Tag Archives: living

Dog tired? Have some tea.

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Are you feeling dog-tired? That all consuming work and mental push has finally exhausted you? If so, then it’s time to sit down for a little bit. Have some tea. Yes. Tea.

Tea is a drink that requires you to slow down. Heating the water takes time. Letting the tea steep takes time. Allowing the tea to cool enough to drink takes time (unless you pour it into your saucer to drink from). The slower pace of tea drinking allows us to breathe deeper, to sit down and contemplate the day. Sounds nice, right?

But what if you are a coffee drinker? Like me! Maybe you can relate to this…The coffee pot is full of fresh coffee, you grab some creamer, then pour in the coffee on top in a to-go cup, and there, it’s ready to drink and you can go about your day and get stuff done. You can repeat this whenever you have an empty cup or want to warm up the cold coffee that has sat for a bit because you were so busy doing, doing, doing. Yep, this is me. I love my coffee. But I also love the calmness of tea.

When I was a little girl, my mother’s best friend was a tea drinker. Every afternoon, you would know that the kettle was on and at least once a week (although in my mind it felt like every day!) my mom would head over to Rose’s place for a cup of tea and friendship. I remember going along and getting to have my own cup and a little bag of my favorite tea, and I would dunk it in the hot water to make my tea. The two women would visit about all sorts of things and just let go of the stress of the day. It is a wonderful memory and reminder to take the time to sit down. To take the day’s load and let it go over a cup of tea. I think this is a new goal of mine. Slow down and relax over a nice cup of tea.

 

 

Use your “Mommy Eyes”…

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When my eldest son was just a little tyke, he told Andrew to “use his mommy eyes” to find whatever Daddy was searching for. At the time we laughed, and it became a quote that resurfaced every time someone searched for the keys, a missing shoe, or the TV remote control! Reflecting on this, I think there was something my son was touching on that I didn’t originally understand or consider.

Look closer, and observe what might be hidden in plain sight. It is natural for me to observe and reflect on what I see around me. I just didn’t understand that not everyone sees like me. I have a perspective all my own. My son, unknowingly, was trying to help his Dad see things through my eyes, in my perspective. It reminds me of the saying, “You don’t know what it’s like for another person until you walk in their shoes.” The thing is, I believe it’s more than just walking in another’s shoes. You’ve got to see the world through their eyes.

I have some wonderful siblings and cousins who were genetically gifted with great height. My mother is shorter in stature and I remember her telling these tall fellows, “Come down to my level and you’ll see what I see!” She used to joke about it, but again, it was about getting to see the world from another person’s perspective.

I think my point for you is to consider the value in looking from other’s perspectives.  Judging someone isn’t going to help you feel connected, nor gain joy. And it’s not about seeing another’s viewpoint to try and change minds about whatever is today’s current news. No, it’s about being open to the fact that I don’t see the way you see, and you don’t see the way I see, but I want to. Because, people are cool! Connections (real connections) with people encourage joy. People who are authentic and real by giving you a look into their worlds, help you learn. They help you consider better ways to connect, for future friendships, and more importantly, for yourself.

Earlier this week, a student was working on a poem that included figurative language about how fences hold us back from ourselves. She chewed on her lip, gave me a look, blew her hair up, and said, “It’s like pretending not to care when you really do.?. Right?” Getting to sit and see her thinking, processing, frustration, and eventual consideration, was the absolute best! I was definitely looking with my mommy eyes (teacher eyes), and I can’t imagine how much I would have missed if I hadn’t seen that silent observation.

But, it’s not just with people. In nature too, and all around us are viewpoints we never see. Today, as I rode in the car, and Andrew drove, I looked out and saw a very large nest in the trees along the river. I had never seen it before, although we drive the same route every weekday. When we saw the bald eagle perched in a nearby tree we knew what the nest was for. Seriously cool! Again, grateful for the reminder to look with my mommy eyes!

I urge you to take the time to look with your mommy eyes (You can call it whatever you want! Just do it!)! I promise, you will step lighter, having benefited by seeing things you never saw quite the same way before!

I can’t wait to see what I get to look at tomorrow!

~Carrie  #shineon

 

Noodles, Laundry & Gratitude

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In my previous administrator role, I would never had time to contemplate the connection between noodles, laundry and gratitude other than the simple consideration and thanks to God for convenient foods like already made ravioli and laundry machines that just need to be filled and started. Yeah, maybe thinking deeper about these items is a bit of a stretch, but my mind has been a bit lighter these days so whatever, I just go with it!

