Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

Recently I have had this niggling desire to write.  It has been a niggling desire that I have hushed up with social media, Food Network, and Utz potato chips. If I am honest, I have been unmotivated to empower my writing self because I am afraid.  I am afraid that I do not have anything new or relevant to say.  Additionally I have realized that most of my obsessive thoughts spiral around my children, and, as they grow older, I do not feel as though I have permission to write publicly about their experiences.  Sharing an anecdote about the cute thing your three year old did at the park is completely different from venting about your fourteen year old’s friend drama.  (I was recently mortified when I read a blog in which a mother had written in detail about her daughter’s experience with puberty along with a self-congratulatory description of all the cute things she had done as a mother to make her daughter’s first period a “special celebration”.  Could you...

I have been stuggling this week.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I haven't even had enough "R" in me to struggle properly.  Thus, I stuggle.  Every year I stuggle right around this time as the days begin to get shorter.  It would appear that my brain and body truly need sunshine to function properly.  When the daily sunshine levels begin to decline, I feel as though a fog has settled over my brain.  All operations slow dramatically as my energy levels plummet.  I feel sad and overwhelmed.  This happens every year. I've tried slapping myself in the face and shouting, "Snap out of it!" a la Cher in Moonstruck , but that hasn't seemed to do the trick.  In the past spending early morning time in front of my old friend, the light therapy box and upping my intake of Omega 3 fish oils has been helpful in combating my seasonal depression.  Early in the morning I shockingly do not feel like standing in front of a blinding artificial light...

Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the sky, you know how I feel Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel... ...I'm Feeling Good!!

There was beautiful sunshine in Wales today despite the fact that there is an invisible cloud of Icelandic volcanic ash somewhere up in the stratosphere over our heads.  So all of us girls threw on our sun dresses and set out (with George, who opted not to wear a dress) to the Amelia Trust Farm in Barry.  We spent a little bit of time checking out the animals, including the lovely new baby lambs.  But we mostly enjoyed the garden and the forest trail (also knows as the Wild Piglet Trail). Lili was completely enchanted by the experience.  She was anxious to explore every leaf and stick as well as my shiny earrings.  I enjoyed vicariously experiencing her awe and curiosity.  To her EVERYTHING is new and worthy of exploration.  Typically for Lil, exploring involves grabbing the new item and chewing on it with her drooly, gummy mouth for as long as it remains pleasant.  Often we grown ups forget to notice all of the little, o...