We had a playdate at our friend Elizabeth's house today. She's the mom. I love her house. It's one of the old Portland homes that just has such character aka lots of work that has been put (and still needs to be put) into it. It's great.
It was perfect. There were five of us total. The kids were having such a blast. Jacob was just running back and forth with his buddy Isaac. It was fantastic. The backyard was really nicely set up for this because the kids had a little run going on and we were at a table a little out of the way. Perfect. We got to hang out, talk, listen, snack. Sigh. What pleasure. And the weather was just fantastic too. I have to say - it's been so great getting to know all these great women and their kids over the past year. The group has really come together and grown, and I feel very special to be a part of that transformation. We are all a bit spread out (especially us) but it helps so much to have other moms with kids the same age to talk to and just be with. Knowing I'm not alone in a visceral way is necessary.
Of course, this great experience also made me feel a bit frustrated when I got home because of my dislike for our house these days. Hmm.... still not sure what to do about that one. There are definitely benefits to living here. But also drawbacks. Figuring out what else to do is overwhelming and unclear based on what we are doing or not doing or don't know that we're going to be doing. Deep breath. Patience. It won't be forever. Something will shift eventually.
Meanwhile, I borrowed a book from Karen called The Family Dinner. Figured I'd use it to try and motivate myself again on cooking. It is helping. The premise is the importance of mealtimes (namely dinner) and sitting together every night and making it a ritual. There are lots of great things that come out of this: better health, more conversation, better coping skills, less drug/alcohol abuse from teens. All this makes sense and something that, until recently, we haven't had to study in order to know and do. Now, with the age of fast food and fast schedules it's not so common for everyone to sit together. I remember eating together most of my life growing up. And I remember playing games and having some great conversations during and after the meal.
Ironically, Fraser worked late tonight so it was just Jacob and me. BUT... we had a lovely time at the table together. It's a start. And maybe the beginning of more motivation for me.
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