5 Things I Loved About Last Week #celebratelu 5/31/14

Ruth Ayres hosts a weekly celebration on her blog. Carrie isn’t the only one digging deep for a celebration post today. But that’s really the beauty of this weekly blog event. When I sat down this morning to consider what in the WORLD I would find to celebrate at the end of this very difficult week, I easily came up with more than 5 things–and I found cause to be grateful and celebrate in even the most difficult parts of my week.

1. This week was another parenting ultra-marathon. In the desert. In July. One of those events you read about in extreme sporting magazines and you just think wow, anyone who does that has to be CRAZY. It was a week for hard-core parents only. I am celebrating that my husband and I never once lost our tempers, raised our voices, or even so much as snapped at our son. We were brain-healing parents in a big way this week. (Now, can he be fixed for next week please?) In one of T’s rare moments of calm regulation, he told me, “You really are a good mom to me.” Don’t I know it, kid! And DUH! But I didn’t say that. I mustered my most gracious voice and said, “Thank you so much. That means a lot to me.” And it actually does.

2. The garden! I finished weeding my mammoth perennial bed and got started in earnest on the even-more-mammoth roadside “bed” that’s mostly scrub growth and weeds but does have a few pretty spots of poppies and iris. And many more spring bloomers opened this week:

3. I managed to find a lot of writing time this week. My husband took my son to a movie, while I sat for 2+ hours in a coffee shop, scribbling in my notebook. And there was lots of time spent in my favorite warm-weather spot, notebook in hand:

4. I published my 300th blog post! It was a post that makes me want to spend too much money on eBay, buying lots of Parents Magazine Press picture books from the 1960s and 1970s.

5. Is there ever a Saturday when cats shouldn’t be celebrated? (Short answer: no.) Frances provided most excellent companionship and preciousness all week.

Frances never looks cranky in real life, but she often looks cranky in photos.

Roxy wondering for the ten millionth time why she can’t be a kitty too.

Posted

May 31, 2014

celebrate

Elisabeth Ellington

Tags:

#celebratelu, blog milestone, cats, garden, parenting

Comments

13 responses to “5 Things I Loved About Last Week #celebratelu 5/31/14”

Linda Baie

May 31, 2014

Loved every bit of this, from strong parents to sweet cats, Elisabeth. Love seeing the pretty flowers too. Have a great rest of the weekend!

Reply
1. Elisabeth Ellington
  
  June 1, 2014
  
  Thanks, Linda! We just got a downpour, which the garden loves. We’ve been lucky so far–lots of rain and no hail!
  
  Reply
Leigh Anne

June 1, 2014

Why is parenting so hard sometimes? We just had a heart-to-heart talk with out son – tough times! I love your perennial bed. We live in a “log-cabiny” type of home and that is how I want the front of our house to look! But it doesn’t – maybe it has something to do with the fact that I don’t like to pull weeds! Wow! 300th post is something to celebrate! I hope to gain some ground this summer. This will be my first full summer as a blogger so keeping my fingers crossed that I can write something worth reading! Have a great Sunday!

Reply
1. Elisabeth Ellington
  
  June 1, 2014
  
  Gardening so often does seem to be more about weed pulling than anything else… And it’s a challenge to find time for gardening in the middle of everything else I want to make time for. But it’s a good meditative activity for me. I’m hoping to be a little more organized with my blogging for summer and make sure I post quality content on Thursdays and Fridays–days I often skip. I have a lot of ideas, but blog posts take me FOREVER to write. Wish I could find a way to streamline it! Good luck with your goals for summer.
  
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Michele

June 1, 2014

This weekly post does make us really be reflective and find, even on those really tough weeks, those good moments that have been folded in between. I’m glad you were able to find more than you thought you would!

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1. Elisabeth Ellington
  
  June 1, 2014
  
  Thanks, Michele! Even the tough weeks are full of so many good moments that are all too easy to overlook.
  
  Reply
carriegelson

June 1, 2014

Beautiful garden. I love it! Well done with all of that weeding. Congratulations on your parenting marathon – in the July desert! Hang in. Best, best, best in this parenting journey.

Reply
1. Elisabeth Ellington
  
  June 1, 2014
  
  One way I stay regulated when my son is out of control is writing. I carry my notebook around and write during lulls in the crazy. I got 6 pages written yesterday! Was planning to spend the afternoon in my garden today, but it’s currently storming. Pretty soon we will be in our usual summer drought, so I am grateful for rain while we have it. Thanks for the encouraging words!
  
  Reply
Crystal

June 2, 2014

Congrats on your parenting strength and patience! Your garden looks fabulous. I am waiting until school gets out to really tackle our weeds, but I have my eye on them. Yay for writing!

Reply
1. Elisabeth Ellington
  
  June 2, 2014
  
  Thanks, Crystal! It’s always hard for me to get started with the weeding, so I have to set the timer and work in thirty-minute chunks until I build a little more gardening stamina. It’s really a pleasure to have a beautiful garden, though. And the better it looks, the more motivated I am to work in it!
  
  Reply
Ramona

June 2, 2014

Love the pics of the glads in your yard, your favorite warm weather writing spot, and of course, her highness, Frances. Glad you kept your cool during a tough parenting week. Your words took me back a few years . . . remember, this too shall pass!

Reply
1. Elisabeth Ellington
  
  June 2, 2014
  
  Frances would most definitely agree with your description, Ramona! No cat has ever been so spoiled…. Thanks for the encouraging words about parenting. It certainly can be tough!
  
  Reply
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