A few months ago we were all driving home and we took a little drive up into a beautiful private community on a cliff overlooking Grand Traverse bay.  There was an elegant home up there for sale and a few lots as well.  It was stunning up there.  We aren’t looking for a new home, it was just a few minute detour to take a peak.  As we drove down the hill I thought to myself that I wouldn’t feel quite right up there.  The house was facing east out over the water.  If I had a view over the water I would much prefer a western view.

I asked Andy, “Sunrise or Sunset?”

He did not even stop to think.  “Sunrise.”

I said, “Sunset.”

For me, the end of the day, holds my peace.  I love to look back on the day and think of everything that has been completed.  I like to complete things, put them away, check them off a list, turn the lights down.  I am not much of a morning person.  I really prefer to get up once the sun is already up.  Not very late, just not very early.  Andy on the other hand, is up early.  He hits the ground running and is constantly thinking of the next new idea, the next thing to do at a moments notice.  He turns bright lights on.  It makes complete sense that he would have answered sunrise.

Today, on the eve of our 10th wedding anniversary, I went out to catch a picture of the sunrise.  I stepped out of our garage in my slippers and tried to get a good shot of the sun coming up over the orchard.  But, it seemed to be quickly slipping away from me.  I wanted a better shot so I started out across the field.  With every step I took it still seemed to get further and further away.  I was losing the color and I was so very disappointed I would not get a good picture.   I began to run.  I thought a lot of Andy as I raced through the snow.  I thought of how he is out chasing new opportunity for our family every day, how much he radiates ideas and positive thought.  We have had our ups and downs in the past ten years.  We are very different people.  We see things from different angles.  Often is is the exact same thing, just a different angle.  He is the sunrise and I am the sunset.

I had a long day today with many errands and things to do, the dentist, kids haircuts, the chiropractor, grocery shopping, etc.    I came home and unloaded the groceries and started dinner.  I looked out the window and I realized I needed to hurry if I was going to get a shot of the sunset.  I threw Hadley on my hip and we were off down the road.  I set her down and took a desperate shot through the woods.  It was gone.  I missed it.  Hadley and I walked home hand in hand and I realized it really didn’t matter that I had missed that sunset.  At least I had caught my sunrise.

Today we had an awesome opportunity to have a private show with an artist at the Dennos Museum.  Eric Daigh is from Traverse city and coincidentlly graduated the same year as I and then went on to college in Missoula, Montana.  He is now showing his work all over the country.  He primarily works with push pins and sometimes other forms of mosaics.  Our homeschool group went to see his work, and the work of other local TC area artists that were also there on display.  They split us up into groups and we had a pretty formal tour of the exhibits.   We then worked on an art project with Eric’s techniques in mind.  This was something new for my children.  Being in the museum on a guided tour had a very studious tone.  I was very taken by how well our group of children received this experience.  I overheard Eric say a few times and in a few different ways how refreshing our group was as compared to the school groups he had recently worked with.  Our children were very thoughtful, not just in the sense of being kind, but in the sense that they put thought into answering his questions and also asking their own questions.  It was one of those affirming days. Even though we are making alternative choices for our children, they are thriving.

We learned that Eric only uses 5 different colors of push pins.  Red, blue, yellow, white and black.  I was amazed by how different the pieces looked from far away as compared to how they looked up close.  Eric said he loves to find art in simplicity, to take something that one would not consider to have beauty or an artistic shape/consistency and turn it into art.  He also had some work with tape on display, it was unique as well.   I am so glad we had this experience and thankful to have this great little museum in our town.  Hopefully we can do this again with other future exhibits.

I am joining in with Ginny of Small Things today.  I am re-knitting a new sweater for Hadley.  I have already knit this once… but I had been trying to resize a smaller pattern.  I knit it all only to find the neck hole was too small.  Now I am trying again, and I fear the neck will be too big… I should just pay the 6$ to look at the bigger pattern, but that would be too easy, right?  I am also enjoying all of the great ideas in this book.  Drew is a whiz at math, I have him in 4th grade stuff… but writing and reading are not so inspiring to him.  I think a few of these ideas he will love… I am looking forward to doing a bit with this book in the next few months.

Right Now:

I am sitting listening to Ani D’s new album while Hadley plays with marbles.  I should be cooking dinner.

Marbles are all over my house, the cats love them almost as much as the children.  Andy and I both remember going through a marble phase, this is cute.

