As you can sense from my absence I am in the midst of a transition, a evolution in what it means to live and breathe and love in this life of mine. Many of you come here to see my lastest crafty endeavors, I am still crafting, I am just having a harder time finding time to photograph, edit and post my little creations, where as I would rather just enjoy them. Some of you come to keep up with my family and more specifically, Adelaide. And I must be honest, the longer I parent and blog the increasingly less comfortable I get with the idea of sharing much of our lives on the internet. Certainly, what you get here is a small bit of the depth of what it means to be our family, it is edited, but it is still a part and I mindful of how sharing that part, even ever so small, might impact my family.
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| My ordination in 2008 |
Which brings me to probably my biggest piece to share. I returned to work about three months ago. After 15 unplanned, unexpected and delightful months staying at home with Adelaide, I returned to full time work in July. I am very fortunate to work in a vocation that is family friendly, in fact that is an understatement extrordinare. I have been hesitiant to share much about what I "do" for a living out of respect. Out of respect to a readership that is very diverse, out of respect for myself and my own sense of privacy and out of respect for the people I work with because I only want to represent my vocation and the people I share it with in the most positive way--because it is the most joyous of honors to be a part of this work together. But for those of you that are curious, I am an ordained minister.
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| At a ribbon cutting for our new building at my first church in 2008 |
I love what I do and as I already mentioned it is incredibly family friendly. I work 4 days a week in the office and get one week day off to spend at home with Adelaide. And in what other vocation is it not only encouraged but often expected that you bring your family to work with you one (or more days a week). So unlike people in more traditional jobs Adelaide is only cared for by someone other than T and I briefly 4 days a week, instead of 5. Also, her care? She started pre-school this fall at the church I serve. In a culture that is not very family and motherhood friendly, I am SO grateful that my child's care will be onsite (actually about 40 feet from my office) where I work. This is so rare and I am so grateful to have found work that is meaningful to me and that fits my family's place in life.
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| Leading worship in 2009 at a friend's ordination |
What does this mean for the blog? It means that this past year I have had time to write and edit photos during afternoon naps and after bed, but now sometimes I will chose to spend that time differently, being more present to my family, our household and all that that entails (you know the glamourous parts of life--laundry, dishes, picking up raisins off the floor!). It means that as I continue to wrestle with the balance of sharing your life on a blog that I may try a few new things, we shall just have to see. It will be a balance I will have to live into, since photography is a love but as a few of you all know writing has always been my original love.
P.S. The title of this post was inspired by a Pablo Neruda quote I first discovered here and adapted to reflect this new phase, this wild, open-hearted and crazy way in which things are constantly changing, the way we are invited to fling our hearts wide open and hope for the very best. Change, change, we are here.