We have had multiple transitions going on in our household this month ~ the very well documented arrival of Tilda, the arrival of two family members who are staying with us as they go through their own transition to Santa Monica from Boulder, the return to my home studio, and the change in venue of my home studio. My easel, painting supplies, and panels are all in a different room now, which is technically a guest bedroom. But the room has a lot more light than my "official" home studio and isn't used that often, so I decided it was time to see how it feels to work in a different part of my home, where there is no computer and I can leave whatever mess I make intact when I finish for the day.
Although I am excited about this change, and I feel giddy anytime I step into that room and see my easel next to a big expanse of windows, my time in there will be minimal for a while. The focus these days is on Tilda, my book, and my website, and in between those projects I still have to manage the usual array of household tasks. It sounds more hectic than it really is, and everyday I feel a little more settled than the day before with Tilda. She is teaching me so much ~ about patience, rest, laughter, and being totally present. In those instances when I want to hand her off to the first person that comes knocking at my door, imagining days far in the future when she won't have razor sharp puppy teeth, I stop and remind myself that she won't be this little for very long.
She still is so small. As fast as she's growing, and as big as her paws are (!) she is still so small.
Tilda is pulling me closer to the earth, to the day-to-day details of my life. I decided this past weekend that I would stay off the internet, thinking it would be a challenge. Instead it turned out to be the loveliest of gifts, for instead of perusing blogs and Twitter, I finished the book I was reading and played with Tilda, and soaked up a quiet weekend with my family. Already I'm having a hard time imagining what our life was like before she joined us.
“Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson