Tuesday 9 November 2010

Who's the fairest of them all?



I am a beautiful and unique being. I have a wonderful smile



Today I am grateful for my body and the way it can move so gracefully with power and strength - thanks Nia and friends

I am grateful for the presence and communication of friends

I am grateful for the sweet voices of my children who have been singing to me for hours

Wednesday 3 November 2010

When I Am An Old Woman



WARNING

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickles for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Blessed are those


















Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
Matthew 5:4


Beautiful memories, Silently kept, of a baby we loved, And will never forget

Little Snowdrop
The world may never notice
If a Snowdrop doesn't bloom,
Or even pause to wonder
If the petals fall too soon.
But every life that ever forms,
Or ever comes to be,
Touches the world in some small way
For all eternity.
The little one we long for
Was swiftly here and gone.
But the love that was then planted
Is a light that still shines on.
And though our arms are empty,
Our hearts know what to do.
Every beating of our hearts
Says that we love you.

Author Unknown





If    the    eyes    had    no tears   ,tthehe soulsoul would     have     no     rainbow.
Native American Proverb




In memory of our tiny Sara Snowflake x
















Friday 29 October 2010

Dreams and Wishes Visual Inspiration






I created a beautiful visual board to remind myself at a glance of all the promises I have made to myself.

Why not have a go at making one for yourself at wordle ....

Saturday 23 October 2010

Autumn Full Moon Blessings





Autumn has truly arrived and today is again the day of the Full Moon.


Autumn is a most beautiful season. The colours of the trees and leaves remind me of the riches of our land and the warmth of our home. The apple trees have been heavy with fruit, inspiring lots of home baking and autumnal cooking. The darker light and drop in temperature has requested candles, dimmed lighting and slippers at home, hats and scarves outside. I love this time of year!


It's been a funny few weeks since the full moon of October. A lot of changes are taking place within me and around me. Some have been difficult to face, yet others have been a joy. It has been especially sad to hear a friend's mournful news. You know how much a person means to you when you can feel their pain and your heart aches for them. Special wishes and thoughts go to my beautiful friend today who hurts so much. I wish I could do more to help.


The children have been getting in to the swing of the routines and rituals of the school year. They broke up yesterday for the half term break and are in high spirits today. Our Autumn nature table is looking beautiful and the pumpkins are waiting to be carved. It's going to be a happy and busy week.

Sunday 26 September 2010

Sunny Sunday

Just spent the most delicious day at our friends house. 

I took a cake.  Ta-daaa - a gift of cake for September (although I did eat a little lot myself)


There's nothing like a lazy Sunday afternoon with friends, food, wine - oops we broke the detox for a special occasion!! - and chat. 


-

Friday 24 September 2010

I Believe

Full Moon, Double Rainbow and a Goodbye





Yesterday was an emotional and tiring day spent with family at my paternal Grandmothers funeral.


Much of my day was wrapped up in memories and emotions, some still tangled up with the past, some more open and free.


I was prompted to revisit childhood relationships, my religious, social and spiritual beliefs. My mind explored my past and my present. My family. 


I discovered a beautiful woven web of history and character, a masterpiece of creation by myself and all of those who have impacted on my life.


Yesterday we all gathered together as family and friends for a special lady who had touched all of our lives. We all held her in our hearts for what she meant to us. We were united in our loss.


I was glad to pay my respects to a Grandmother who was a kind, generous, and loving woman. An inspiration for us all to follow.


On our drive home we saw the most beautiful double rainbow and of course, our lovely Full moon.


What beautiful symbols of God's creation and love .....


I was reminded of the children's song
.
"when you see a rainbow, remember God is love, when you see a rainbow remember God is love"



I am also reminded me of two more of my dreams and wishes, to search for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, and to choose my own funeral songs. Come on Sarah, chop chop!

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Book 2/40, Stargirl











Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli


"people are afraid of people who are different. That's what prisons and mental hospitals are for."

