Family House

I love it when my grandson backs into me so he can sit on my lap to help him with his shoes. He can put on his shoes by himself. After all, he is a whole 3 years and 3 months old now. And ever since his mommy drew a couple of little faces on the inside of his shoes, he never gets them on the wrong feet.

But I am greedy for any chance to hold this gangly and busy little guy. The days of rocking him to sleep for nap time are long gone and our good-night hugs are much too quick. Grandpa has developed a strategy to pretend he doesn't want a good-night hug in order to get a good one. 

Two families living together in one house can be a tricky maneuver. We are doing it and learning as we go. It began almost accidentally and was meant to be temporary, but now we are thinking about how we could make it a long term adventure. Who knows, it may not work out to find a place for two families, but it's fun to imagine and play with the idea.

Because there are some pretty amazing moments that can happen.

I love this one right now. I am writing on the couch in the living room, Husband is outside having a pipe and my son and daughter-in-law are in the family room playing with Legos with Grandson and nursing Granddaughter. I can also hear Daughter-in-law reading a chapter book aloud to her little family. 

In the morning I will wake up to the sounds of Grandson and his daddy cooking breakfast and chatting away in the kitchen every single morning. I've never cared about sleeping in so this works out fine. Besides who would complain about waking up to the aroma of coffee without having to get up and turn it on yourself? 

Grandson is my cheerful guinea pig for my preschool book choices and art ideas. He loves books and I am crazy about reading aloud to him so it is a definite win-win for both of us! He has also helped me appreciate nature in my yard, down to the teeny tiniest little seedling we find on the ground. We discuss it all and then he joins me in waving "Hi everybody!" to the airplanes overhead. 

Another great moment is meal time. Grandson likes to find out who made what and tell them "thanks for making this Grandma (or Mom)." Before the meal is over we will probably get to watch the food negotiations happen. "Three more bites of this and then you can eat that." Our meal time is often done in shifts lately anyway, so one of us can hold Granddaughter while others eat and then trade places.

Of course, I also get to hear tantrums from Grandson and "don't you dare change my diaper" screams from our 3 month old Granddaughter. I grumble when trying to fit my groceries into our overloaded pantry and we have to do a bit of car choreography in order to get our vehicles in and out of the driveway each morning. 

But these are all signs of family life. The hard stuff comes with the sweet stuff.  

It is never boring in my home. 

And when Grandson backs into me and asks for help with his shoes, I will always say yes. 

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Book Review for "Journaling for Discovery and Delight"

It hurt my heart to do this to the page, but I had to obey the author.

 I bought a wonderful newly published book recently that I must tell you about! It is titled, "Journaling for Discovery and Delight" by Dawn Paoletta.

I have always been a journal-keeper. Filling journals with my deep thoughts and twice as many shallow thoughts has come easy to me, it is as natural as breathing. But this idea-jammed little book is an inspiration to even a long time journal keeper like me!

The 21 chapters of "Journaling for Discovery and Delight" are fast paced like the voice of the somewhat hyperactive author. You feel like you are sitting at a little table somewhere chatting about writing with a good friend.  Her love of words and true delight in helping others shine through in sentence after sentence.

I love all of her tips and writing prompts that can move our journal keeping from becoming boring and predictable to fun and insightful.

Dawn leads brand new journal keepers into easy steps to cut out the intimidation that sometimes loom with the blank page of a new journal. Speaking of which, let me explain the picture with this blog post. I don't think Dawn will mind if I quote from that page to explain why I messed it up.

She has told us to look at ourselves in the mirror "and repeat to your reflection, 'My messy is just fine, I don't need to be perfect, or write perfectly, I just need to keep it real and the rest will flow.' 
Now see that fresh new journal page. See all the empty pages before you? I want you to grab a cup of coffee, take a big sloppy sip, and let it trickle down the outside of the mug. DO NOT get a coaster or napkin, Instead set it in the corner of the first page of your journal. ..... See that stain? Good, now you don't have to worry anymore about how everything needs to be so perfect in your journal, in writing, in life. Life is messy. Let your writing reflect what is real." 

Doesn't that make you want to grab that book and read the rest? Dawn talks to us as a friend and a guide into the writing life, especially journal writing, which is the best way to move into writing for others.

Many of the chapters end with a 5 Minute Writing Challenge and the space to write in, so you can practice what you have just read, brilliant!

If you have been curious about keeping a journal or you know someone who is, this book would be the perfect way to jump start a beautiful habit that can change your life.

(Journaling for Discovery and Delight by Dawn Paoletta is available today on Amazon.com.)

Susie