OUR COMMON HOURS

our week // vol 1

Something I noticed about halfway through my 52 project last year is that, although I take a lot of photos, only a tiny fraction of them end up on my blog. While that is probably a good thing, generally, I do think there are some interesting shots that don’t make the cut. Taking nothing but portraits leaves out a lot of the everyday details of our lives; things I will want to remember someday. Sometimes the sunlight on the kitchen wall is just really beautiful. So, I thought maybe it would be nice to post some of the extra photos I take each week (knowing that I’ll probably miss some weeks, and that’s okay). These are the ones I liked this week.

The winter comes: the frozen rut
Is bound with silver bars;
the white drift heaps against the hut;
and night is pierced with stars.
— Coventry Patmore

our week 1
our week 2
our week 4
our week 5
our week 6
our week 7
our week 8
our week 9
our week 10
our week 11
our week 12
our week 13
our week 14
our week 15

1 // 52

1 // 52 // Lillia
1 // 52 // Zane

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.”

Lillia: This week you have been working hard on self-improvement. Monday was your first day back at school after the holidays. You got up early, came out to the kitchen and said, “I’m going for a walk to help me feel more alert.” When you came back you informed me that you were not going to use the computer before school because it was too distracting. You’ve been getting yourself ready in the morning without any nagging, and you’ve also been working on your homework diligently every night without my even mentioning it. It seems that the New Year really inspired you to develop some new habits. I am very impressed with your efforts!

Zane: This week we are working on potty training. Oh, the dreaded potty training. The truth is you have been “ready” for quite awhile, but I was not. I was not ready to let go of one of the last things that made you a baby…well, we both know you’re not a baby anymore. You’re a fully-fledged walking, talking person with ideas and opinions of your own. Now is the time, whether I am ready (emotionally) or not. So far you’ve been doing great — there’s no turning back!

simplifying // week one

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to get rid of half of the stuff we own. I wasn’t clear about this in my resolution post, but I don’t intend to just throw away everything I don’t want. My desire is to systematically and thoughtfully try to find homes for things, and if there is no good home only then will the items end up in the wastebasket. To keep myself on track, I’m going to write a weekly post (time permitting) about my journey to simplify. I’m not sure if these posts will interest anyone, but sometimes I have to blog just for myself.

simplify 1
simplify 2
simplify 3

  • This week I did some cleaning out of my cloffice (my closet office). One of the things I found was a huge stack of photos from my daughter’s preschool, where I also worked. Instead of binning the whole thing, I pulled out the photos of the kids whose parents I’m still in contact with, and sent them off in the mail to them. I felt like that was their proper home. (I also got to send some letters in the process, which is another one of my resolutions for this year — more snail mail!)
  • I also cleaned out our kitchen “junk drawer” which allowed me to move some of our commonly used tools out of one location (which wasn’t ideal) into the kitchen. In the process I did throw away quite a few odds and ends, but I didn’t feel like they were something that could be re-homed.
  • Last week I cleaned out the cabinet under the microwave. Holy moly — that thing was a mess! I am pleased with the simplicity I gained just by organizing the space better and relocating some items.
  • In the week ahead I’d like to concentrate on getting Zane’s closet into a more orderly state. The biggest problems we have in this house (in terms of clutter) are paper and stuffed animals. We have WAY too many stuffed animals.

L’écureuil

Sometimes the French word is just better. (I can’t pronounce it, but I still like it.) I got a new lens for Christmas — the Nikon 55-200mm VR AF-S f/4-5.6G. This allows me to spy on my favorite animal from inside the house. I will readily admit that I baited these squirrels with bread and apples in an attempt to lure them out into the open (spoiler: it worked). I’m pretty impressed with the quality of these photos since they were taken from the comfort of my kitchen, through two layers of glass and a screen. I’m looking forward to seeing what it can do outside on a warmer day! Brrrrr!

L'écureuil 1
L'écureuil 2
L'écureuil 3
L'écureuil 4
L'écureuil 5

52 // 52

52 // 52 // Lillia
52 // 52 // Zane

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia & Zane: Well, sweet kiddos, we made it to the end of our first 52 week portrait project. I say “we” because, although I was the one snapping the photos, there wouldn’t have been a 52 project without you and I really appreciate your cooperation (or at least toleration). Although I feel a great deal of satisfaction for completing my goal, I also feel incredibly sad because the fact is that a whole year of your lives has passed and I know that I cannot get it back. Lillia will never be ten again; Zane will never be two. There is a lot of lip service paid to enjoying your children while you can, and people always seem to say things like “it goes by so fast.” The truth is that it does go by so fast. Even when you take the time to notice and record the small moments that you share with your children, like I do here on my blog, that doesn’t stop the time from passing. Nothing has ever given me more joy than being a mother, and this is true even when I’m grouchy, nagging, irritated, or frustrated! Both of you bring something different, and equally wonderful, to my life. Despite my desire to keep you right where you are, I know that I have to let this year go to make room for the next one. I feel some slight consolation in knowing that the next twelve months together with you will bring me joy, too. And, I do feel some excitement and curiosity to see what the future holds for both of you. Love is not a big enough word to describe how I feel about you, but it will have to suffice.

If you’d like to look back at all 52 weeks, you can read the posts here or look at the whole album here.