We recently launched this beautiful, functional, fancy, expensive new website; we love it; we are excited, BUT (there is always a but) one of the new features is a BLOG. A blog that I now feel the need to fill with words of wisdom. A blog that I have stewed over and thought about for a month now. You see, I love to read “other peoples” blogs. The fancy shiny kind with perfect pictures, perfect grammar, and witty commentary. So I have felt an overwhelming pressure to get this first post RIGHT. Whatever right may mean. Today I had an “ah ha” moment (you can thank Oprah for making up that phrase). It was a beautiful, illuminating, peaceful light bulb moment, and I’m super excited to share it with you all. That is what this blog thing should be all about right? So welcome to my little moments….. I hope you feel at home.
Bluebird has blessed us beyond belief. It is sort of a love hate relationship. It has stretched us thin, and challenged our patience, only to turn around and provide for our families, give our kiddos quality time together, and bring us joy. We thank our lucky stars for all the crafty ladies that love and support us. Today as I was busily trying to complete normal daily activities (However glamorous it might seem, a stay at home mom has plenty on her plate, but I think that is for another post) I got a chance to remember WHY we started Bluebird Lane.
I found myself with casseroles to finish and freeze, packing to do before our weekend trip, phone calls to return, accounts to set-up, boarding passes to print, laundry to fold, and a very tired and poopy 20 month old son. Poop always comes first, so we handled that, and then my sweet little man reluctantly laid down for a nice (hopefully long) nap. I finished up in the kitchen, cleaned what I could, and moved onto the laptop, tablet, and phone that seem to run my life and in turn run my business. From my chair I could glance out our back patio window and see the frost on the rockers and the blustery cold weather.
Normally I look outside and see the crepe myrtles I forgot to trim last spring, and the leaves that need raking, and the broken birdbath I need to replace this coming season. We have a modest home, and I do my best to keep up with the Jone’s (whomever they are) and keep it tidy and well-manicured. The responsibility of Bluebird along with other life hurdles have challenged my OCD tendency’s this year.
But today was different, today I looked out and noticed a flutter of activity in our yard. All those cosmetic items were drowned out by the momentary beauty of a single Blue-Jay digging for a hidden nut. That pesky squirrel must have put it there. I watched the blue jay succeed in finding his prize and fly off happily to a neighboring tree. I was hooked.
For the following hour I sat in-front of my sliding glass door, camera in hand. Simply watching the birds. It was mesmerizing. I love birds. I have loved them since I was a young child. The pressure of the day was gone and the simple joy of watching God’s creation took over. The Robins were plentiful all puffed up to ward off the cold, they came and went with no attention wasted to my movement at the window.
The Cardinals were playful and full of life as they had little tiffs over whose territory was whose. I’ve always admired how the female cardinal doesn’t get to wear the flashy red feathers, yet I’m sure she carries the load of responsibility for her perfectly built nest and sweet family of chic’s.
The vibrant red male Cardinal kept his distance as though he knew this was a moment for us girls.
As the Junco, one of my favorites, flew every which way and transferred from those overgrown crepe myrtles, to the fence, and then to the ground, it seemed that all the birds knew something exciting was about to happen. They were moving and shaking all throughout the neighbors trees.
I had a quick visit from a Downy Woodpecker, hence the blurry photo. A male Cardinal, a few Sparrows, A Tufted Titmouse, all those contented Robins, and even a quick witted squirrel passed through while I watched. They were all busily preparing as a chilly wind whispered through the air.
The Cardinals, Junco, Robins, and a sweet red headed beauty I’d never seen kept my attention as they moved in and out of my yard. Soft snowflake began to flutter from the sky and as the wind caught them they seemed to fly about as well.
It was a grand site, the sweet birdies and the snow.
Finally the tug of my daily chores won. The baby boy whose nap was quickly coming to a close, the laundry that needed folded and my desperate need of a shower interrupted my moment of solitude. Oh! I forgot to mention, I hadn’t gotten a shower in yet; another glamorous aspect of being a stay at home mommy! Those “life” things I always feel pressure from, pulled me up from my position in front of the window. I turned the camera off and removed the telescopic lens and felt sweet pleasure from the moments I got to spend escaping my responsibilities.
And then She arrived.
She was so beautiful, and sweet, stopping directly in front of my sliding glass door for only a moment, if only to say, “Hey! I’m here”. I smiled, and reached for my camera. I got one last shot of my feathered friends, this one out a ways on our fence.
Now, I know Bluebirds. I’ve spent most of my adult life taking a moment and a deep breathe when I see one. I know the more colorful Bluebird are actually the males. But you see, “She” isn’t a bird at all, but my beautiful loving sweet Grandmother who has been gone from this earth for nearly 20 years. “She” comes to visit me every time I see that vibrant blue swoosh of a Bluebird. My Grandmother loved Bluebirds and she cultivated that love in me. We set out bird boxes every year and watched the babies grow. She taught me to treasure those little glimpses into nature.
She visited me today, in the very last moments of my sweet break from life, she came to remind me that this IS LIFE. Watching the birds, enjoying the blustery wind in the trees, and loving my family with the deepest part of my heart. All that other stuff, the PERFECT blog post, the perfect photos, the worlds expectations of us, It can wait. The necessary things will get done in due time. But for now, my dear, just sit and watch the birds.