We have been skiing a lot.  Hadley is enamored by Phoebe’s friend in the photo, it doesn’t hurt that she thinks her name is Mary ‘Cake’ (Kate).

Hadley is growing wings in her hair and her face is changing.  She is really starting to have her own big girl look.

We went ice skating with friends today.  Great fun.

We have an unusually easy week with only two days of planned skiing.  This is just what I needed.  We don’t even have a race this weekend.  We will probably go cheer on a friend of Drew’s who plays hockey on Sunday.

Hadley just brought me my slippers.  I’m feeling pretty pampered.  Thanks Babe.

Did I mention that I got a new computer for Christmas?  It makes me feel very computer savvy… I hope this holds while I try to reorganize all of our photos over to flickr in the next few weeks

I have coconut kefir brewing on my counter and fresh bok choi juice in the fridge.  I think I just got inspired to make kefir pancakes for dinner.  yum!

I’ll be back in a little bit to put up a little knitting

Our winters have become consumed by dreams of snow, ski gear cluttering the whole house, the smell of wax in the garage, and nearly every day spent on one slope or another.  I love the little hill that Drew and Phoebe have their clinics.  It is as family friendly as it gets and I feel very safe dropping them off and sending them on their way.  They get great exercise and time with friends and a good coaching staff.  The focus is on fun and friendship for the littler kids.   We do our best as a family to keep it light as well.  We all know Phoebe is an athlete, and will be as she grows up.  I struggle as I write this because I do not want to label her, yet it is so very apparent that this is who she is.  The coaches are drawn to her and they see it too.  She won this last race by 4 seconds (which is like 4 minutes in regular time) and she is getting a bit of a big head about her.  I want to tread lightly here, I want to find the best things to say to her to keep her humble and gracious.  I want to find the right words for Drew, who is a tremendous skier, but not bringing home the gold medals like his little sister.  These are the things in parenting that fluster me, what to say, what not to say and how to just hold the space for them to communicate anything they need to say.  I wish there was a manual for this part of parenting.  As I write this Drew and Phoebe are clumping around in their ski boots getting ready to go ski with friends for the afternoon.  I am taking a much needed day at home to play catch up on cooking and laundry and maybe a little knitting.  Tomorrow we will be back on the slopes as a family, and I will be biting my tongue and searching for words and that mysterious manual, but most importantly cheering as loud as I can, as they race.

Hadley skied today for the second time.  It is so cute to see her clomping around the lodge in her big boots and helmet.  She is so proud and happy to be doing what Drew and Phoebe do.  Tomorrow is the first race of the year.  We are all very excited to get this season underway.

The past week has been hectic for me.  I have been busy with ski team duties and getting back in the routine of having the kids ski every day.  We had an issue with our cat, that I hope is completely solved… and we have a new mattress arriving tomorrow because of that ‘issue.’  We are getting, albeit slowly, back into the rhythm of homeschooling and I am excited to begin learning about John Muir and Scottish culture.  In the midst of all of this, my day yesterday came to a screeching stop.  Many things have humbled me in my life, flying, childbirth, parenting in general, and yesterday I added a headache to that list.  I have been having headaches lately, maybe one a month, that are big enough for me to have slow down and take care of myself.  I had one the night Andy’s friend Luke visited.  I almost did not make it to his concert.  I started to get one the day after Christmas when Hadley skied for the first time. Thankfully the medicine I took kicked in fast enough and it went away.  Although, yesterday was a game changer.  I spent most of the afternoon in bed in a quiet dark space.  Drew and Phoebe were my compassionate helpers and I would not have been able to survive without them.  They made lunch for themselves and Hadley and kept her busy and happy for many hours.  They even helped her on the potty as Hadley is determined to wear underwear these days and I have to say she is 99% potty trained in the day now.  This did happen overnight, and I am so happy she is taking the lead on this because I was dragging my feet a bit on getting it done.  And, while I never think children should be in a position of caring for their parents at such a young age, I was so pleased to see how wonderful my big kids were in this situation.  I feel much better today although my head still feels sore, it is nothing like it was.  I am headed to see my chiropractor tomorrow, it has been a long time since I have been in and I am hoping this might be a part of it.  I also hope I never have to experience that again.  I am starting to research migraines and if anyone out there has any helpful suggestions please let me know.