We Love the Park!

There's nothing like a good park. Slides, swings, it's just pure fun.

So much to take in.

And she's off!

Apparently wood chips are very interesting.



Mama, stop taking pictures!

Whoo hoo!

Yaaay!

We love fall.

Life

Whoops! How did a whole week go by and I didn't write one word on the old blog?! It was a somewhat busy week, but I guess I've just been absorbed with this and that. The fall is finally here and we're loving it. Of course, we are also all a little sniffly (is it bad that we discovered baby cold medicine and that I'm maybe exaggerating Seeley's cold so we can use it to knock her out?) I've been quite busy starting several projects and activities that I'm really excited about.

Since I quite working (but plan to resume a career of teaching and writing) I've been really eager to stay involved with the world of education. Recently, I came across the ASPIRE program and decided to get involved. It's very similar to the Upward Bound program I grew up with and worked for in Montana. So last week I began training to become a volunteer advisor. The plan is to meet with three students one day a week and help them plan and prepare for college. Should be fun.

My other great passion is writing poetry and I've recently joined The Poets Studio at The Attic. I love it so far. I had to send work in and get accepted into the class and I'm so happy I did because the work of the other poets is fantastic and will keep me on my game. I definitely need a workshop environment to force me to find the time to write.

Other than that, I've been scrapbooking and reading. Scrapbooking sounds like such a mom thing to do, but it's awesome. I have about 2,000 pictures of Seeley so I have to put them somewhere! Sooooo, this post is all about me, but I figured there's only so much people want to hear about Seeley crawling and knocking things over and such :)


Wonderful poems by the new Poet Laureate Natasha Trethway. She is amazing at interweaving the autobiographical with the historical. Seriously worth checking her out.

 Another great writer, Joyce Johnson, recounts in her memoir her time with Jack Kerouac and other Beat writers and the sexism that often inhibited women Beat artists from being recognized.

"Storytime" at the library for one and two year olds. Basically, it's a big room full of bubbles and toys. Seeley loved it!

30 Days: Goodbye to My Something-Month Old

Bring it on year two!
 

October 13th is 30 days away. Thirty days until we celebrate Seeley's first birthday. How do I almost have a one year old? How was this simultaneously the longest and fastest year of my life? I have been an emotional rollercoaster lately; mostly because she's growing so fast and, honestly, I'm so happy to put a check mark on the whole "first year as new parents" thing! Some things I'll miss, some things I won't. I can't wait to see what's coming next (terrible twos? Screaming toddlers? Not myyyy child ;))

Things I'll miss:

• Breastfeeding: I know. Haven't I been talking about how time consuming and overwhelming and irritating it can be? Well, yes, and it is at times. But then there are those times where you feel overwhelmed with how connected you are with this little person and how needed you are. It creates those moments where you have to stop and just be. And now that those moments aren't happening so much, of course, I miss them.
• Holding: I can hold her now, sure, but my back is a mess and the squirmy, leg-kicking ball of energy she has become does not mix well with lasting embraces. I look at pictures of when she was teeny tiny and the one thing I miss the most is that little head on my shoulder and that little swaddled bundle I could carry around.

Things I won't:

• Breastfeeding: Because, as you know, it can be very time consuming, overwhelming and irritating.
• Diapers: Uggh. They are gross. But potty training is gonna be gross too. Guess there's no winning when you're dealing with someone else's waste.
• Teething: The drooling, the lack of sleep, the seeing your child in pain. She went through so much to get those little teeth. Now let the adventures begin of all the terrifying and hilarious ways she will lose all those baby teeth (bag of rocks to the face? A bite of hard food?)

Things I look foward to:

• Talking: She is quite the animated babbler and loves to use her limited vocabulary ("mama", "papa", "hi"). I can't wait to hear what else she has to say. Maybe Wes and I should watch the swearing?
• Walking: I may regret this.
• Doing stuff: Drawing, playing at the park (now we just crawl, swing, and attempt to eat grass at the park) doing little crafts. Having her able to do more should make the days a little more exciting.

Basically, what I'll miss is...everything and what I most look foward to is...everything.

Weekend VIDEO! (Baby on a Balance Bike)

Seeley isn't quite big enough to ride the balance bike she was given by my cousin Brian,my Uncle John and Shanti, but she loves to stand on it and hold the handle bars while we zoom around the house. Just one of the many things we love to do now that she's a big girl!(p.s. apologies for the video being sideways, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it)

DSCN1833 from tanya dickinson on Vimeo.

Grandpa

September 3rd was my grandpa's birthday as well as the day he died. He was a huge part of my life and even though he died when I was only 10 or 11, I miss him and think about him all the time. This poem is for him.

Mother’s Day and you appeared behind the flowers

Fragrant and standing tall again.

I took your hands

 So large and wrinkled

A lesson in masculinity.

 

And in them I felt your hanky

An off white cloth catching me softly.

Your newspaper shook

And swallowed your top half.

We went on one last car ride

And then another

And I knew we circled the world.

I stole a sip of beer and let out your tooth-filled laugh

And the world was as good as you.

 

The hospital silenced you

Pulled you away piece by piece.

You tended roses and gave me the dead ones to bring back to life

Through pure appreciation.

 

When your petals dropped I gave them back to you.

 

It took you a year to pass.

My sister and I were brought in to say

Goodbye, it’s okay to go,

Goodbye.

You reached into your pocket to give us money

And your hands slid uselessly down the side of your gown.

Goodbye to the emaciation, the tubes, the smell

 But then in the driveway

In the rain

Wait

Wait.

 

You squeezed my hand at the end.

Even though a date was chosen (your birthday)

There was still shrieking, still disbelief.

Knowing doesn’t help.

 

My daughter has your eyes

Cool, deep grey and blue.

The eyes of roses and car rides

Of protection and infinity.

 

I brought you back.