Normal

 We like to have adventures, doing things that are exciting, new, on a grander scale in some way. To truly embrace and acknowledge the excitement however, we must have days filled with the quotidian.  Having a normal life will only heighten the anticipation and enjoyment when new opportunities arise. So is to the normal days.

It's good to be normal.
To have days of dishes and laundry
Days filled with the small and the sundry.
It's good to be basic.
To wear tee shirts and jeans
Going barefoot through crumbs and sticky things.
It's good to have clutter.
To have empty mugs and pillows askew,
Where people have relaxed when visiting you.
It's good to have food
That's simple, mac'n'cheese or PBJs,
Or bowls of cold cereal on really hot days.
It's good to re-read
To savor the tales that are familiar
And remember those stories that deeply inspire.
It's good to be quiet
To be surrounded by appliance hums
And ticking clocks, and outside bird songs.
It's good to walk
Without intent, or run because it's fun,
And to play with your children out in the sun.
It's good to hold hands
To comfort your child and help them along.
A simple gesture shared with your beloved one.

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.

Genesis 1:31

Okay.

Today I am okay.

  Not rising wings of romantic delight, 

  Nor sinking in depths of despair. 

 My children exhaust me

 And I have been ill, 

 But their smiles are sweet 

 And each day I grow well. 

So today I am okay. 

Today I am okay. 

  Not thrilled with the sheer bliss of life, 

  Nor hanging on gloomy deaths door. 

 I have lost my temper 

 And my house is a mess, 

 But I had a short nap

 And we have all been fed. 

So today I am okay. 

Today I am okay. 

  Not hot with fervor and spiritual fire, 

  Nor cold from gloom and abandon. 

 Doing justly, loving mercy,

 Walking humbly by the Spirit. 

 For Christ still lives 

 And God still loves. 

So today I am okay. 

~Caitlin Mallery

Found a picture of boot camp life. 

A Gift

The comparison of children to precious gems is an old one. So what more fitting way to honor a mother than by adorning her neck, which has often been encircled by her children's arms, with sparkling symbols of their life. The life she carried, birthed, and nurtured shall receive this glorious decoration that only a heavenly crown can exceed.

To the New Mama

It's okay that your baby is crying;
that every technique you are trying
to soothe the babe is failing.
It's okay if you are weeping
because all you want is to be sleeping.
As your breasts ache from nursing
and your body is barely recovering
from the most exhausting and demanding
task you have ever achieved, it's OK.

It's okay if you have a few worries
about cradle cap and proper skivvies,
or whether that belly button is too crusty.
It's okay if the clothes don't her fit neatly
and that he keeps being spitty and drooly.
As you ache for a moment to be pretty,
for some small way of having stability,
or a little outing that isn't cranky
because of a crazy schedule, it's OK.

It's okay if you just want to stare
into the face that is becoming aware
that your face is important, always there.
It's okay to run your fingers over
each little feature and tiny maneuver.
As you seek each moment to remember,
feeling pleased with each tiny endeavor
trying to treasure it up forever
in your heart, it's OK.

~Caitlin Mallery

Newborn Saoirse, September 2012

Newborn Ethan, August 2011

Potty Training

There is so much that has been said
Of little boys who wet the bed.
The woes of others gone before,
From these nightmares I wake in horror.
Swimming in a smelly sea
Of soaking sheets and salty pee.
Then there is the public fail,
The pants that leave a yellow trail,
Red-faced I'll dash
And he will laugh!
Then looking up there will be faces,
Compassionate with smiling traces.
The stories told by other mothers
Are not of woe, just humorous!
What once embarrassed
Now is cherished.
So as I face the weeks ahead
There may be times that I will dread
To bring my son outside the house
Unless cologne is heavy-doused!
But he will learn
And I will live
To tell the tale triumphant!

~Caitlin Mallery

Originally published July 10, 2013
We are still working on this potty training business, and I can't wait for the day I am done with diapers!

Ode to My Wooden Spoons

 

Trusty, sturdy, simple, strong

Ready for me all day long.

Stir the batter, knead the bread,

Reach the cracks under the bed.

Grains of wood, clean cut lines

Seasoned from the million times

It's used throughout a busy week.

The spoons sit out for ready reach;

Fancy tools may have their place

And in the cupboard they will wait.

A basic tool for many tasks

Reliable for all I ask.

May I be just as ready

For any friend who needs me.

 

~Caitlin Mallery

 

 

 



Tired

Beneath the pools of blue run subtle threads of weariness,
And above hang heavy lashes. Hands reach back
To the rub the knots of stress to gentle slack,
Perchance it may revive a former zest.
Long days of dishes make a sticky mess
While crumbs seem yet more crumbiness attract
And piles of laundry ebb and flow in their attack,
Lists and plans and calendars and clocks onward press.
By night the circuits of the brain say "Cease."
Voice is soft and just a little hoarse in bedtime song.                
Darkness gathers to hide the pains of day
A cleansing for the soul that has begun to fray.
Unspoken prayers are lifted from between the sheets,
To still the busy hands and aching bones.

