There is something so serene about the evening waters reflecting a sunset sky.
It looks so magical, peaceful, beautiful.
Topping it off is the chimney on the left, blowing up smoke.
Winter is on its way, but gee aren’t these nights grand. 😍
In life, most things can be fixed with –
Sleep
Food
Coffee
A change of scenery
A hug
A good talk
Shower/Bath
Ahh, speaking of water…
I was feeling crappy this morning… but look, if this view here can’t make you feel better, you’re in trouble.
I stood in front of this view this morning, breathing in and out, and I gotta tell you, I was feeling a whole lotta good. 🙏😍
Hello Pinot, my old friend.
So I opened this lovely bottle tonight, and it was nice to just sip on something and know it was the end of the week. 🙏
Also Hubbie and I have been under the weather a bit PLUS not getting enough sleep due to a little boy, so I don’t really want to be drinking a lot, only for it to catch up to me in a bad way later.
Little by little, sip by sip.
Step by step.
And because I feel like it, here’s tonight’s sun setting for good measure. 🥰
Look at this piece of beauty.
I caught this gorgeous sunset tonight.
I’ve spent so much of the past year looking inwards at my home, my family, myself, that I’ve honestly forgotten about the world, people and environment around me.
It’s something that was apparent this morning after another horrible night’s sleep. I get so awfully down on myself and frustrated, sad and depressed, that I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever feel normal or happy again.
In these moments I fall into an internal funk.
But then there’ll be a change. Baby boy has a great nap, wakes refreshed, or is smiling happily after some food, and I’m reminded that bad moments don’t last forever. They don’t even last all day, even though the baby phase seems awfully littered with too many of them.
But this sunset reminds me of the bigger picture. Of what’s out there waiting for me. I haven’t looked for a sunset often in the last 12 months, but I feel like my gaze heads outwards a bit more nowadays than it has been…
I hope I’m starting to remember everything else, and that I can unhinge myself from looking too deeply at these long and difficult days, and instead move towards the views out the window… reframe… think of perspectives. ❤
Baby boy is officially 1. 💙🥰🙏🥳
I was holding him and reminiscing as the time ticked by in the early afternoon to the time he was born, and I remember giving that final push, and then the obstetrician, who had told me all along “you’re gonna tell us what the baby is” (because we were keeping the gender a surprise) asked me “SmikG, SmikG, what is it? What is it?”
And he had to repeat himself because I was over it! I wanted baby to come out, and I was tired, so tired from everything, and I was almost squinting as he was asking me…
I looked down, and I stared, a little in disbelief (there’s that term again) and I said “boy?”
With a question mark, because, was I really seeing what I was seeing? 🤣
And the obstet went “Yes!”
And I was reliving all of this in my mind today, smiling and holding baby boy, breaking out into tears from time to time, hugging and kissing him every chance I got, just so grateful to have reached the 1 year mark.
1 year! I can hardly believe it. With the constant challenges we’ve faced the last year, it felt like the longest time, every time I imagined him turning 1…
And yet here we are. I’ve made it, we’ve made it, and I know that this doesn’t mean the journey is over… why, it’s only just begun! But the hardest year, in many ways, has passed us by. 🙏
We celebrated simply at home. Hugs, walks around the house. A rose has recently sprung up in the front yard, and it’s timely to have done so at this point in time… so beautiful and sweet, a signifier of the most beautiful things in our life.
And then in the evening we went out for dinner. It was quick, it was yum, and we had a beautiful view to match.
Our outlook is bright, and I am so very grateful. 🙏💖
May our baby boy be forever happy and healthy. Thank you for choosing us sweetheart, and in your Dad’s words…
“What took you so long?” 🤣
I struggled with this fact today, but it is true: you don’t need to be somewhere, to enjoy the sunshine.
For example, I was sick. Today is probably the peak day of being sick, I hope anyway, and I hope that tomorrow is better. But I was pining and pining after the beach, gazing at the water from our windows, the deck, the balcony… I was so incredibly sad, feeling like, ‘out of all the random warm days this city bestows on us, why did it have to be so warm when I am sick?’
But, here’s the thing. You can actually enjoy the sunshine wherever you are. Even at home.
Shock horror. I know.
We filled up the shell pool, which was part of baby boy’s Christmas present, and proceeded to try pop his legs in…
He immediately cried. He did not like his legs getting dunked in without being asked. 🤣
And you know what, that makes sense. No one would like to be forced into something against their will, no matter how much fun the other person says it is!
Baby girl went in the pool, and we let baby boy explore… touching the edges, the water in puddles on the deck, then the water inside the pool… about 5-10 minutes passed, and he was climbing over, trying to get in!
And that’s how we got to here:
The best part of my day. Watching these gorgeous kids play. 🥰
And I now know how to proceed with him at the beach.
Plonk him on a towel, and just let him be. 💖
I don’t spend a lot of time on our balcony lately, nor do I get a chance to just stare out our windows at the watery horizon beyond.
And this week is a hectic week for us, the week leading up to baby boy’s christening. Things are crazy busy with an 11 month-old and10 year-old, without throwing a special once-in-a-lifetime event like this in the mix (because whereas other things happen time and time again in a lifetime, a baby is christened only once, you see).
So it wouldn’t surprise you that I have been trying to pack up Christmas stuff for over a week now. 🤣 I always wait until after Orthodox Christmas, but I have waited extra (accidentally, lol) and today I finally got everything packed up and away, yay!
One of the last things to go was the outdoor lighting. I have lights hanging off the balcony, and following dinner I went upstairs to sit on the planks and de-thread them from the balcony wire.
Baby girl, Hubbie and baby boy joined me there, and were even talking to me from ground level below. They were pointing out the water, the sky, the sun reflecting off the water… even though I was busy busy busy, I stopped, for only a second.
It sure was beautiful.
And no, I have no picture, (I was too busy, remember) the picture is in my mind. A partly cloudy/sunny day, the sun directly shining on the water, summer in the air, and ease all around.
I love this place. I will always try and enjoy it, even when I’m crazy busy like today.🙏🌅
These are the days I’ve come to enjoy.
They are easy, they are simple. They usually involve a lot of routine, but they are GOLD.
A car morning drive for baby boy.
Parked by the water views for his nap.
A spot of grocery shopping with the kids, then coffee/milkshake and scones with my baby girl as baby boy munches on bread and apple. 😁💙💖
Relaxing at home, catching up on odd jobs.
Playing ball with baby girl in the afternoon.
Wrestling with baby boy on the couch before bedtime.
Eating dinner together as a fam.
Sharing music with Hubbie.
Relaxing on the couch at the end of the night – sipping tea alongside baby girl and commenting, “ahh it’s good.”
It’s the simple things, it’s the best things. 🙏🥰
I like hitting the pavement when it’s a sunny day. 🌞
Not only is there a purpose – getting baby boy to sleep for his first nap of the day – but I get out, get amongst nature, stay in my neighbourhood, get more, and more, and more familiar with all the houses and people and stuff…
And then there’s this:
I just love that I see the water as I start to round the corner home. I know I see it on the daily, but every so often on days like this, I pinch myself, and thank God for the beautiful place in which I live. 🙏🌅
carcrashgratitude 