One day at a time...

"One day at a time...this is enough.  Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it is not yet come.  Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering..." 

~Ida Scott Taylor

Here we are, facing the last full week of summer here at the Paul home and I...am...sad!  I have had a great time with both of my kids all summer long having no concrete plans, just wakin' up and deciding what the adventure would be for the day. 
So as school approaches quickly, I thought I should get a head start on organizing our time.  We juggle 4 schedules each day, and each day I feel a bit overwhelmed with trying to remember who is doing what and where. 
I headed out in search for a large enough calendar to fit our life. I had a vision in my mind of what I wanted the calendar to look like and soon after my search began, I realized that the only way I'd have what I really needed would be to make it myself.  I found this desk top pad of paper at the office supply store, brought it home and started measuring out a box a day.  I used a black pen to mark off the boxes and a gray sharpie for the months, weeks and dates.

The top strip of the pad of paper was black.  I decided to cover the black with natural brown paper. Then I knotted some twine through the holes in the top to hang it on the wall in my kitchen.  

When I was finished, I painted a piece of salvaged barn wood to go above the calendar.  It reads:

'One day at a time...'

The calendar hangs above Emerson's kitchen hutch. I bought 4 different colored fine point sharpies for each person so that visually, I could tell where everyone was on any given day of the month.  I used a vintage aluminum measuring cup to hold the pens.  

One day at a time...

These 5 little words made a difference in our family the moment I hung this sign above the calendar and today, we live it, each day.

Until we meet again, 

Lo

The Vintage Green Bathing Suit and Antique Yellow Fire Hydrant...

My mom is my inspiration.  She has taught me the love for tradition and the importance of it in my life.

Growing up, my mom had a green one piece bathing suit. I never saw her wear it because it was set aside in a special trunk and brought out for each of my birthdays.  A picture was taken with me in the green, criss-cross back bathing suit each year from age one to age thirteen. Nana (my mom's mom) had seen the idea in a Time magazine years before I was born and suggested to my mom that she do this if she ever had a daughter.  The original plan that my mom had was for me to pose in this suit each year until my 18th birthday. But as stubborn teenagers go...I began to refuse to get into the bathing suit and pose for pictures.  At times calling it "embarrassing." Thirteen was awkward and I cannot blame my teenage self for that, but I will admit it is one of the very few regrets I have...wishing I had done it for mom.  Knowing now how much it meant to her, as I experience the love I have for my own children. Giving her the gift of rewinding time and watching me grow from a toddler to a young woman. 

When I had Grayson 7 years ago, I knew I wanted to do something similar.  I chose to have him stand next to a 1940's fire hydrant that sits in my parents yard.  Each year in August, he proudly stands next to the yellow fire hydrant, and every year, I cry.  My boy is growing up...

Grayson: One Year Old

Grayson: Two Years Old

Grayson: Three Years Old

Grayson: Four Years Old

Grayson: Five Years Old

Grayson: Six Years Old

Grayson:  7 years old

The green bathing suit has been passed down to me and my daughter, Emerson Beatrice.  Each year in May, she proudly poses in her Meema's green bathing suit, and every year, I cry. My girl is growing up...

Emerson B: One Year Old

Emerson B: Two Years Old

Emerson B: Three Years Old

It is never too late to start a new tradition or put your own style on an old tradition...

Until we meet again...

Lo