august break wrap-up and belated blogiversary

Today is the last day of August, and so the last day of the August Break. I did not know at the beginning of the month how much I needed to do this. But as my family traveled to Dallas for a wedding early in the month, spent two weeks with my family in Montreal, then returned home for the start of the school year, it was great to not have the pressure to blog. My iPhone filled up with images as I explored new places, or looked afresh at some familiar spaces, and I was free to share them, and just them, on the fly (using this app, which I love) and call it good. It's been refreshing.

I wrote earlier this week about the challenges of returning home after a trip. But I've found that, once the place was cleaned up, I was able to train these new eyes on our life at home, and I am very excited about what I see. Something about returning home at the start of the schoolyear gives our routines a sense of freshness and possibility. Silas is returning to daycare, and he's turned a corner while we were away: he sleeps later, and is much less clingy and needy, and it feels like a whole new world is opening up to us. It's thrilling.

All of this makes me very happy to be back to hanging out in this space more regularly. I have great plans for this blog that I hope to roll out in the next few weeks, and I just can't wait to get to work. I am so grateful for this space, for your readership, for the container it provides for my thoughts, words, plans and images. Earlier this month this blog's anniversary came and went, and while I didn't say anything about it then, it feels right to say a few words today.


I was in such a different place last year, when I started this blog, also during the August Break. I must confess that I'm a bit of a serial blogger (my husband and I actually got to know each other through our blogs back in 2004, the blogging equivalent of the Jurassic era.) I've started and abandoned more blogs than I care to admit to. But the fact that, over this past year, no doubt the absolute hardest and richest of my life, I've been able to remain faithful to this space, and to grow as a writer and photographer as I grow as a mother, feels like a tremendous achievement, and a real cause for celebration. I'm such a happier, more grounded, more well-rested person than I was a year ago.

I am glad to have this record of my struggles. Some of you have reached out to me, and let me know how much it meant to you that I shared my hardships here. I want you to know how much those comments have meant to me, how they have encouraged me and kept me going. It's been a privilege to have you along as I figure out and articulate the kind of mama I want to be, the kind of life I want to live. And to know that you are looking for some of the same things, and that some of my words have helped you find what you are seeking, is a tremendous source of meaning and joy for me. Thank you.

There have been no streamers and balloons for this blogiversary, but I did treat myself to something very special: my own domain name, www.mamaherenow.com. Because this mama is so grateful to be here, firmly planted in this most wondrous now. And is here for good.


In parting, a few favorite posts you may have missed:
easing up
what I think I need
be the empty cup

weekending

Our trip to Québec is winding down. Flying back to Texas tomorrow. These two weeks have been good to us.

for the August Break

august 24

Morning light in the lilac tree.

For the August Break

august 23

Market flowers.


for the August Break

august 22

Bike love from Montréal.

for the August Break

august 15

As the mama of a busy boy, I think that what I crave and relish the most is time uninterrupted; singularity of focus. To be immersed in one thing. To go deep. I hope you get to go there too today.

(Fuschia lipstick helps, too.)

for the August Break

august 14

Happily settling in at my parents'. Bless this cool weather.

august 12

Packing up the snacks, gathering the gadgets and chargers, choosing the scarves and poetry books. Flying home to Montréal tomorrow with my boy for two weeks of lounging in the grass and drinking pastis poolside. Bon voyage!

august 9

This week has been really sweet. I hope yours was, too.

august 9

iced coffee, taco, journal.

august 8

One of my favorite recent shots of the boy.

august 7

read:: The Ten-Year Nap, by Meg Wolitzer
taste:: double-broccoli quinoa; blueberries
see :: about a hundred swallows perched along the powerline
touch :: squirmy toddler climbing me like a jungle gym
hear :: Avett Brothers station on Pandora
think :: it's time to shake up my daily workout routine
feel :: tired but happy at the end of a good day

senses shared

august 3

Dallas skyline.

august 2

"Fear is a natural reaction of moving closer to the truth." -Pema Chödrön

the august break

It's August, and like last year, I'll be playing along with Susannah. The August Break is a chance to take a break from regular blogging, and share a picture every day on our blogs--or more, or less, there are no rules! This comes at a great time for me since there will be lots of travel for my family this month: we're headed to Dallas for a wedding this weekend, and in a few weeks are headed home to Montreal for two weeks, to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday, and to enjoy time with my crazy French Canadian family and eat lots and lots of corn on the cob. I'm looking forward to a big, deep exhale this month, to keeping things light and bright and fresh, and to meeting new folks doing the same all over the globe. So check back here for some summer revelry, or on Instagram--truly my favorite place to hang out--with the hashtag #augustbreak. Let's do this!

5 august

Taken at The Priesthood