January :: My Favorite Month

My favorite month of the year, January, is almost over.  So much has happened these past four weeks, while at the same time I feel some of that time was paused, leaving me feeling restored and rested.  Sounds like January has a little bit of a split personality, eh?  The first month of the year holds so much promise for me.  I have consciously slowed down, accomplished several home projects while working on Apartment Therapy's :: The January Cure for the third year in a row and I made an effort to get in the kitchen and cook healthier meals at home.  Yes, a good slow-down was definitely in order.

The first order of business was to carve out more time to read the printed word (not the internet).  The holidays tend to swallow me up and my brain is so full of tasks that need to be done that I can't focus on serious reading (or even reading for pleasure).  I couldn't even read a magazine during the month of December, so I'm jumping back into the habit and catching up on old newspapers, periodicals and New York Times Book Reviews.  I just finished reading my book club selection for the February meeting, A Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.

I found a new book that I fell in love with and I must share.  It's a graphic novel that I ordered from the library for Grady, but I was drawn in by the incredible story and beautiful, colorful graphics.  It was one of those books that I had to purchase for our home library.  Now, I'm pretty selective about what books I want to own and this one makes me incredibly happy.  I even purchased two more to gift to friends.  Funny, witty, dark, some curse words & a be-heading, but in the most wonderful way.  The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg is a gem.  You can read NPR's review of the book here.

Speaking of books, Grady is currently reading The Fault in our Stars by John Green.  Let me back up.  We rented the movie from the mobile library a few weeks ago and sat down to watch it with him last weekend.  I prefaced the movie with a little talk about how it might be a little heavy for him - you know with the terminally ill teenagers, short sex scene and a heart wrenching funeral, just to name a few.  He said he would tell me to stop the movie if it was too much for him.

Well, it was a lot for him, for us.  We sat there with tears streaming down both of our faces through much of the end of the movie.  My son nestled into the crook of my arm and quietly sobbed.  We had a good talk about life, death, friendship and horrible diseases.  This also gave us the opportunity to talk about the pettiness of gossip, what's important in life and how to find beauty in our everyday lives.

G just so happened to be collecting change this week for a school fundraiser on behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Pennies for Patients campaign.   Timing is everything, right?

The next morning we were drawing & painting in our sketchbooks and he asked if he could look up quotes from the movie.  We continued talking about those heavy themes while creating art around some of the powerful phrases from the book/movie.  This was such a wonderful parenting moment.  Witnessing my son being vulnerable and sensitive, but also knowing he's smart enough and ready to broach conversations about big topics, like life and death.  These moments are the wonderful side-effects of being a mother and they are quite unexpected.  I never gave much thought to this phase of being a parent and it's just so, so good right now.  My fears at the beginning of the school year have subsided and I'm settling into my role as the mom of a sixth grader.

Speaking of Grady getting older, I received a letter from him last week via the Tooth Fairie.  It made my heart just about burst and then put a smile on my face for the next few hours.

So, here is my tooth.  

Sorry I don't believe in you anymore (and I mean the tooth fairy, 

not you mom), but I am a little too old.  

It just happens, right?  Well, thanks for the exciting 

ride as the tooth fairy, for me having such delight 

as a kid to find out a fairy gave 

me money and for being my loyal "Fairy Bank."  

Well, nite!

The note was unsigned, but Grady is 11-3/4 years old - it was time.  The tooth fairie jig is up and it's bittersweet, but I think I'm finally ready to put all the make-believe magic behind me, too.  He lost two teeth this week.  He's growing up so fast.

This month found me looking back on my life and pondering my crooked path to the mother I am today.  I was invited to contribute an essay to the 28 Days of Play series created by the smart and talented New York mama, Rachel Cedar.  I connected with Rachel through Instagram a year or so ago and feel absolutely honored to contribute to the conversation on how we play (or don't play) with our children in this modern day and age.  I had to dig deep and can't wait to share my essay, along with all of the other talented writers, next month.  Stay tuned!

Last year I embarked on a drawing-a-day journal project that I'm super proud of.  I didn't want to commit to a daily exercise again this year and instead have decided to use both pages of my sketchbook and stretch my exercises into several days (or weeks, if needed).  

We're training for another hike up Mt. Rainier later this year.  We will revisit the part of the mountain that we partially climbed in 2011 and you can read about that wild trip here.  Steve will be joining us this time around.

We're lucky enough to only have to drive 30 minutes and arrive at the Armstrong Redwoods in Guerneville, California.  Having lived in Sonoma County for 13 years, I can't believe I've never hiked underneath this amazing canopy of giant trees.  The hike made me feel small and grateful and restored.  I love how nature can do that to me.

As always, the children lead me and my dear friend on these hikes and we quite like watching them run, jump, laugh and have fun with each other.  They are growing up right before our eyes and these Saturday morning excursions are really special.

January is my favorite month of the year because it's allows me a stretch of days wherein I can reorganize my home and mind.  It's like a month-long reset button for my life.  I look forward to it every year and get a little melancholy as we approach the 31st day.  The upside?  February is my second favorite month.

Quote in Stephen King's Memoir of the Craft "On Writing"

Well, I started this blog post at 6 o'clock this morning and since then I've made breakfast and lunch, taken my son to school, hit three grocery stores & shopped for new pillows & curtain rods at Target.  I stopped by my work office and typed up the last remaining 1099 tax forms that need to be mailed out today and came home and unloaded all the groceries.

It's 1:27 in the afternoon and sunny outside.  I'm going to grab a book, throw on a sundress and say goodbye to this freakishly warm Friday in January out on my front deck.

And, well, I've got to make time to read, so I can make time and have the tools to keep writing, right?

Happy weekend, friends.