The work of small hands

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Anyone for cricket?

A courier package at the door this morning heralds my blog post for the day. Inside the bag was a small wooden cricket bat…..

While this bat would not feature on Antiques Roadshow it is in many ways a family heirloom.

My Dad loved cricket. He spent most of his life either playing, coaching, administering or fervently watching both family members and favourite teams. As well as being a very able cricketer he was also skilled in carpentry and bat maintenance and repairs.

He very cleverly cut down an old adult sized bat and fashioned this tiny tot’s version. My four brothers may all have used this bat as small boys but I do know that my oldest son was delighted to find he could play cricket just like his Daddy, his Grandfather and uncles when he was given this bat by his beloved Pappa (Grandfather).

All three of my children used it and all went on to play cricket at times in their lives. When my brother had his children the bat went to live at their home and was used by four more small children within the family circle.

The bat has come back to me so I can give it to my grandson to use and enjoy. It will bring back memories for his Dad and for everyone in my immediate family.

It feels as if another turn in a spiral has been made.

Prompts

Over the weekend I saw this suggestion for encouraging writers to write. Begin sentences with “I write of”. Here are some of my sentences from today:

I write of nature because it contains so much beauty, power, rhythm and a space for me from the pressing things of life.

I write of things quirky because I have a sense of humour and a curiosity that enjoys such things.

I write of the ordinary and the good to offer a balance against the glitz, hype and unpleasant that occurs in our world.

I write of the ordinary and good because I know the value that both offer to me and to others.

I write of simple traditions such as cooking for others, writing letters, gardening, knitting, singing in a group, walking, spending time with people we love and connect with.

I write of books simply because I love books.

I write of books because they have helped me in a myriad of ways throughout my life.

What do you write of?

Another prompt I found was over at http://concernedwithstory.wordpress.com was to write beginning with “Right now….”

So for me today, Monday 25th July 2011:

Right now I am very grateful for heating, warm clothing and warm food on such a cold day.

Right now I can see the birds enjoying the apples I have hung for them for winter food.

Right now I am pleased to have paid the bills and grateful for having the money to pay them.

Right now I am wondering if my cat will increase his food intake.

Right now I am processing the information I received about a family member who served in WW2.

Right now I am thinking a lot about resilience and the notes I made this afternoon.

Right now I am pleased to have fixed the errors in the socks I am knitting my grandson.

Right now I have meal preparation to do so I am off to begin that:-)

When I ran self awareness groups I would use a “Right now” exercise at the beginning of the session to help clear the immediate, scattered stuff that was “on top” for participants. Once this happened, focus was easier for everyone in the group.

Writing “right now” sentences offers me similar but different clearing, focus and more.

I’d be interested in your discoveries from writing some “Right Now” sentences.

Two and a quarter years

If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life. And if that child is to keep alive an inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in. – Rachel Carson

When I read this quote I immediately thought of my young grandson who is only two and a quarter years old and so full of wonder about every little thing in the world. He is so fortunate that he has parents and his extended family who share a commitment to ensure he will continue to be awed, surprised, excited and curious about the world. His interest and delight is contagious and uplifting.

Celebration!

I was planning on posting about celebrating success in my family but I also noted on my blog statistics that this is my 100th post. So I am celebrating that milestone as well as acknowledging a degree completed, a diploma completed and a certificate completed for three different family members in the past few weeks.
Achievements and milestones need to be recognized and celebrated! A “ big well” done all round.

Saturday Tip: Positive comments

A tip I used to pass on at parenting skills courses was to ensure that you made 6 positive comments to each child, each day and observe any changes that happened. Parents who tried this often reported back that their children’s behaviour had improved and that life in their house was generally much pleasanter.

Humans thrive in a positive environment where they get positive feedback to help them on their way. Try ensuring that you say at least 6 positive things to each person in your home, each day and let me know how you get on…

A year in my life

Between September 2007 and September 2008 I took a photo on our new digital camera every day in order to record a year in my life.   Why did I do this?

I had experienced some life changing and life threatening events in rather close succession and wanted to track my return to “normal” life, whatever shape that took.  At the same time I took the photo and printed it off I would make a few notes about what the photo meant to me on that day.  So I hoped that by describing, recording and reflecting I would gain some sense of who I was following the upheaval and change.

With hindsight more time had to pass for me to process the events but several other benefits flowed from this project.  I felt a real sense of satisfaction in keeping to a daily record of my life; it is a valuable record of that year when we are trying to remember something that happened at that time; I enjoyed developing my visual senses; I became more aware of light and its many qualities and nuances; it kept me in touch with life and a sense that life does move on, no matter what emotions need to be felt and what healing needs to occur; it reminded me of my love of the funny and quirky, of my cats and of nature, my family and friends.

My life feels very ordinary but my interest in family history has taught me time and again that records from the past of ordinary lives can offer huge amounts of valuable information that help us understand how life was years ago and increases our sense of connection to family from the past.

There are many ways that people record their lives.  How do you record yours?