Holiday Dream

Last night I had one of those dreams. You know the one: Where you wake up engulfed in panic because you arrived late to a test or slept through a job interview. Nearly everyone I know has experienced a version of this dream at one time or another. 

My own personal twist on this nighttime theme of missing-out-on-something-important was that I showed up on time but forgot to bring my camera. In this scenario I was at a photo workshop, riding along merrily with a few others toward the location of our shoot. I remember being happy and chatty and looking out at the passing scenery, excited for all of its potential...... but as we piled out of the car and onto a rocky beach near sunset, I realized I had forgotten my gear. As everyone else, carrying cameras and tripods and backpacks with lenses in them, raced toward a variety of shooting possibilities, I stayed behind to dig through the trunk and circle 'round the vehicle in order to scan its seats thoroughly just one more time. 

Nope. I had arrived without a camera, I was away from home, and the hotel we were staying at was miles away. In this dream I wasn't the driver of the group of photographers, but a passenger, and I remember thinking that I couldn't very well ask him or her to drive me back to collect it. There would be no use, because by the time we both returned, all of that glorious evening light bathing the sand and rocks and driftwood and shore life would have disappeared. While normally I check and double check to make sure I have every piece of equipment I might need for a shoot, apparently I was so distracted by the fun and conversation of the people around me that I had neglected to bring any of it. To focus on the one necessary thing.

In the next scene......because, you know, my dreams have scenes......I was sitting back on a log watching the others in their excitement, wondering how to creatively stretch the limits of the Instagram app on my cell phone. 

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So 'What is going on in your life, Margaret?' you might ask? Well.....a lot. Wonderful things, but a lot. And I'm theorizing maybe too-much-at-once, because...... I had that dream last night. 

We are inching closer to the Holidays......what am I saying? The holidays are HERE. 
Meanwhile, the remodel on the main floor of our house is inching along. I will not complain (not one bit) but I've been without use of a kitchen since October 29th. And without my favorite writing, gift wrapping, photo editing, and gazing-out-the-window-into-the-backyard table. The table where I set my baked goods on racks to cool, work on Christmas projects and the one which, I think, prompts me to write a few lines on this blog. (See, I knew I could fit in a great excuse for skipping out on a post for last week!) The Holidays are......errr......HERE, not one cookie has been baked and I'm feeling a bit stressed and behind and wondering if I will be be able to pull it all together by the time two of our boys return home from afar. Or at the very least by Dec 25th.

Amidst all of this sort of chaos, I do, every day, know and understand that I have much to be thankful for. Here is a list I made last year: Thankful . It still applies. I'm going to re-read it now as a good reminder to myself. Then I will take a few deep breathes and try to slow down and compartmentalize and do what I want/need to get done. I will visualize and dream about it all coming together.....or at the very least appreciate each moment as I move forward.

Wishing you a Wonderful Week ahead!

XO. 

Warmly, Margaret

Cool. - Empty Nest Repost #8

I have to admit I've wondered ever since I wrote a certain piece a few months ago, if I'd have occasion to refer to it again. The opportunity to say, "Yes......that happened. I hoped it would.....and it did." Well, tomorrow evening it will. Tomorrow evening Marc and I are heading into Seattle to hang out with a couple of our boys at a concert. They WANT to go with us. The only difference between tomorrow's concert and what I originally wrote about is that we'll be seeing someone current and not from our......you know......and oh, I-can-hardly-say-this-because-it-makes-me-feel-sort-of-oldish-and-uncool, but......our 'era'. 

I've had warnings that 'It will be loud, Mom........and long', but except for the fact I'll be missing the one of ours that now lives in New York......I don't care. It'll be cool.

Click here to read the original post:  Cool.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Warmly, 

Margaret

The View From Here / Empty Nest Repost #7

My parents are on either side of 90; my father born the year women were given the right to vote. They've lived through several wars and several presidents. The civil rights movement and men landing on the moon. The Great Depression and prosperous economic times. I am struck by how different life is now versus how it was when they were first beginning to pay attention to the world around them. They receive information in ways that probably seemed unimaginable when they were growing up. News comes more frequently and from an increasing number of sources. In print. On the radio. On television. On line. 

I am in awe of their continued interest in local, national and world events. Their interest in those affected by the difficulties of life or in natural disasters. In history and in learning from it. Those two people: They taught me to march forward. To learn and give and trust and try hard. To be as self-sufficient as possible. To have faith. To be interested.

I am struck by how different the world is now than when I was growing up. Certain things have changed and like each generation, there are ways I've had to catch up. Learn. Understand. Accept. To see things fairly I've needed to circle around a bit in order to find the perspective that helps me know what is right, meaningful, good and true.  It's a personal journey, this trek through the years of history I've been allotted, and I want to remain thoughtful about my choices. My actions. My decisions.

I know my sons view their own lives......their own portion of history...... somewhat differently than I did at their ages. I can look back, remember and know what I looked forward to. Planned for. Was innocent of. What is it are they thinking about and planning for? How do they see their future? What have they learned from past generations who have supported their growth? What do they still have to learn?

Recent events have probably got me thinking about all of this. It's good to remind myself every so often.

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Following is a link to re-post #7 about the Empty Nest. It's about sibling relationships. Hope you check it out again!

Beary Good

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Warmly,

Margaret