Posts Tagged With: new beginnings

be wise, and always be kind

Posted on January 23, 2023 by robynbird

In 2008 Neil Gaiman wrote

I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

I love the nouns he chose: hope – dream – make – love – like – wisdom – kindness
(though he uses the majority in their action form)
I love the adverbs he chose: dangerously – outrageously
I love his choice of the adjective wonderful

We’re four weeks into this new year and I’m holding these words close to my heart. I’m grateful for these words, they’re words I’d say to the people I love if I was as clever with words as Neil is. They’re words I’d say to myself. The self I currently am, and my little girl self.
These words are offered up to the collective you out there as well as the individual you.

I’m keen to dream and make and love this year. I’m ready to, when I can, be wise and (hopefully) always be kind.
I’m eager to encourage the same for all y’all.

I’m choosing to embrace this new year with eyes, heart, and arms wide open. I love the way that feels.

Hope is a powerful word. A powerful thought, a powerful feeling.
Encouragement to dream and create is powerful.
Wisdom and kindness are powerful.
Love is powerful.
What could be more dangerously, outrageously, wonderfully powerful than offering up hope for someone’s coming year?

Categories: me | Tags: dream, feels, grateful, gratitude, hope, kindness, love, Neil Gaiman, new beginnings, new year, thoughts, welcome home, wisdom | 3 Comments

the joy of coming home

Posted on November 22, 2021 by robynbird

How precious is this mid-century house?
Thing 2 closes on it tomorrow.

My baby bought a house!
She’s saved for so long, squirreling away nearly twenty thousand dollars. And her credit score is in the 790s! She’s making an excellent investment. She’ll have twenty five thousand in equity when she walks through the front door.
She’s worked hard to get to this place.

She was planning to purchase by herself. But part way through her process, she and Boyfriend M realized they wanted to own a home together.
I’m overjoyed! I truly believe this young man and my daughter could be each other’s forever person if that’s what they want.
His mother isn’t as enthusiastic as we are. My understanding is she thinks they’re going about the order of things incorrectly. However, my gut says the bigger truth is she’s dissatisfied that he son isn’t living the life she expects him to live. She’ll get over that. All parents have to at some point.
I see my daughter and her boyfriend actively asking and answering the hardest questions. They’re working together. They’re making smart choices. They’ve planned and made commitments to each other about how it will work.
I trust Thing 2’s decision.
I trust she has a solid foundation upon which she will continue to build her life.
She’s choosing to build her life in a home with this young man. Just as he’s choosing to build his life in a home with her.
Their trust in the other is considerable.

The inspection showed the house needed minor repairs.
They talked the sellers down in price, well below asking. They got approval to do the work before taking ownership and contractors quickly got in the house.
A friend of theirs has brand new appliances to give them. Everything but the fridge, if I remember correctly.
That’s one hell of a friend!

In our group chat she was asking what Thing 1 and I think about paint colors.
She sent this.

My understanding is she’s thinking Lazy Gray for the walls and Serious Gray for the cabinets.

Y’all, my daughter has worked hard and long to get to this place. She’s been working towards this with a single minded fury.
To say she is excited is an understatement.
I am immeasurably proud for her.
She DID it!

Thing 2 and her kitty Oliver, and Boyfriend M and his kitty Meryl move into their new home this very week!

We three girls will purchase and move into our new homes in the same calendar year.
Fresh starts for each of us in 2021.
Now that’s something to give thanks for.
My Momma heart is overflowing with love and joy and gratitude.

Categories: around the house | Tags: coming home, creating a home, dedication, fresh start, hard work, home, house, love, mid century, mid century modern, new beginnings, new home, pride, pride and joy, Thing 2 | 4 Comments

time to begin again

Posted on January 3, 2021 by robynbird

In a post on this same day last year, I wrote:

As I shift my focus to what’s ahead in 2020, I’m excited to see what the year brings. Interestingly enough, I find myself open to whatever comes with a surprising lack of expectations. (That’s today, be sure to check back to see how that changes.)
To be perfectly honest, I find it absolutely freeing!
No real expectations. What might that look like?

When I expressed my lack of expectations in regards to the coming year I could never have known what 2020 would bring.
And what it brought was a combination of horror and blessing.

The biggest part of me feels comfortable knowing I went into this ineffable year open to whatever would come. Especially when I consider what came.
From the first news of covid to the executive order from our governor designed to keep us all safe.
From the joy of teaching in the winter to the longest school break in my lifetime.
From the grief of all we lost to the opportunities being at home presented us.
From feeling lost and wandering the desert to that sparkle of hope the new year brings.

