CoffeeJitters

Parenting Rite of Passage

by Judy Schwartz Haley

I spent my daughter’s nap time pondering what I was going to do about my weekly photo post, when her chattering and giggles caught my attention. There’s nothing I love so much as the sound of her giggle’s. In fact, I grabbed my gratitude journal to make a note of how well she entertains herself during her quiet play time, and how much I love her giggles when this little face popped out of her room and into my view:

Oh, my, yes, she was proud of herself.

I’ve rubbed her down with olive oil a couple times, and scrubbed her face several times. But there’s still a hint of blue. Her hair and eyebrows are the worst; the color does not want to let go of her hair. Oh, yes, my little punk got it through her curls, too.

Since yesterday, so many of my friends have shared stories from when their kids did this as well. Did this ever happen to you?

WW linkup can be found on page 2.

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What are you looking for?

by Judy Schwartz Haley

I’ve written about my gratitude practice a few times lately, and one of the things it has most reinforced for me is that you find what you’re looking for. This video has been making it’s rounds of the internet lately, and for good reason. It’s lovely, and it’s inspiring. it’s worth the three minutes to watch.

Finding Love from hailey bartholomew on Vimeo.

What are you looking for?

We tiptoed through the tulips

by Judy Schwartz Haley

One of the most enduring and notable rites of spring around the Seattle area is the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The entire month of April is dedicated to all things tulip, and the valley is colorblocked in fields of red, yellow, pink and purple blooms.

As usual, we were a little late to the party this year, partly because of poor planning, and partly because I abhor crowds. We showed up the first week of May.

Most of the tulip fields were already plowed under to prepare for the next crop, but we still found plenty of beauty to go around.

What are your favorite signs of spring. Do you have any spring related annual traditions?

WW linky is on page 2.

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Each day brings a miracle

by Judy Schwartz Haley

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It’s just matter of paying attention to this miracle.”

~ Paulo Coelho

Living with a preschooler makes it easier to find miracles on a daily basis – she has not yet forgotten that everything is amazing.

Here, in the shade, tenacious droplets of light, some no larger than a quarter, fell on these flowers like little spotlights from heaven. I wouldn’t have noticed these flowers without my daughter’s influence.

She really wasn’t interested in the flowers at all, but she believed that this dark area under the tree would be the best place to find fallen leaves and twigs to make a nest for the birds.

It’s warmer these days, but still quite cool in the shade. Too cool for me. I would’ve found a warmer spot, but I was following my daughter around. Once she started digging for bugs, I knew we were going to be there for a while. I needed to find a way to entertain myself.

It wasn’t until I decided to find a way to enjoy the shade that I noticed the flowers.