Visits from your children are the same whether you are the mother or the daughter. Maybe it's visits from daughters, but I don't know. Mothers of sons will have to comment. Last week all three daughters were home and we had many good meals together and some gentle reminders. In particular a light comment on the feng shui hiding amidst our many collections and collectables. So yesterday, in a spirit of greeting Easter morning with a fresh new outlook, we made our first move to obtaining a flat screen TV, the reward at the end of the tunnel. We moved a major piece of furniture out of the living room corner now designated for the flat screen. Once that move was made, others must follow so we are discovering feng shui in every nook and cranny of the house. It is definitely a feeling of renewal.
A greater revelation and discovery, however, occurred this Easter morning while gardening. As I continued my battle with the bamboo, I took the approach that my friend Justine always referred to as "ripping." I have ripped out seams and ripped up paper, but this was my first full-arm attempt to rip out roots and stems. I realized that after years of defending every living plant in the garden I had lost patience with this subversive and invasive plant. The garden bamboo, Fargesia murielae, has a tricky underground network that allows it to surface anywhere and everywhere in the garden. It is, in my way of thinking, relentless. So I cleared the herb garden and now it awaits planting, a hopeful empty space. More feng shui breezing through.
December 17, 2012
I thought I was so wise when I finally understood that after the baby
is born things never go back to previous notions of "normal." Waiting
for things to return to normal was futile, but the new normal, each
time, turned out to be wonderfully different; sometimes a little more
chaotic, but always richer and more fun. Our family grew into each
"normal" and enjoyed it until the next big change.
2012
has been a year of not-so-normal. Starting with the arrival of Little
Ruby, who, along with Big Ruby, her great-grandmother, now bookend our
family. Emma returned home to take a job with UBS and take a break from
graduate school. Though it was intended to be a short stay, it turned
into an extended stay leading up to a long-term position with UBS in
London.
