“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”
Lillia: You’ve been feeling kind of down about yourself this week. Trust me, you are incredibly gorgeous. I mean, look at that face! But, even if you were not gorgeous you would still be worthy of being loved and appreciated by others. Our culture places a huge emphasis on how girls and women look, and it undermines us every step of the way. I want you to know that there is so much more to life than that. So.much.more. Most of us will never look like we’re “supposed” to look, and that’s why makeup, clothing, and diet companies make so much money; they use our “flaws” against us and scare us into believing that the only way we can be loved is if we use their products to improve ourselves. And, that’s total crap. But, instead of assuming nefarious intent, the best thing to do is to be an informed consumer: YOU get to decide how much time, energy, and money you want to spend on their message and their products. “Purchase” wisely, and know that there are no “have to’s”…ever. I can’t promise that you are going to feel awesome about yourself every day; it takes a lot of inner strength to fight back against a culture that constantly asserts that you are not good enough the way you are. But, as long as you regularly take time to remind yourself that you have intrinsic, indestructible value no matter what you look like, then you will have more good days than bad.
Zane: This week has been awesome! We have had so much fun! Spring is finally here and we have been playing outside a lot. We’ve taken lots of walks to the village, and you have so enjoyed schmoozing with the old people at the post office, meeting friendly dogs, and observing every drain hole in the 03608 zip code. We are really hoping that the ice on your sand box will melt soon, because you have been waiting so patiently all winter to use it. Another plus to all of this outdoor time is that you have been pretty angelic this week, and you have been taking good naps and going to bed at night pretty easily. I’m grateful for all of the above.
“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”
Lillia: You’ve been very physically affectionate this week, and I have no complaints. Someone pointed out to me once that, unless they have a significant other, most tweens and teens experience very little in the way of physical contact with others. That makes me really sad! I have made it my goal to hug you as often as you will let me.
Zane: It is FINALLY warming up, and we are starting to spend more time outside. You are very, very excited about all of the birds that have returned. You’ve already figured out that spring birds = nests = eggs = baby birds, and there is nothing you love more than nests, eggs, and baby birds! In fact, I often find you pretending that YOU are a mother bird. There is a part of you that is incredibly nurturing; someday you’ll be a great dad.
From The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder:
Sometime in the night Laura heard the wind. It was still blowing furiously but there were no voices, no howls or shrieks in it. And with it there was another sound, a tiny, uncertain, liquid sound that she could not understand…She listened as hard as she could. She uncovered her ear to listen and the cold did not bite her cheek. The dark was warmer. She put out her hand and felt only a coolness. The little sound that she heard was a trickling of water-drops. The eaves were dripping. Then she knew.
All photos taken with my Samsung Galaxy S4 & the VSCO Cam app.
