rose colored glasses. That is a switch of high hopes. Love!!
I love your chosen words today. I hope you choose your helper wisely today and you don't come home having spent way too much money on things you didn't intend to buy. Enjoy your ten weeks with your teens and may you have many more surprise cups of tea provided.
do keep on keeping on, I am thinking high happy thoughts with you, and am encouraged to read that you can see hope for the future, knowing that nothing really stays bad forever.
I completely understand that need for alone time; I absolutely LOVE it myself. My kids are all grown and out the coop now, and I do miss the ruckus they made. And I remember the moment, looking into a child's eyes and realizing that I was looking up. Yep, you never get that back again.
Tif, reading your blog is like a breath of fresh air!! :)
Vivienne x
You are most wise for your years, yes indeed. To come up with the brilliant 'high hopes happy plan'. I have a feeling Mr. Vertigo will not be able to hang around with all the happy niceness that will surround you and all those near. That will make him dizzy. I will also be taking up your plan as I have an uninvited guest that shows up like your Mr. V. But his name is Mr. Blue and he comes around when I am missing my children and grandchildren who live down the Interstate and not as close as I need. So I will be putting your plan in to practice now as I feel he is coming up the lane. Thank you and take care of yourself.
A very wise post. With two who have just returned home, I am thinking the same as you. They would probably all tell me right now how unhappy they are but I hear the laughter and the happy through all the family experiences and practical jokes/disagreements/different personality problems. We are a family after all!! Cherrie
Wise words, Miss Tif. Today I was sitting with a couple other Mamas, we were discussing how each of us is nearly mad from living constantly under the brunt of our children's demands (there are 9 of them between the 3 of us). As we stood hosing mud off the giggling lot of them a few minutes later, we Mamas looked at each other and laughed. These are the days of joy, indeed. Thank you for reminding me, again.
Tif you make me laugh! I hope your chosen voluteer pulls through for you and the expedition to the grocery store is successful. I love the idea of "high hopes happy" :) Thanks for bringing a smile to my morning.
No clean undies, fighting over the tv, becoming the shortest in my family....that's my life. And if you have it too, then it makes it kind of cool.
Hey everyone, Dottie Angel and I have something in common!
Tif,
I am now where your future thoughts are - both kids out of the nest for a few years now. There are days when I would give anything to hear that "precious" bickering coming from the backseat or the constant complaints of "no food in the house" and "whats for dinner".....I got what I so often wished for - lots of time to myself. The problem is - I have a little toooo much time. Being a Mom is definitely the hardest endeavor I have ever experienced - such highs and lows.
Thank God I have my little crafty whatnots - keeps me sane (I think).
I have to also say, Tif, that you are the fastest crocheter - Its seems I can barely get through a few squares a day and I look at your blog and there you are on another blanket - you amaze me!!!
Vickie in Seattle
These are indeed times that won't come again: my very own pre-teen is still willing to walk the dog with me and talk, rather than grunt. I have my own 'happy plan' for the weeks I'll have with her this summer.
My mum would tell you that grannydom brings these times around again with the added bonus of being able to send them home when they get too stroppy.
Every time I read about your eldest leaving the nest, it makes me listen to Ingrid Michaelson's "Highway" on the Boys and Girls album. You'll cry, but listen anyway. I do every time and it's never stopped me repeating the experience. *grin* x
have been feeling this sameish thing with having all three little ones under foot all summer. the bickering just MIGHT do me in, but i will try very hard to think of my high hopes happy plan then. wishing you the peachiest of closeness with your clan.....
High hopes and happy plan sound like a recipe for a perfect summer.
I really love your 'high hopes happy plan'. What a lovely reminder of the things that are truly important. I've had some ramblings of my own lately about the start of summer and this just puts it all in perspective. Wishing you happiness all summer long...
There is physical therapy that works for some people with vertigo -- non-invasive, painless, and simple. You find someone who believes in it (this could be the hardest part!). It involves sitting on the side of a bed and falling to your side. The therapist determines which side (ear) is involved and you fall the other way. It can cause loose stuff in your ear to settle back into place ending all the disruption caused by debris in your ear sending the wrong balance signals. My mother-in-law had great success with this. Other friends have seasonal vertigo which they believe is allergy related -- once they got the allergy stuff settled, Mr. Vertigo had to just slink away. Good luck!
Precious moments indeed - we must all remind ourselves of that fact when we are feeling overwhelmed! Little Thing 1 will be leaving for university in the autumn, and although I'm so happy for her I will miss her dreadfully - so I'm trying to make the most of those precious moments too. Oh, and I'm loving the colours in the crochet!
Oh Tif I am so sorry to learn of your fall. The vertigo must be so awful, and then anxiety would be come waiting for the next time. I feel for you and I do hope your your neck/shoulder is on the mend.
You really have such a lovely attitude, and it is so so so true. Embrace what you have now with your little family. For that is something that is the most certain of all. These days will never be again. Enjoy them to your hearts content. Because looking back Tif, they truly will be the most beautiful.......I know. :)
thank you my lovelies! i am so cheered by your kind words of support for the long summer weeks ahead... i am thinking it is rather lovely to know we are not alone and that we all feel sometimes a little overwhelmed by being a mother 24/7.
have a peachy weekend my dearies...
i don't think i'll be able to read when your 1 goes away. isi starts school in september and i am already feeling emotional. when i heard he wasn't starting till the end of sept i thought 'bloody hell! that's ages!' and now, like you, i'm trying to embrace it. time is moving so quickly.
sorry about your fall, hope you are healing. x
Tif, this is so lovely. I just want to tell you what an inspiration you are to me--not just with your beautiful granny crafts, but with things like this, too. :) Keeping them close while letting them fly is soooo hard.
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