Spring into Changes

It always seems like this time of year. The beginning of June that bring on the most changes. Call it the pollen in the air or maybe a spring itch but it's refreshing. I made a huge decision, one that I didn't even think I would make. It came about with a huge pro and cons list and much personal struggle. 

A couple of posts ago I mentioned how my days off were only Wednesday and Sunday - and that just didn't seem like enough. Enough time with my children, who grow with every blink. Stress was building and sitting on my shoulders every night I came home. I found myself walking in the door frustrated and not being able to leave my day job where it belonged.

An opportunity came to work at a place that would give me 4 days off in a row, less hours, a pay cut for myself (but a large raise for my husband was in the very near future), and a night time shift. I passed it down. It didn't have a title or prestige that my current job had and the atmosphere was one I'm not use to. Plus I didn't want to go backwards in pay. Like everything that is meant to be, it came back to me again - on a day that I cried at work.

For a moment I actually thought about turning it down again. 

Was a title worth more than my happiness? That small difference in pay worth more than my family? Had I really changed that much? 

I woke up and took it! 

Now there are plans for beach days, diving deeper into pottery, more pictures to be taken, and a smile again.

Planned By Him

I sunk my toes in the sand, heard stories about bohemian artists, and had the sea breeze in my hair all because my husband planned it. 

There's not much I don't plan. What to eat for dinner, where to go, what needs to be done when, and quite frankly it's tiresome. I've never been an all mapped out person. Random trips that happen on a whims notice - that's me. They feel like magic moments. The ones where you get to escape without a care or thought to think about, not knowing what you might discover along the way.

We were suppose to go to the largest flea market in the area this Wednesday, that was the plan. He schedule his day off, I cleared my day off - but sometimes as much as you plan, things happen you don't expect. 

Then he planned it all. A day just for me. He took me to the Florence Griswold Museum, where there is painted door panels, and stories that made me wish I was part of the art colony started there.We ate lunch at a nearby cafe we had never been to. I showed him my secret spot I would sometimes drive to when I worked in the area and had gotten there a little too soon. 

Then we combed the beach with our shoes in our hands and feet splashing in the tide. Finding sea glass, shells, and driftwood pieces for an art mobile I'm working on. 

It was the best day I've never planned.  

* PS - I think our little aspiring artist Miss Aries will have her own art colony one day. She had one of her art pieces picked to be in school district wide art show. We couldn't be more proud! 

Wednesday Nights

I have the weirdest days off, honestly. Sundays and Wednesdays. Sometimes it feels like I never leave my day job. But it all works schedule wise. 

This year I promised myself to carve out a sliver of time that was just for me, get back to blogging, art, and to try new things. Pottery was at the top of my list. So every Wednesday night I go to pottery class. It was intimidating at first. My first real art class as an adult. 

Throwing the clay, pulling up the walls, getting dirty. It's a much harder than the potters of the art world lead you to believe. My first couple of pieces are the size of toothpick holders and possibly a wonky personal sized gravy boat. 

But this one class was a turning point. Hovering over the wheel, trying to get my lump of clay to go more vertical, I could hear myself in my head saying "just make a bowl already". Always being busy, in a rush, and more than likely the mom of three littles - was making me actually try to just hurry up the process, and well pressure the clay into something. The whole point of the class was to relax, slow down a bit.  

What the potters have that I didn't was patience. 

I'm slowly getting better. My second batch of pieces produced a nice bowl, a couple of planters, and a mug. The whole process really makes you appreciate all the pottery pieces you've ever owned and took for granted how they were made. 

Celebration of Spring

We marked spring on our calendars and have been patiently awaiting it's arrival and the new beginnings it brings. 

The crocus's we planted last fall, sprung up from the grown in lovely shades of white, yellows, and purple. Odyn picked the daffodils in our yard and handed them out to the neighborhood girls. Aries talked with the butterflies, whispering to them promises, while Damien helped me clean up the old leaves still left in our yard.

On Easter we went to my mom's for a quick lunch before hubby had to go to work. It will be the last celebration in the farmhouse before it goes on the market this spring. A new beginning for my mom and her husband.

Beltane has begun in full swing. May day is right around the corner. The hopes of warmer days and longer nights.

*Farmhouse now on the market - click here if you want to see more info.