I am reading a fascinating book on habits right now: Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin. I'm loving it and it's inspired me to think through my day, intentionally working on routines and habits. Things like taking vitamins every day. How I plan my housework during the week. Practice or reading vs. social media or Internet. It's kind of like spatial awareness for time: knowing what needs to happen, what I want to happen, what I'm actually doing. It has been so good. I am about two-thirds of the way through the book and I highly recommend it. One of my biggest take-aways so far is that we have only a limited amount of self-control and decision-making power, and that forming a habit of something pre-makes the decision for you, freeing up more mental space for other things.
One of the most important things that I'm working on now is re-incorporating piano practice into my day. Music is a huge part of who I am, and it puzzles me sometimes that I don't make a higher priority of it. It helps me emotionally, it's good for the kids to hear me play, and I don't want to wake up in 10 years and realize that I haven't kept up one of my most important gifts. I am trying to practice in the mornings (another point from Better than Before: if it's important, schedule it in the morning) after walking and showering. I'm working on technique, as always. I love technique: listening, working, getting full control of my fingers. I haven't learned much in the way of new music since our marriage, but I'm starting the Lecuona Malaguena just for fun (because Spanish! Drama! All The Noise!). Also working up one of the first Brahms pieces I ever learned: Intermezzo in A major. It's amazing to me how much memory is locked away in a piece of music. My piano books are a storehouse of memories.
singing like daddy
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One of the odd parts about being a mom is that there are so many different seasons that follow each other in rapid succession. Early pregnancy (on and off the couch: bare minimum accomplished, unless you count reading). Later pregnancy (a little more normal but cleaning the bathrooms still feels like a full day's work). Postpartum (who is the beautiful little person, and who am I anyway?). Settling back into regular life with another child (how to organize my time? my home? my children?). And then the kids get older and keep changing too... I'm realizing that I need to live well in my current season, while accepting and even planning for the fact that it will change. I want to streamline the necessary parts of life, leaving us with more time for the truly important and beautiful.
hitchhiking a ride with baby sister
just too cute
One of our every-day routines right now (weather permitting) is going out for a walk right after breakfast. Our condo gets very little sunlight and I've realized it's important for my well-being as well as for the kids for us to get out regularly. Lately we've been stopping at the park; Emily loves to swing and James loves the slides ("a tum too, Mummy?"). He wants to walk home, which is fun and exploratory and quite snail-paced. How far he actually gets to walk depends up on the current time in relation to Emily's naptime.
Emily is getting cuter and cuter. I love how alive she is. She's started creeping along on her back: planting her little heels and pushing herself backwards towards whatever she's after. It's hilarious. We put her in the little red car at my parents' recently and she was thrilled. She can actually drive herself....backwards.
Funny moment from the park today:
Little Boy to me: "You're a teenager!"
Me: "Well, actually I'm the mom."
Little Boy: "Well, you LOOK like a teenager!"
Do I? I guess sunglasses help....
All for now!
Rachel
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