Noodles. Have you actually seen the YouTube channel, “Pasta Grannies”? This channel provides videos of pasta makers around the world. Videos provide examples of specialized homemade pasta and the makers who have mastered the art of each noodle design. This is a favorite channel of mine, again recently, as I have a deep desire to learn how to make homemade noodles.

The reason? Memories.  As a young teen, I remember learning how to make simple homemade egg noodles with my grandmother and the reminder has me yearning to learn. I can almost taste the pepper steak we ate with those noodles. Yummy! As a young mom, I recall the moments each of my sons learned to slurp up a spaghetti noodle. What a lovely, messy memory! And, most recently, I remember the third son telling me how much he loves when I make homemade chicken noodle soup because of the noodles I use. Wish they were mine! Noodles, the reminder of great people. great moments and great food!

Laundry. Honestly, I cannot remember a memory that associates with laundry. More likely, I have blocked the recall of the many, many, many loads of sorting (yeah, I don’t check pockets, much to Andrew’s dismay), washing, drying, folding and putting away that I have done in my fairly short life. What I have not blocked out is the reminder of what it should be to everyone of us. Laundry=Life (unless you choose to hang out in unwashed garb!). Yep, the logic then would be if you have more laundry in your home, you have more life.?  Well, I know this laundry subject to be overwhelming ugliness and you are already wondering when it will be over. Here is the MOST IMPORTANT THING: that laundry you hate to do, will eventually be gone. The life that we have too, will be gone. So while some (me too sometimes!) can look at the laundry with the evil eye, remember to be grateful. It means you are living!

FINALLY!!!

Gratitude. BE THANKFUL. Breathe it, share it, let it shine.

That’s it. Noodles and Laundry and Gratitude. I am so very thankful for my noodles that help me remember the people, times, and food that make the moment special. I am beyond grateful for the laundry that is non-stop at my house right now. A whirlwind of life in my world. I will try to remember to show gratitude for all of it, even when I find out a tissue was in that pocket I didn’t check!

Much love to you all!

Carrie Ruth  #shineon

PS. Here’s the Pasta Grannies YouTube link!

Pasta Grannies YouTube

 

Smoothing the edges…

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So what do you know about rocks? Some are hard, some smooth, some rough, some float, some shimmer, some sparkle and some even shine!

My rock sat atop a lovely mountainside, connected to a most excellent boulder of support. There came a time though that the boulder could no longer hold my rock and so my rock was split from the boulder. It tumbled a little along with other rocks down the mountain and stopped for awhile near some low growth. My rock was by no means smooth, shimmery or shiny. No, it had rough edges, jagged from the boulder it broke from. During the low growth visit, my rock weathered many storms, rain, wind, ice and snow. Over time the low growth died and the soil underneath fell away. My rock began a tumultuous tumble down the mountain, at times free falling down the cliffs. Landings were fast and hard, slowing only long enough to roll over and over before falling again. My rock journeyed for a long time down that mountainside and finally rested at the edge of a river. The soft earth underneath provided my rock with a cushion to settle on while the river waters rushed over the top. Sometimes the river would force my rock to roll over other rocks for a time. Sometimes other rocks would roll over my rock for a time. Always taking little bits of my rock’s edges with it. Until the day, I discovered my rock.

I was walking along the ocean beach, looking for shells but only finding pebbles. I looked for a long time until I finally gave up and sat down to watch the ocean waves come in with the tide. It was in the wave, my rock, rolling and crashing to the beach until it rested on the sand. I hurried to it before the next wave came in to claim it. It was perfectly smooth, perfectly rounded with no edges. It shimmered in places and reflected the light from it’s shine. My rock had made the journey of a lifetime. Just like all of us.

We are being smoothed and rounded. Our edges are being chiseled and softened as we struggle to learn our place in this world. We will fear it, and yet, we will still fall and tumble. We will enjoy it too, and roll with it. Life is about the journey. Each moment part of the making of our truest self. Our most beautiful, real self. In the end, it will not be the individual moments of the journey down the mountains, over the riverbeds and into the ocean, but the final uniquely lovely and glorious you that has been created by that journey. That is why we need to embrace each moment, as rough as we feel it may be. Because every single moment is smoothing our edges into someone who shines.

Blessings & Love, Carrie Ruth