Things I Love (September 2024 Edition)

seasons changing, sensory sidewalks, swirling leaves, analog habits

The seasons have changed. This is something that I love in the natural world, and I am growing to appreciate as a metaphor for my real life. I am the mother of nine children, ages 6 months (how can this sweet baby already be half a year old???) to 16 years. We are entering into unknown territory (which could basically be the whole definition of parenting in general, I suppose…) but the questions seem bigger and the future seems less clear. I keep coming back to this prayer: God, show us what we are supposed to do today.

As a mother, I am more patient than I used to be, but less energetic. It makes me happy that some of the early fun ideas I had when the older kids were young have caught on, and they have taken on the traditions as their own. Two weeks ago, one of my older daughters took it upon herself to plan a party for the first day of fall. She made a giant invitation and put it on the fridge, and then invited her younger sisters to her room several evenings to work on costumes and decorations. The day before the party, she made homemade whole-grain biscuits and a beautiful chocolate cake, and she went to the store and picked out little presents for all of us, being sure to include her younger sisters in the shopping. On the day of the party, we set the table with all of the yummy things, the presents, and the decorations. And I was amazed that I had done so little to make this special day happen. This is one of the surprises of having older children. They are so full of good ideas, and they are actually capable of bringing them to fruition. The memory of this day is an encouragement to me, as I sit in the space of motherhood between babies and children who are starting to think and dream of the world beyond this home. Sometimes, I feel I have so little time to give myself to each one of my children in the way I desire. I am often aware of ways that I am falling short of being present with each, individual child in different seasons of my life. I have to think about it—who needs me most right now?—and adjust a free measure of time accordingly. But in spite of sometimes feeling, as Bilbo puts it, “like butter scraped over too much bread,” I see something beautiful happening. My children don’t only have me, but they also have one another. They don’t need me every single moment. Nor do they want me every single moment. This is one of the unexpected blessings about having a large family—we help, encourage, teach, and influence one another as we share life together in this home. It is beautiful.

Here are some more things I am loving right now:

Wind—Why does it just stir something up in me? Yesterday, I saw the it pick up a little pile of leaves and start swirling them around in a circle. It was absolutely a dance. There is something so refreshing and inspiring about the wind.

Yorkshire Tea (Red Label)—I have had Yorkshire Gold, which is more expensive and most tea lovers seem to prefer. But there is something about this flavor profile that I absolutely love. I think it is my favorite black tea that I have had in many years, and I plan on keeping it around. It has notes of molasses that hit me just right, especially at this time of the year.

Glow Kids: Ok, I honestly can’t use the word love to describe this book. It is really good, and it feels very important, but it was a hard read for me, because it deals with a lot of hard topics regarding the impact that screens (especially addicting forms like video games and social media) are having on our children. Even though we tend to average low on screen side for a typical American family, this book has been helping me to make some changes to the way we use screens in our home. It is eye-opening and full of very thoughtful, well-documented information, and is a great starting point if your family is too deep into screen-use and you need help getting out.

Alarm Clock: I bought a real one so that we don’t have to use our phone alarms anymore. There is something strangely comforting to me about having an analog tool like this beside my bed, knowing that our cell phones are in another room. This has helped me to set better limits for myself. If the phone isn’t in my room, I don’t think about using it. It is a way of giving my mind some space before going to bed and first thing in the morning when I wake up before engaging with the rest of the world. I am finding this a very healthy practice. I also purchased a white noise machine, since I have been using the White Noise app to sleep by for the last decade or more. Finding little ways to depend less on my phone feels healthy, and it is freeing up more space in my mind to think about the things I choose to think about, instead of being tossed about by algorithms that want to hold me there so they can sell me things. I like the idea of reintroducing some analog habits back into my life.

This 1000 Hours Outside Podcast Episode with Carlos Whitaker, who one day looked at his screentime app and realized he was spending an average of seven hours a day looking at his phone, did the math, and realized that at this rate, by the end of his life, he would spend 10 years on his phone. He decided to make changes to live 10 years longer. This interview is amazing and inspiring. Highly recommend.

Sidewalk Chalk Sensory Path: At the fall party, we made a little path with some sidewalk chalk (one of the gifts we got). The kids played on the trail and added to it for a couple of hours. I thought I would share the video with you so you could take the path with us.

Making Progress on Big Projects: I have finished the first chapters of my new book, Journaling Your Way to the Sacred Everyday, an interactive journaling course that I am very excited to finally be putting into book form. I am going to be posting one chapter a month until the book is finished for my paid subscribers, with a couple of live online journaling meetups for anyone who wants to share some thoughts over open journals and cups of tea… I would love to meet you there. You can start the book along with us now by becoming a paid subscriber here or on Patreon.

Another big project I’m working on is putting our music on Spotify. We currently have two albums there:

I have just uploaded a 5-song album called 4 and 20 blackbirds that we released back in 2006, and hopefully I did everything right and that it will be available in the next couple of weeks. I will keep you posted!

Over the next few months, I will be sharing more music from Randy and myself—some new, some old. And I absolutely cannot wait to introduce you to Rosie’s beautiful songs. She is working on an album of her own music, and I am pretty much counting down the days till I can hit play on my stereo and drive down the highway listening to her songs. Especially if it is a rainy day.

These are some of the things I love.

Thank you for reading this letter. I hope it helps you to think about the things in your own life that are drawing you into the wonder and beauty of this sacred everyday life. Little things can usher us into the presence of God. They can help us build momentary sanctuaries to worship and attend his beauty.

Sending love, and little swirls of dancing leaves,

Mackenzie