A beautiful book about non-conformity, peer pressure, bravery and being true to yourself. This was the story of Stargirl, a unique and colourful free spirit who has great confidence in her self and her own ability to make others happy. I found myself smiling at Stargirl’s random acts of kindness. She would play the ukelele and sing Happy Birthday to everyone she knew. She would leave gifts on people’s door steps, give surprise gifts of candy to her classmates on Halloween. She would drop coins on the pavement for people to find.  Stargirl was happy(?) to be an individual, a non-conformist. 
We all have someone who changes our lives in a way that we cant even start to describe, and the author has captured this perfectly in Stargirl. 
This isn't, however, a sickly sweet story of do-gooding but a comment on how we all feel we must conform.
It made me sad, but not in the way I think I was being shown to feel.  
Some may say that I have missed the point and that I should want to be more like Stargirl, for my children to be more like Stargirl, for our community to have more Stargirls dancing and singing to each other. I don’t. 
The story seemed to be addressing the old question : be unique and happy with yourself, or conform and make everyone else happy.
I want for myself, and for my children, to be happy and feel the joy of making others happy. Whether that involves individuality, conformity or blending in to a crowd I don’t think is important. 


For me the thoughts that I took away after reading were more about being loving and caring towards others, sharing kindness and ideals, being gentle and understanding, accepting yourself and others for what they are.   
“The theme of uniformity is an ongoing one”
I questioned Stargirl as an individual character. She was unique in a conforming, structured way. She sang Happy Birthday to people whether they wanted her to or not. At times I found myself uncomfortable in her presence. This didn’t seem to be a girl who was happy in her own skin, with her own ideas. I couldn’t help but feel that Stargirl has had difficulty in ‘fitting in’ in the past, and has taken measures to protect her self from the insecurity she felt. Her individuality seems to me to be her armour of protection. 
I longed to give Stargirl a hug and allow her to feel comfortable enough to let her guard down for just a short while, to stop conforming to non-comformity. 
There was a beautiful point in the book where Stargirl took Leo, her beau to her Enchanted Place and introduced him to meditation. It was beautifully written and captured a tangible sense of friendship and acceptance. This was where I felt closest to Stargirl and glimpsed the girl inside her colourful shell of protection. 
My daughter (12) read the book too and claimed that it was quite unlike anything she had ever read before. An inspiration! What better review than that, from a girl within the target audience? 
We will both be reading the next book, Love Stargirl and comparing notes and using the book as a bounce board for further discussions.


Thanks Ceri!

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Starting School



The School Run


Today was the first day of school for the youngest of our brood. We're entering a whole new era for our family and it is an exciting time for all of us. We took the usual First Day of School photos before leaving the house and his elder siblings made promises of looking after him in the playground. They took their promise seriously as when he came home at lunchtime and I asked what his favourite part his day had been, he replied that it was playing with his sisters. 

He had a great time and was excited about bringing reading books home in his bag. We read them together this afternoon while we snuggled on the sofa and talked. I can now hear one of his sisters reading them again to him in his bedroom. 

As they grow older I am sure that they all as siblings will share more things in common, yet  possibly have more grievances to bear. But they'll be there for each other.

Tonight, that makes me smile. 



"It takes a village to raise a child..."

I have been finding the idea my baby going to school very heart wrenching for many reasons. I have read many poems which summed up my emotions, speaking of how quickly they grow, the bittersweet feelings it evokes, and the teary nostalgic vision of the past and for the future. Many of them have made me cry as I felt the tugs on my heart strings. 

I then found this poem which inspired me and made me feel positive. All of my children have started the new term with a new teacher. These teachers are going to help us as parents to guide them through the coming year. I hope that they all build a good relationship with their new teachers and that they will feel motivated and inspired in their lives by their teachers, friends and family. 

It reminds me now of the old African proverb....


I will feel comforted by this as my children grow up and in to the world. 

Unity
I dreamed I stood in a studio
And watched two sculptors there,
The clay they used was a young child’s mind
And they fashioned it with care. 

One was a teacher:
the tools she used were books and music and art;
One was a parent
With a guiding hand and gentle loving heart.


And when at last their work was done,
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had worked into the child
Could never be sold or bought!


And each agreed she would have failed
if she had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school, 
and behind the teacher stood the home!


By Cleo V. Swarat  

Storytelling challenge


Gemma Hannah is a magical storyteller who has set an Online Storytelling Challenge.

"Taking part is easy. Just listen to my telling of "Anansi and the Box of Stories', film yourself retelling it in your own words, then upload. At the end of the project I will edit together all the contributions to make one beautiful global story."