~Caitlin Mallery


Right now I am eight months pregnant and raising two energetic toddlers. Everyday is exhausting! Every decision takes effort. So many days there are things that must be left undone. Yet we are all fed, clothed, and usually happy. New mercies are that of patience and grace to make it through each day from sunrise to sunset! (And sometimes in the middle of the night as well.)

Staying Busy

What do you have time for everyday?
Are you making every moment count?
Do you look back over the hours since you woke and say,
"I made it."
With a sigh of relief,
   a groan of exhaustion,
      a sense of accomplishment,
         a weight of failure?
Did you make your house a spotless paradise?
Were you able to accomplish a life long goal?
How do you feel when you made a to-do list and only
 check off one item?
Like a failure,
  Like a victor,
    did you do the important
        or the urgent?
Did little arms have a chance to wrap themselves around your neck?
Was a friend made welcome in the middle of a crisis?
Does it hurt you face to bend the muscles into a smile,
 Because it wears
  a sag of anxiety,
    a furrow of frustration,
      or a tension of perfection?
In the four-and-twenty hours of a day,
 did you find the bridge between hope and despair?
 (It's sleep.)
 did you notice something that might have grown?
 (A plant, a tooth, a new word.)
 did you look outside to see the weather?
 (God made the sun and the rain.)
 did you wash the dishes and make the bed?
 (Little things make the home feel nice.)
 did you rock your baby and let them interrupt you?
 (Just so they know you're available.)
 did you say "I love you"?
 (Important words.)
 did you do just one thing on that to-do list?
 (Small steps for big messes.)

Stay busy with an open heart
         for joy.
Stay busy with an open mind
         for wisdom.
Stay busy with open eyes
         for beauty.
Stay busy with open hands
         for loving.

~Caitlin Mallery

Chasing Birds

 

Toddler fists hold the seeds tight

Toddler feet running fast encased in wellies bright,

His voice is loud and clear,
"BIRDIES!"

The brown wings spread wide
The red breasts skim the barren dirt.
They wait for him to go inside,
And then they have a feast!

~Caitlin Mallery

Building Your Vocabulary:The Library

Hush children!
This is not the place for lips to speak
or mouths to taste. Instead delight another sense:
Feast your eyes!
The words, the pages
Let them take you to the far off places.
Internal delight!
Let your mind be flooded
With tales of magic, and good the winner.
Ancient war chronicles,
beloved talking animals,
photographs of the unseen beyond.
With in these four walls
between the covers both glossy and dull
you will find the world!

~Caitlin Mallery

I love going to the library. I cannot remember the first time I went; my mother probably took me there quite early. There are a few memories I have of living close enough to walk to one when I was six or seven. There was also a duck pond nearby where we would take our stack of stories and we would feed ducks and my mom would read a new story to my sisters and I. As a teen I would check out great big stacks to read in a month, and usually have them finished in less time.
Now I am starting to bring my wee ones into the gorgeous brick building filled with words. They are still rather little to truly make the most of the experience, so I am also learning how to use the library from my laptop. Browsing blue-lit webpages for new books is not quite as satisfying as running my fingers along the multi-colored spines. However, it is much easier than trying to find a book while chasing down a pair of toddlers. I place my hold and within a few days I can stop by the library and pick up my reserved stack. Just one way in which the Internet makes my life easier. And within a few years I will be able to take my brood into the public library knowing we could be happily placed for hours.

 

Roman and I have fun looking over this reading list from Teddy Roosevelt. 

Toys

Fighting pirates

There is a task I sorta hate,
    And also kinda love.
        I do it when it's really late
           With many sighs and shrugs.
Sometimes it feels like clutter
   Involved in procreation.
      I want to take a giant tractor
          To the toy-weed infestation.
Then I find the Duplo boat
    That he so proudly showed me,
        So maybe it did not quite float;
            It still made our day happy.
There tucked into a random corner
     The doll she loves so much.
          The yarn eyes scold the scorner
               My inner neat freak who would fuss.
The cars and trains under my table
     Have given me a banged-up head,
         My back aches from being unable
              To reach for books behind the bed.
But in the brightly colored clash
    Of teddy bears and dinosaurs
         I see the smiles and feet that dance.
             These toys bring joy to all our hearts.

~Caitlin Mallery

Visit here to read more stories of mothers in the trenches.

Being Us

I like the us we are becoming
for all the world to see
not you, not I, just we.

The we of car trip conversations
always holding hands,
making splendid plans.

