The Best Thing I Ever Did

Almost a year to the day and I finally have something to say.

I have the ultimate excuse though.

Clearly, I have been busy.

Last month, we were pleased to welcome the newest, and most welcome, edition to our messy, loving, and occasionally fraught household.

We have a daughter.  I have a daughter.  I'm not biased or anything but clearly she's perfect in every way and obviously superior to all other babies.  Apparently becoming a mother also means you become insufferable.  Just don't follow me on Instagram.

Jesus-I'm responsible now.

I took a year off from blogging and all sorts of other extraneous things because I wanted-actually needed-to focus all my attention on my other great undertaking.  I decided tackling my first year as a teacher while undergoing my first pregnancy was challenge enough.  This was probably not also the year to delve deeper into couture sewing techniques, or teaching myself embroidery, or learning a foreign language. or trying to alter patterns that will not cooperate.  I've learned restraint.

I successfully completed my first year with nothing but ideas, enthusiasm, nerves, and excitement for the year ahead.

I successfully grew and delivered a human being with the mental, emotional, and physical strength of my body.  She is my masterwork-the best thing I ever did.  Seriously.

Life is still hard.  Still challenging.  Still bleak and depressing at times.  Still messy.  Still unorganized . . . . but we made it.

We made it.

Right Now I'm Reading . . . .

This post contains affiliate links.

I read multiple books at a time.  I generally have anywhere from 15-30 books checked out from my library at a time.  My husband is a little amazed by that.  He likes to focus on one or maybe two books at a time.  I like a little variety-especially if some of my books are nonfiction works.  Right now I am reading, slowly for me, Buddhism For Beginners by Thubten Chodron.

I am reading this book slowly-maybe a chapter a day.  It is almost dialogue style.  Essentially, Chodron has collected many common questions about various aspects of Buddhism and answers them in a clear, accessible fashion.

"Buddhism talks about accepting our suffering and also about feeing ourselves from suffering.  Are these contradictory? 

No.  Accepting our difficulties doesn't mean becoming apathetic and resigned to suffering.  Rather, our experience at a particular moment--whatever it is--is the reality of that moment.  When we refuse to accept this, we find ourselves in conflict with reality.  On the other hand, we can accept our present unhappiness and still work to free ourselves from future unsatisfactory experiences.  For example, if we accept the transient nature of our world, we will cease trying to control things that, by their nature are out of our control.  We will be at peace with whatever life presents and simultaneously work to benefit others with an altruistic aspiration that appreciates every being's potential to transcend suffering and become enlightened."

Chodron, 42-43