Disappointments loomed large.
I didn’t get into the grad school program.
Welcome to Night Vale Live postponed twice before finally canceled.
Not going to school.
Not seeing friends and family.
Not leaving the house.

Opportunities presented themselves.
I was able to begin and finish the Great and Arduous Process and share the photos and stories of our life with family and friends.
I purged and organized my closet and dresser.
I cleaned and sorted and organized anything that sat still long enough for me to touch it.
I went to Thing 1’s to ease my soul but the bonus was I helped her pack her house.
I met Thing 2’s precious new young man, Boyfriend M.
YBW and I went to Georgia and helped bring our daughter and her family home to our house.
YBW and I started the process of building our new home.

Change is tricky.
Sometimes good, sometimes simply inevitable.
Thing G left our home for the home of his mother.
Thing 1, Husband N, Baby K, and three dogs in our otherwise quiet home.
Living through the bathroom construction.
The concept of leaving this house for a new one.
The planning and packing and prepping for a move.

Joy is here. Sometimes shining brightly, sometimes partially hidden.
I am filled with gratitude.

I’m grateful the people I love are safe and healthy.
I’m grateful we’re financially stable, that we have a roof over our heads and food in the larder.
I’m grateful for what I learned about myself this year. And for what I learned about the people around me.
I’m grateful that I was a mood.
I’m grateful that I had opportunities.
I’m grateful for my growth. For learning more about myself. For realizing how strong and resilient I actually am.
I’m grateful that Baby K is in my house every single day. (~~Even~~ Especially when she’s feisty AF.)
I’m grateful for this time with my daughter. I never expected either of us would choose to celebrate cohabitating, yet here we are. And sure, there are good and bad days, but we’re truly enjoying each other.
I’m grateful for YBW. For his love. For his sense of humor. For his kindness. For his ability to get under my skin. For his dream of a new home that sparked such lovely anticipation.
I’m grateful I chose to greet 2020 in this way:

I’m smart enough to know better than to ask 2020 to ‘bring it!”.
But feel completely comfortable saying, “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
Because I have hope.
Because I am of open of mind and heart.
And let’s be real, that’s the best way to walk into anything.

I find myself feeling hopeful about walking into 2021.
It’s so much more than that feeling of living though the nightmare of 2020 and imagining the coming year to be easier. It’s more a feeling of curiosity. A feeling of anticipation.
*Something’s Coming plays quietly in the background*

Am I tempting the Fates?
I think not.
Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos have their hands full, they haven’t the time to consider me and my point of view.

My wish for all y’all as you move into the new year is you have love and hope in your pocket, you feel curious and of open mind and heart, you realize your own power and find good use for it.
It’s time to begin again.

Categories: me | Tags: anticipation, be opened, expectations, faith, hope, ineffable, life, live the life you love, love, new beginnings, new year, open your heart | 4 Comments

a surprising lack of expectations

Posted on January 3, 2020 by robynbird

Is it natural to take stock when one year ends and another begins?
Perhaps.
Is it simply a social construct?
Probably.

Regardless, in addition to bearing witness to others, I find myself considering events and conducting examinations of self as I move into the first few days of the new year.

When considering 2019, here’s what stands out for me:
Baby K
finishing my degree
my September ‘epiphany’
three weeks away with YBW

As I shift my focus to what’s ahead in 2020, I’m excited to see what the year brings. Interestingly enough, I find myself open to whatever comes with a surprising lack of expectations. (That’s today, be sure to check back to see how that changes.)
To be perfectly honest, I find it absolutely freeing!
No real expectations. What might that look like?
I’ll teach.
I’ll read.
I’ll write.
I’ll be creative in other ways.

Of course, I’m waiting to hear if I’ve been accepted into the graduate program.
Thing 1, Husband N, and Baby K are planning a move to Virginia.
YBW and I intend to purchase a new home in the later part of the coming year.
Anniversaries of birth for people I love.
Shoot days.
Theater tickets.
Dinners with friends.
Uneventful days, and days chock so full it’s nearly too much.
Adventures great and small.

I’m smart enough to know better than to ask 2020 to ‘bring it!”.
But feel completely comfortable saying, “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
Because I have hope.
Because I am of open of mind and heart.
And let’s be real, that’s the best way to walk into anything.

