Oy!

This girl of mine! She knows exactly where she's going and makes no apologies for rallying anyone and everyone around her to help her get there. For one of very few words she is quite the communicator, mustering up all her energy into the power of the pointed finger, the emphatic head nod and more often than I would like, the disgruntled grunt. Heaven help us when she actually learns to talk!

Feasting

There's been much feasting going on around here in the last few days. Lots of time spent with family relaxing and enjoying that quiet time between Christmas and New Year. Sleep-ins, trips to the farm, a bit of kangaroo spotting and for one little girl, an opportunity to watch TV.  And although I'm very glad to have 2012 behind us there's a small part of me that wishes the quiet could continue just a few more days before everything starts back up again in 2013. 

quiet surprises

Much to the annoyance of my mother, M and I aren’t married. We kind of skipped over that bit and got down to the business of being a family. I wasn't particularly opposed to the idea of marriage, in fact I really quite liked the idea, it's just that we never really got around to it and given that neither of us are particularly religious and civil law is really quite open about these kinds of things, it just didn't seem like it needed to be at the top of our priority lists. But a couple of nights ago we went someway to easing my mother’s angst.  On a picnic rug, watching the sunset over the Melbourne skyline Matthias asked me to marry him. A very nice bottle of Champagne and a ring took part in the merriment. Afterwards we celebrated at a fancy restaurant where they call you 'Madam' and 'Sir' and we woke my mother up to tell her the news (she was pleased).

There are still quite a few decisions to be made before we actually marry - deciding the when and the where being chief among them.  And by where I mean the continent and country, rather than backyard or vineyard. So far Austria and Australia are favourites but Boston is also a possibility although the idea of organising an event from the other side of the world with no one “on the ground” to be the go-to person kind of does my head in.

*Picture taken with my smartphone just after... aren't camera phones awesome!?!

Water fight

Around these parts the seasons have definitely shifted in favour of the sun.  In amongst the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas I am trying to stop and enjoy the small things; the first of the summer berries, a cool breeze on my neck at the end the day and the thrill of the first (of many) water fights shared between cousins up at my parents farm. Oh yes, I have a feeling that this summer is going to be grand.

Growing

For the kickass women of the world.

Those that are, and those that are growing up to be.

The daughters. The mothers. The sisters.

The fribblings – friends like siblings.

The wives, The girlfriends.

The aunts. The nieces.

The grand-somethings.

The young uns. The teens.

The women in your life.

Who love, lose, cry.

Laugh, heal, thrive.

Nurture. Create.

You.Are.Amazing.

As. You.are

Stronger than you know.

More beautiful than you think.

Worthier than you believe.

More loved than you can ever imagine.

Passionate above making a difference.

Fioery when protecting those you love.

Learning. Growing, Not alone.

Warm. Giving. Generous.

Quirky, Sexy, Funny. Smart.

Flawed. Whole. Scared. Brave.

And so, so, so. much.more

Be Strong. Be Confident. Be You.

~Copyright: Tia Sparkles Singh, 2011

There might be a bit more of that kind of stuff around here. Hope you don’t mind. Mothering a daughter has brought out the feisty woman-lover in me. And for the record, it’s not that I don’t love men. I do. I love them to bits actually. But girls, we have so much work to do in the learning and self-loving to make sure we etch out a space in this world to talk about how we want things to be. 

This is my beginning.

Running

This morning I woke up and went for a run. Just like that. Well, actually, it wasn’t just like that, because I haven’t run in almost 2 years and there will be aches and pains tomorrow and a few little blisters on unsuspecting toes but the important thing is that I ran. I put on my runners, turned on the tunes and shuffled out the door. It felt surprisingly good. For half an hour or so I forgot that I was tired, that our house needed vacuuming and that I hated my job and I just ran. Huffed and puffed my way around Royal Park, watched the sunrise over the city (my city!) and felt the prickling heat of what was to be a scorching summer day on my skin.

Ironically it also brought me back here.

I’ve found it hard to be here this year. I keep coming back in fits and starts. I really so very much want to be here but there has been so much going on and so many changes and well, I have a lot to say but a lot of it is the deeply personal thoughts of a half-enraged feminist Mama feeling just a little bit grumpy that there have been a few too many bumps in what was supposed to be a very smooth road this year.

But this morning I woke up and I went for a run. I stopped making excuses; I stopped saying “Maybe tomorrow”. I didn’t worry that E might wake or M would be disturbed by my 5.30am wake-up call, I just did it.  And it felt so good that I intend to do it again and hopefully soon; maybe not tomorrow but perhaps on Saturday or Sunday when the aches and pains have well and truly settled. One day I might even run in one of those Fun Run things.

And I’ll be blogging more too. No more excuses.

Just like that

And just like that she stopped being a baby and turned into a little girl - bangles and all.