Life Lately

            Life lately has been full of all sorts of adventures. Hence the radio silence in this space. The good and the bad- everything from a trip to California to head lice and pink eye- we have seen it all this month. Watching these kids of ours move through the world lately has brought into clarity the importance of our time together as a family- how neither myself nor the Mr. want to waste a second of this golden time of childhood.

          I have spent quite a bit of time ruminating on parenting children of this age- they are stretching their comfort zones and spreading their wings- one day they will surely fly. This is the age when I as a parent am pretty superfluous- I am there in the role of supervisor only. Less and less am I brought into their worlds of imagination and exploration. It is a little bitter sweet.  This is the natural order of life and one I am happy to support- for while they are spreading their wings they still need Momma around- if only to carry the snacks.

          So part of my process in being moved to a supporting role in my children's lives is to hold space for that small amount of grief I feel as a mother. To honour it and then let it go. It's hard to explain until you are really in the thick of the elementary school years- a process that starts in kindergarten and I suppose continues the rest of our lives- the letting go- the growing. Don't get me wrong I'm not sitting about moping- I am so proud of who these little people are becoming!

           Stopping to notice the ever evolving changes in my children has been whats brought actually important to me into sharp relief. Being present- like really present all the while presenting opportunities for exploration and growth has taken prescient over all things this Spring. Tuning in- truly trying to listen and hearing what they say- not just offering up pearls of wisdom or solutions to problems. Just being there as a receptacle for their words- worries- joys.

              Life lately has been full of real life moments- the hilarity found in being so dead tiered but still combing lice out of each other's hair at midnight. The shear childish joy in hugging Mickey Mouse AND Minnie! The mundane pizza dinners when we are just so tiered to cook anything else but still have to feed everyone. Life is messy- life is fun- life lately is just life!

P.S. these pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago at Uplands Park in Victoria- it is the most wonderful place to take a wander no matter the weather!

Year of Knitting: Bradway Shawl

          Way back in the fall while parsing Knit City I purchased some gorgeous Brooklyn Tweed Shelter and the Bradway Shawl pattern from Very Shannon. I had good intentions of this being a quick knit over the fall- and then two sweaters for my children happened and my shawl dreams were put on hold. It wasn't until I was packing for our vacation to California that I pulled both the yarn and the pattern up and just a couple of hours before boarding the plane I could be found winding up balls of yumminess and packing my knitting bag!

       The Bradway Shawl was cast on at the Seattle airport- the first few rows knit out over the Pacific ocean- and subsequent knitting happened up and down the South Coast of California- all to be finished off this past weekend in Victoria. This project is well travelled to say the least! My finished shawl is perfect for this time of year when you need just a little something over your shoulders- the loftiness of the Brooklyn Tweed Shelter makes it warm but not too hot.

     As always I learned a tonne while knitting this project- mainly how to tell the difference between a knit stitch and a purl stitch by sight- after a few years of knitting I can now truly understand how to knit by sight. With lots of different textures and shapes this was a challenging knit but I feel the Bradway is a great gateway to knitting cables- which I hope to do this fall!