Categories: me | Tags: anticipation, be opened, expectations, faith, hope, life, live the life you love, love, new beginnings, new year, open your heart | 3 Comments

hopeful and organized beginnings

Posted on January 10, 2018 by robynbird

This papercrumbs post spoke to me this morning.
On this the tenth day of the new year I’m still feeling a bit off kilter. Of course the holidays were hectic and with the mad weather, getting into the back to school routine was shot all to hell. So it makes a kind of sense to me that I’m still in that ‘waiting for the new to begin’ feeling to kick in.

I’ve completely reorganized the kitchen cabinets, drawers, pantry, and laundry closet. I reorganized the linen closet. I feel so peaceful now that these things are finished. I’m serious y’all. I feel peacefully content down deep in my soul.
This organization is one small part in the beauty of beginning again. Perhaps it makes it simpler for me to begin again when I have the comfort of everything being orderly? Perhaps I just can’t handle perceived chaos?
Whatever the case may be, I do know this. I feel more ready to begin again since accomplishing those tasks. Even with the chaos of snow days, early dismissals, and delayed openings, I feel more able to get back into the swing of things at school too.

It occurs to me as I write this what’s beautiful about beginning again and again is that it feels hopeful. Hope that however tiny, each new beginning can bring adventure, or comfort, or a new way of learning, or something I may not have even though of yet!
When I feel hopeful, I’m inclined to begin again.
Sometimes a beginning blows up in your face. But with hope, you take what you needed from that beginning and decide to begin again a different way. Sometimes a beginning is more than you could have hoped for, and you have exactly what you want or need. You needn’t begin again, but you want to, to see what’s next.

To begin again and again, as many times as you want is really a gift. To begin after disaster is scary. To begin after perfection is also scary. Being scared is OK. Being scared is natural. But, it’s important to remember you always have hope in your pocket. To me the saddest thing is choosing not to begin because you’re scared. You don’t have to be brave to begin.
Just begin.
Bravery will come to you.
Hope will remind you that it’s in your pocket.
Begin.
You might fail. That’s OK too. Keep the important bits you needed and begin again.

In my life, I had many beginnings. I had some pretty epic failures. I have learned so much. I have been scared. I forgot hope was in my pocket. Or I found hope in the pocket of something when I wasn’t even looking.
I began again, and began again, and began again as many times as I wanted or needed. But mostly with prep work. Mostly organized. I do not function well in perceived chaos. I need to feel like I have a handle on the beginning.
Of course this isn’t always a perfect scenario, sometimes I must begin without being organized. That oftentimes leads to some sort of new mini beginning.
But that’s OK too.
I believe in the importance of beginnings.
I believe in hope.

In an excellent book about beginnings, Dr Seuss wrote:

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”

and

“Out there things can happen, and frequently do, to people as brainy and footsy as you. And when things start to happen, don’t worry, don’t stew. Just go right along, you’ll start happening too!”

Each night promises a new morning. An opportunity to begin again. And again. And again. As many or as few times as you like.
Organize yourself.
Hold on to your hope.
You’ve got this!

Categories: me | Tags: begin, begin again, Dr Seuss, Erin Van Vuren, hope, hopeful, new beginnings, Oh the Places You'll Go!, organization sills, organize, papercrumbs, peace of mind | 5 Comments

homeward bound

Posted on March 23, 2015 by robynbird

I leave Arizona today for home.
This is bittersweet for me. Leaving my precious friend and her family makes my heart ache. We have had a whirlwind of a visit, with just enough time for me to spend with each kid and parent. I selfishly want more time with my friend.

We’re each at a sort of crossroads in our lives. Kids no longer at home and the ones at home needing less mommying than when they were small and more chauffeuring.
We talked about our passions and how we might turn them into something to inspire and motivate us to try something new.
A joint venture would be ideal. (except for the pesky bit where we live completely across the country from the other.) And there’s actually an idea that we could make work…if we were in the same place. Alas, that’s not how it is.
So she is brainstorming as am I and we’ll encourage each other from afar.

It was good to get away from school for a few days. I feel I’ve gained perspective I couldn’t grasp when I was up to my ass in it.
It is absolutely time for me to stop teaching.
But to do what?
Your guess is as good as mine.

I’m in no hurry. I have time figure out what I really want to do before I actually do anything. I’m going to focus on being aware.
Aware of what moves me. Aware of what’s around me.
Perhaps I’ll find that finicky muse that will jumpstart the next phase of my life.

I’m being mindful.
But even better than that, I’m hopeful.