You can watch Gemma telling her story,  download the MP3 or download the written story on www.storyweb.co





This is a huge challenge to me and will help me to work towards two of my dreams

61, to improving my storytelling skills, and

70, feel comfortable infront of a camera.

Yikes!

Anyone care to join me?

Monday 13 September 2010

August Full Moon 2010



What a wonderful evening we had celebrating the Full Moon of August with a party of friends at Lulworth Cove.

The moon was full and round and despite the cold we had a blast. 

Special prayers and wishes were made for our special people who couldn't be with us and we knew that wherever they were they were doing the same. 

I'm looking forward to the coming month and approaching all that happens with positivity and joy. 

Next Full Moon is September 23rd 2010  - the date of my paternal Grandmothers funeral. 

I will have a few thoughts and say some quiet prayers and wishes for the past, the present and the future for myself, my family, my extended family and all those I love, and have loved 

xxxx




Wednesday 1 September 2010

Friends, past and present - thank you!

       




It was my 14th wedding anniversary yesterday. Wow how times flies! My husband and I had a lovely celebration with a meal at a favourite haunt of ours and remembered old times. How fortunate we are! We remain good friends as well as partners and I love him for his friendship and love. 

Life is ever changing and I have had many friends come in and out of my life. Almost all remain in my heart with precious memories and experiences, even those I no longer see or would care to. They have all been special to me and I am grateful to them for their friendship. Some will always remain in my life while others will drift away, but they have all been special to me for the time they were there. 

Prompted lately in to thinking more about myself and my own needs and desires,  I have come to the conclusion that I need to prioritise my own happiness and satisfaction. It has dawned on me, through conversations, and alone, that my choice of friendships have the ability to make or break me, to shape my life for the better or worse. 

I am beginning to understand why I have loved and lost friends who meant a lot to me, and continued to be in relationships which have stifled and suppressed me. I want and need to be happy and will continue to fill my life with people who help me to achieve this. 

Friends are very important to me and I will try my hardest to ensure that I make every effort to keep our relationships healthy and well if it is a friendship that makes me happy. These people are important to me and my life. They make me laugh and sing, feel joy and comfort. They are precious!

I have also unfortunately come to very the sad conclusion that sometimes there are friendships which don't make me happy. I have wasted too much time worrying and fretting, feeling hurt and upset by these friends. It's not a decision taken lightly. I have given these friendships every effort and it's not been a good way to spend my emotions. These friends, in the present, and in the future I will release. I will remember them for the good times we have shared, not the negativity that our friendship has become caught in. I thank them all for the happiness in our past. 

I look forward to meeting new friends, reacquainting myself with old, and making new memories and stories with them all. 

And to my special missed friend..... this song is for you x


The Corrs - Little Wing






Thursday 19 August 2010

Dear Body

Dear Body, 
I recently started a list of 99 Dreams and Wishes to do in 999 days - my 40th birthday. 
Number 19 on my list is, mould, nourish, nurture and love my body.

