A few days ago we went to the ROOTS rendezvous, a little gathering spot in the forest not too far from here.  There were lots of twenty somethings living very freely with a lot to offer this crazy world, lots of wild children growing up dirty and happy, and lots of incredibly talented and knowledgable individuals reminding the rest of us how useful our hands are, and how much this earth can offer us in the most basic and simplest of ways.  I took zero pictures while there.  It appears juggling a baby while sewing a pair of shoes and supervising two boys making a friction fire is enough work for one gal.  What I did do is store up pounds of inspiration, and a lot of comfort in the company of like-minded people.

Last night, the (relatively speaking) local newspaper called me up to ask about the weekend.  Not feeling very news-worthy and with little brain power left, I stuttered and ummmed and mostly repeated her questions subtracting the question marks at the end.  It was laughable.  But afterwards, when I finally sunk my ears low under the hot water of a much-needed bath, my mind drifted to the why’s of taking three young children to an event such as this.

We did it because we want to give our boys a chance to notice; To have the time to sit and watch a stick twist into a spark and become a fire.  We want them to have a chance to grow patience and persistence, to find a skill they truly love, and become experts at it.  We hope they see that they can co-exist with this beautiful world that is raising them as much as we are.  Even more specifically, we want them to feel the cold air of the early morning in their nose rather than the head ache inducing fluorescents of a cold building.  We want to let them choose their own path, giving them a chance to be free from the “no’s” that surround them so often.  We want them to feel the itch to go outdoors and be able to scratch it.  Our hope is for them to be emboldened by this breath-taking and complicated earth.

Lately I have felt the pressure of returning to the productive days of my past; The ones where I saw a finished product at the end of the day; a clean house perhaps, an elaborate meal, or a time-consuming loaf of bread.  I am trying to settle into this ever holding twelve pounds mama that has an endless string of why’s to answer all the while trying to produce more “yes’s”  life that I am leading right now, with knowledge that this is in fact my great task.

This.  is.