We've laid a claim upon whipped cream
As our dessert of choice,
and kids agree full voice.

We have love songs in abundance
in the kitchen we dance
with candle romance.

There is a hymn that we call ours
and songs we sing
for children sleeping.

We pray for sweet dreams and godly growth
o'er each sleeping head
before we go to bed.

Our pet names for one another
follow special form
and some the norm.

Raising children and following dreams
sharing each sorrow
and anxious tomorrow.

Us is defined by our being together
Two hearts to one knit
Two souls made to fit.

The world around cannot see one
without inquiry to the other.
That is being Us.

~Caitlin Mallery

Happy 3rd Anniversary, my dearest husband!

Over My Shoulder

Looking over my shoulder just to know that you're there,
When I'm happy or naughty or just a bit scared.
I will know where to find you when I need you to know
That I have an adventure for us to follow.
If I happen to fall
I will call
And you come because of course you saw all
Looking over your shoulder.

Looking over my shoulder as I venture to walk
Just to see you smile and hear you talk
About me growing bigger and doing so good.
And when I do something I should
You sweetly praise me,
If naughty
You'll lovingly scold me because you can see
Looking over your shoulder.

Looking over my shoulder just to watch how you grow
By learning, exploring, and giving a show.
I see little things when you think I'm not looking
That make me so proud, but sometimes need scolding.
Trust me, my child,
Quiet or wild,
You know I will be there for every trial
Looking over your shoulder.

~Caitlin Mallery

Chocolate Cake

Could I be callous to
His pleading request?
Oh, Mum please make
Cake!
Oh, it's the best!
Lucious and sugary
And just a bit buttery
Today would be nice to have cake to
Eat!

         So I measure, I stir, then I bake their confeCtion.
           Chocolate crumbs on the little lips that smAck.
    A mixture of buttercream and bittersweet blocKs.
It melts in the mouths which smile thank you to mE.
 For one little moment CHOCOLATE CAKE is perfection!

~Caitlin Mallery

Raspberries

The sunshine is casting hazy light on emerald bushes

The ruby fruit glistens surrounded by silken strands

Of spider webs; the sweet notes of song birds

Are high pitched in the wind. On the dirt

Small feet are eagerly treading, and

POP!

In the mouth each raspberry is heading.

The dirt-covered fingers pull hard at a branch

Plucking with vigor sweet, tangy delights. The squeals

Drown the sounds of the geese flying high.

The sapphire eyes search for prize that misses

The bucket completely. The soft cheeks are stained

With the sheer joy of summer.

Each dew-washed berry, sun-ripened and hot,

Is melting my heart by a smiling result

For those toddlers teeth glisten pink on white.

As they beg with faces upturned for just one more berry

PLEASE!

~Caitlin Mallery

In Action

Rain, rain
Let's go play
its a sunny, rainy day.
Rain, rain
It's so fun
boots, umbrellas, everyone!

Growth

Growth is unpredictable,
often imperceptible,

confusing, metaphorical
to the one who growing is.
To others may be visible
good and bad divisible;
the question is rhetorical:
are you doing well?
Look not to the oracle
rather to the miracle
do not be satirical
for God knows best indeed.
So if your feeling miserable,
wicked, and abominable
look at each past obstacle
and see the how God has led.
Your growth becomes a chronicle
massive, unconventional,
purposed, and intentional
the godly person made.

~Caitlin Mallery

1 Peter 3:4

This picture reminds me to create an atmosphere wherein beauty is felt more than seen. 

The spirit of gentleness can be found in many ways;

A home you love to be in,

People you love to be with,

Food you enjoy,

Moments captured from the chaos.

While gentleness is first a character trait, we do respond to our surroundings, so create surroundings that help you achieve a gentle spirit.

We Are On Vacation...

I am writing two weeks of posts ahead of time while our little family goes on an extended vacation. Then I simply can check each day to see something that once inspired me. Sometimes the thought will strike me as,

"Oh yeah, I remember that being so amazing!"

Other times I am surprised by what I have bookmarked, underlined, or pinned on Pinterest. There are times I can see how much I have grown and changed, while other occasions still give the same delight as the original. Whatever the case, starting this little blog is showing me a great many little things about myself that I never knew before.

Traveling

Down the road and off we go
Through field or forest, rain or snow.
We're set to leave and by-n-by
We will take off on wings to fly.
The wind may blow, the sun may shine
We will neither complain nor whine.
There's a world to explore and places to see
And a home to come back to when done we be.
Let us go forward embracing the challenge
To enjoy all the places we could not imagine.

~Caitlin Mallery

By the time you read this we will have arrived in my birth state, sunny California. I can't wait to take my kids to the zoo, and other fun places from my childhood. Look out California, here come the Mallerys of Montana!