This is my letter to you explaining how I feel about you and what my plans are for our future.
I realise that I haven’t given you a lot of thought lately. I have taken you for granted and abused you, albeit unintentionally. I’d like to say sorry and hope to start our relationship afresh. 
Thank you for holding my life and allowing me to move freely through it with no physical disabilities. As a baby I was born with displaced hips. I have no memory of this, just the stories that have been told to me about the casts on my legs. After treatment I had no further trouble again.
As a child I was never let down by you. You supported me through childhood scrapes and falls, repairing quickly and efficiently when required to. I never experienced any breaks or fractures. Childhood illnesses, bruises, colds and viruses were all very short lived and you took them in your stride, protecting me every step of the way. I thank you for this. 
You were very petite throughout my childhood, into my teens and early twenties. I enjoyed the ‘lightness’ and great flexibility that you had. I liked the way that you moved, the way you never tired, that I could tie your limbs into knots, curl tight into a small ball, and stretch.
I had a good appetite and ate a large range of foods. You were strong and we were healthy. I thought that you were lovely.  
And yet, I found myself feeling emotionally torn. I heard from others that you were too skinny, too bony, too tiny..........
I was confused. I began to try eating more than you required, using drink supplements as extra calories. I would feel sick from my generosity towards you. 
I eventually came to the conclusion that I could allow myself to be happy with you. Others could keep their own opinions, and their own body issues to themselves. I was happy with you and you were mine!
I became pregnant. I was astounded with how clever you were. So strong and supportive.  Taking care not only of me but sheltering and providing for my baby, helping to create her own body from within me. You are amazing!
I had a few scary times during the pregnancy. I felt that I wouldn’t be able to rely on you to support me through another pregnancy ever again.  I also felt physically exhausted and was sick constantly. I was pleased when we safely got to full term and my first daughter was born. 
You fed and nourished her for the first two years of her life and I am eternally grateful for this. She is now a healthy twelve year old and had the best start in life. 
I gave birth to three further children, each time after I had erased from my memory how awful you are at pregnancy. Terrible!! I’m sorry! You nourished them well and did your best. But you were truly amazing at delivering my babies to me. So beautiful and perfect were my labours that all the hardship of carrying the pregnancies paled into insignificance. They were all born healthy and remain so. I breast fed them all and you supported me in doing this so well. Thank you. 
Other pregnancies were not so successful and I cursed you, blamed you. I felt angry and let down. They were my babies too and I felt bitter that you had been unable to help me look after them. It was your fault! There were complications and my family thought that I was leaving them forever. You gave up on me for a while. I have only a hazy memory of those days, feeling helpless within you. My determination and strength pulled me through this period with medical help and family love and support. Not you. I’m not sure that I forgive you for this yet, but I know that I am close to it now. 
I began to have acupuncture for my physical and emotional health and I began to accept you again, to stop feeling so angry. I wanted to nurture you again and nurse you back to full strength. I was strangely even more anti conventional medicine now, even though it had saved my life. I didn’t want to risk harming you.
A few years ago I suddenly began to get pains and swellings in my joints. I was diagnosed with psoriatic/rheumatoid arthritis. I felt frustrated and let down again. My movement and physical mobility were severely impaired. I found it difficult to walk at times. Washing my hair or having a shower left me in tears of helplessness. I had regular acupuncture but it was only helping with the symptoms, not the disease.

I toyed with Chinese herbs but felt that they were only going to be secondary to conventional medicine. So I limped in to the consultants office and tried several cocktails of drugs over several months. You rejected most of them and developed all the text book side effects. It was seemingly useless. I now had the disease and the drug side effects too. 
With tail between my legs I returned to the Chinese herbalist. These were the worst tasting , most disgusting of medicines ever. 
I altered my diet. Followed recommendations of less potatoes and tomatoes, less dairy products, more fish, less alcohol, caffeine etc etc 
I started meditating, stretching, doing reiki, thinking positively, praying
Something worked........
My arthritis is in remission. I have the odd aches and pains, and swellings but you are strong. We’ve pulled through. I’m no longer struggling to live with a chronic disease. 
So how do I reward you for becoming so mobile and strong again? By taking up bad habits. Over indulging in lovely food and wine. Not exercising regularly, not giving you what you deserve. 

I am sorry. 
You are now overweight and sluggish. I have allowed you to become out of breath with exercise, swollen with greed and wobbly where you should be firm. 
I want you to know that I still love you. You have supported me through all of life’s difficulties and I must thank you for that. You deserve my upmost respect and cooperation. Neither of us is getting any younger but we have many years ahead of us yet. I must not take you for granted anymore. 
I will learn to eat in moderation again, a balanced diet rich in nutrients. 
I will allow you to find your natural size again 
I will exercise regularly
I will restrict food and drinks that I know to be harmful to you
I will reunite a balance between yourself and my mind
I will love you and praise you, admire you and thank you
You are my precious body, 
With love always,
Sarah 

Wednesday 18 August 2010

Photographs, images and emotions

We spent a lovely day in Oxfordshire on Monday. 

The children were involved in a photo shoot for Relax Kids


They had a wonderful time playing and posing for photographs. I was amazed at how good they were at expressing and representing different emotions - both negative and positive. 

We all had a giggle at some of the moody and angry faces being shown, and 'ahhhh-ed' at the relaxed and calm poses they came up with. 

They had a busy day, thinking about different emotions and how we show our feelings to others. 

The following day my eldest (12) felt inspired to 'listen to the Relax Kids CD's more often again as I've got out of the good habit' - What better recommendation?

