Playing Around

There was no time for play.

There was no time for fun.

This was not time for games.

There was work to be done.

 The Cat in the Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss

Happy Tuesday!

When does work become fun and fun become work? That is a question I have been asking myself this past week as I continue on my quest to find what my new normal in life looks like.

While out taking care of some tasks in the garden over the weekend I heard the clatter of some Blue Jays in the trees above me. They were apparently in the process of teaching their young offspring how to take flight. One of the little baby birds was squawking and flapping its wings, seemingly not at all sure about taking these steps towards independence.

The funny thing was, I was grappling with the thoughts around the fact that my grown children no longer really are needing me for anything at this point in their lives. Having both flown the coop and moved to different parts of the US. I was feeling a bit envious of these Blue Jays still having their young ones near them.

In other words, as a mom I was feeling very sorry for myself!

With my phone camera in hand, I tried to catch a shot of these true life bird antics. As you can see from this picture below it wasn’t going very well with all the branches in the tree getting in my way. Causing me to get stuck in these thoughts about the baby bird leaving home.

All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye a beautiful Swallowtail butterfly went flying past me and landed on the flowers near me. In an instant my attention turned to this graceful flight of the butterfly. And, since I had my camera in my hand, I was able to easily and joyfully grab a number of shots of this beautiful little creature.

This butterfly reminded me of the grace it takes to fly solo at the times we need to in our lives in order to truly find ourselves. A reminder to allow myself to play and to not get too caught up in the melodramas of life.

And that is my message this week, to ask yourself about how much time you are giving yourself to play in the ways that YOU like to play. To play in your work and find the time, effort and energy to do the things you love. Life is short and we need to embrace the gifts we are given when we are given them. 

In this week’s video I share the new patio we put into the garden. Something I have been wanting to do for some time to replace a massive area in the garden that had turned into the dog’s sandbox. Enjoy watching the transformation.

Hope your week is taking you where you want to go and you find plenty of time for play.

Onward we grow!

Cheri

Cheri Ruskus

Creator and Growth Mentor

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