The year has moved along with surprising speed.
It feels like only yesterday I was watching the bees hunting for morels in the thickets and gathering the first of the rhubarb harvest.
Now we are well on our way towards fall and I expect soon enough.
The rains will come and the cool fog, and I will be pulling out my old woolens and packing away my linen dresses.
However, I am still enjoying the last months of warmth, eating copious amounts of ice cream, reading voraciously and bringing my baby outdoors as much as possible to soak up the beauty.
Unfortunately, we've had a lot of smoky skies due to wildfires, so every moment the air quality is good enough to be outdoors has been a gift.
But I admit, I'm looking forward to the autumn.
It will be a much needed cooling balm on this fire prone valley.
Contrary to the past, I'm rarely alone these days.
Baby is always here.
My family is often visiting and helping around the house.
Our home is full of laughter and music and company.
Indeed, choosing a simple and slow life comes in so many beautiful forms.
My fairy child is rambunctious and ready to discover the world, so we spend the early mornings giggling and pretending we sprouted wings and are flying through the air, climbing mountains made of pillows and imagining all the future adventures.
We will go on together.
It's exhausting in the best way.
Little things I used to take for granted, like taking a shower or brushing my hair, have become treasured gifts that I enjoy so much more now.
Small joys are highlighted in this new world of mine.
Nothing is done without gratitude.
I still get time to myself when I need it, thank goodness.
However, things are not the same, but I didn't want them to be.
I think we can view change as something negative when it doesn't go as smoothly as we expected it to or we struggle to find our peace.
But I have rather enjoyed blundering through this new chapter of my story.
Throughout my life I felt lonely at times, Other times simply happily alone, living with family in an apartment, living single in a cottage then, with my husband seeing my mother and father retire and move into a quiet little cabin and my abuelita planning to move in with them, has reminded me that our living situations often change, whether we wish them to or not.
In all honesty, parenthood has brought fears to the surface.
All the medical bills, car repairs, and unexpected costs have been anxiety-provoking.
We've had to stay centered through it all and lean on each other for support, remembering that slowly we will figure things out.
But it's hard to not let practical fears take hold.
I still fear the future at times, and I don't have answers or solutions for that.
Sometimes I just need to feel it, the anxiety, the unknown, and accept that this too is part of growing.
Just feeling, and knowing that that's okay.
To live a simple, quiet life has no rules or standards.
There is no right or wrong way.
I don't think we should have expectations.
Instead to live each day intentionally, nurse an inner peace, connect with ourselves and remember to breathe.
And that's the best I can do right now.
Thank you.
My husband was kind enough to put this rocking chair on this porch for me because he knows I've been cooped up a little bit at home lately, for understandable reasons.
And I probably will be staying for the most part at home for the next couple months.
We've been able to sit here in the mornings and watch the sun rise, before the sun gets too bright, and enjoy all the flowers and the ambiance of the summer.
Well, I think I will be rocking on this chair for quite a while longer, because this one is taking a nap.
So we will be here a while and we will spend some time investigating the garden and seeing how everything is growing, once he wakes up a little bit more.
Thank you.