I had a scary moment when it was suggested that we did a couple of family photos - I feel very uncomfortable having my photograph taken and number 70 in my Dreams and Wishes list is to take steps to resolve this. 

So we took the photos and I trembled, and smiled, clutching the children in a cuddle. Then breathed a sigh of relief at the end. 

When the photo was shown to me later that evening I smiled a lot - it's gorgeous! Me and my beautiful children - what a lovely image to have forever.

Memories
Memories are so precious, we keep them as safe as we can in our mind but these physical images are a beautiful reminder to us of the people and the places where these memories were made. 

I'm not sure exactly why I have such an uncomfortable feeling when a camera is pointed towards me. It doesn't have a 'starting point' or event which caused it. I clearly remember running and hiding from cameras even as a very young child, feeling upset if there was an insistence that I stood and 'said cheese'. As I grew older and my teeth began to protude my reticence only increased.

Nannie
My grandmother - Nannie - showered me with positive affirmations that I was beautiful and that I looked wonderful, which I did partly believe, but it didn't make the thought of someone capturing my image forever any easier. 

The funny thing was that I wonder if it was my Nannie who influenced me with my fear of being photographed. She was forever saying 'aach Jack......take that camera away...' , 'take that thing away from me.....'  , 'oh don't!....' My granda loved using his camera and took lots of cine film and photographs. When we were young lots of the films and photographs taken showed my Nannie ducking away, but funnily enough, trying to drag me back in to the scene. I recall several pictures of her just holding me still as I squirm in her arms - I also remember the day they were taken and feeling grateful for her love holding me still in her arms. 

When we visited my grandparents house my sisters and I would spend hours looking at all the old photo albums, loving seeing our grandparents, and great grandparents when they were young and familiar strangers to us. My Nannie as a beautiful young woman smiled and looked directly at us out of the photographs, my Granda was so handsome and looked so strong. They were a young couple so in love. It was lovely to see this. It made me feel safe and secure. 

My grandparents were a huge influence in my life. They were very much a couple in love, very demonstrative and loving towards each other and everyone around them. 

Yesterday my children, mum, step-dad and I visited my Granda before going together to put some flowers on my Nannie's grave for her 7th anniversary. 

My granda has many photographs on his walls of the whole family. The children are naturally drawn to them. They show weddings, graduations, new babies, family celebrations. Smiling faces at happy occasions. I called the children in to my grandas bedroom though to show them a particularly special one that he has on his wall. It shows the beautiful full face of my smiley Nannie as a young woman. The childrens faces lit up. Wow! She's so beautiful! She looks like a film star!

I resolve to get over my fear of being photographed. For myself, my children, my parents, my grandparents, and my own future grandchildren.  I am beautiful and will allow myself to be shown the way I am. 

Many thanks to Marneta and Stuart for the lovely photograph of the children and I.

For the children I will fulfill number 57 and put our family photographs in to memory books.

And for my Nannie, I will take a photograph of myself daily.

I resolve to accept my image, feel comfortable within it, and be proud to share it. 





Friday 13 August 2010

1000 paper cranes - 36 done!


We've just had the New Moon of August so plans for our next Full Moon celebration are underway.

This month we hope to spend it quietly with friends on the beach in Dorset

The children are excited about getting together with friends again and are talking about what plans they have for the month ahead. We are all recognising the advantages of focussing on the positives of our past, present and future - not always easy!

1000 Paper Cranes


The crane is a majestic bird which mates for life and is extremely loyal to its partner. The bird is strong, graceful and beautiful. Because of the great importance of the crane, the Japanese people feel that a person who folds 1,000 cranes will be granted his or her greatest wish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_origami_cranes

   


We've been busy with origami for the past couple of days - I dreamt I was making paper cranes last night  - must surely be a sign of good fortune? 36 cranes made so far, just 964 to go. Yikes!
It's been lovely making them so far though. It's been very relaxing and the children and I have all sat around the kitchen table folding away. I'm making my 1000 on my own, rather than making a team effort. This has encouraged the children to make their own collection of folded objects. We've made some great little frogs which were good for racing, cups, wallets, boxes, butterflies as well as lots and lots of birds. It's really taken me back to my childhood. I used to spend hours and hours with one of my friends making little envelopes, tortoises, puppets and of course birds to fill our pencil cases with. I wonder if she would remember this? It is a memory I had forgotten about.