Savouring the Small Moments

Sunday 19th September 2010

Monday started slowly. I had been up until midnight reading a compelling novel, The Hunger Games, and wanted to sleep instead. An unproductive day at work ensued, and a tiresome evening with angry children (or was it just me?) who didn’t want to cooperate as I attempted to teach them piano. To make things worse, Annie refused to go to sleep until 10pm. I read while I waited for Annie to finally go to sleep, but got engrossed in the second Hunger Games book, Catching Fire. I turned the final page at 1.30am.

Tuesday was exhausting. The novels were exhilarating, but now I was tired. Thankfully the final book in the trilogy is in the hands of a friend until the end of the week. I’ll read it then. My day at work was surprisingly productive, and then I visited the dentist. I dislike this immensely. It seems the older I get the more uncomfortable the visits become. However, the news was still positive. About to turn 35 and I still haven’t had a filling. Early night Tuesday!

Wednesday I rode with some friends. We did around 80km before I went to work and wrote. I had a realisation on Wednesday. If I ran a business like I run my family I’d be broke. Or I’d be in court for treating my employees so badly! A family isn’t a business. I recognise that. The analogy only goes so far. But I realised that I need to be more involved in ensuring the systems are maintained. And I need to be more involved with Kylie and the children. Too often the things that matter most are subsumed by the things that matter a lot less. Kylie and I committed to change.
Abbie and I have begun a vegetable garden on our back porch. We purchased potting mix and seeds, put them into Styrofoam boxes, and waited. With some water we now have lettuce and silverbeet sprouting. We expect to see carrots and parsley in the coming days.

I have noticed something about Chanel. I’ve subconsciously known it for some time, but it has become extreme recently. This girl loves music. It’s in her veins. She will not, perhaps can not, walk past the piano without playing it. She cannot walk anywhere without flinging her hands into the air or out to the side, dancing as she goes. And she sings… all day long, constantly memorising words to songs. Any songs. When she isn’t singing, dancing, or playing, Chanel listens to music. Non-stop. All the time. It’s obsessive! I love it.

Thursday morning I had the opportunity to leave for work a few minutes late. I spent those minutes playing with Lilli. All of our babies have been supremely gorgeous, but right now, Lilli is my delight. She is always, always smiling. Her face lights up as soon as she notices one of us gazing at her. Her eyes open wide, her mouth explodes into smile, and she stares right back at us with total trust. It’s an amazing thing.

I spent Thursday doing my best to drum up participants for my study. I’m after 1000 parents to complete a questionnaire. Recruitment is tough. I’m hopeful that I’ll get the numbers in the next six weeks but I’m off to a slow start. Kylie went to Auburn to do some shopping – it’s birthday season in the Coulson family. She popped in to see Nan and Pop Bunt while she was there. They had a nice visit, and Nan was delighted to see her two youngest great grand-daughters.

We bought a guitar for Ella on Thursday night. It was a great price and I couldn’t go past it. Ella will start guitar lessons in a few weeks.

Kylie started walking again this week. She has paired up with a neighbour and each morning they walk the ridiculously steep hills around our home for exercise. It makes it double hard for Kylie as she’s pushing the big pram with both our babies in it. Kylie is enjoying lifting her activity levels and it’s nice to see her getting out and about.

Saturday was my second bike race in two weeks! I raced with everything I had, and did much better than anticipated.

Sunday was a mixed bag. Our sacrament meeting was terrific, which probably matters most. We welcomed home a missionary who has been gone for 18 months. The girls were excited to have her back, and sang a beautiful song for her. We spent the afternoon enjoying the warm weather together, playing the park, and generally lazing around. Felt good to slow down a little.