Once upon a time, this blog was loosely based on finding blessings in the mundane and appreciating the gift of an ordinary day. In the year 2011, I was inspired by this video. My children were still very young then, and I think that one of the most ordinary things in life is a mother taking care of her children. I felt tired and I sorely lack sleep.
Recently, I found this book The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison, the author in the video, on a shelf of a kiosk that sells second-hand books. Immediately I picked it up, placing it in my arm.
Now, my children are older, they’re in grade school. We even have a pre-teen, who soon will be in high school. In the book, Katrina talks about changes, and how she longs for the time when her boys were little. I do, too. Wishing that time would go back, stop, or slow down. I guess I’ll never be truly ready for all my children becoming teenagers, going off to college and then flying off the “nest”.
It’s universal for mothers to struggle with, or even consider, the delicate acts of holding on and letting go. That’s what this book seems to convey. The author paints pictures of her life, her house, her decisions, her adolescent children and the feelings churning within her using plenty of words. When we simplify her paragraphs, the core ideas wouldn’t reach 300 plus pages.
I have a bit of difficult time grasping the reason behind uprooting her family from a thriving community. Why was she the only one to make big decisions like this? Shouldn’t she consult and listen to her husband (even if he’s super supportive)? Also her children?
There are nice quotes in the book, a mix of words to ponder upon. This one, lifted from a poem, about her child stood out for me.
Over all, this memoir is for mothers who, like the author, wish to live with more intention, to slow down in a competitive world, and to appreciate the beauty in ordinary days. At the same time, be open to the people around who help, people to call friends. To revel in the present, and to blossom into other roles aside from being a mother.
It is heartfelt, albeit redundant in ideas. I have to say, though, that this is not a Christian book.
These days, my ordinary days include drinking coffee in the morning, working at home after bringing the children to school, preparing what they need for school, helping them study and checking their homework. Planning meals on the fly, reading books, fetching the kids from school, having snacks together at the dining table, grocery shopping once a month, and more.
But still, I try to find blessings in the mundane and appreciate the gift of an ordinary day, the present. Thankful to the Lord for keeping my family and me safe, always praying for the gift of health and wisdom.
The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir
Nonfiction, Parenting, Autobiography
Grand Central Publishing
Aug. 20, 2009
Paperback
336
The Gift of an Ordinary Day is an intimate memoir of a family in transition - boys becoming teenagers, careers ending and new ones opening up, an attempt to find a deeper sense of place, and a slower pace, in a small New England town. It is a story of mid-life longings and discoveries, of lessons learned in the search for home and a new sense of purpose, and the bittersweet intensity of life with teenagers -- holding on, letting go.
Poised on the threshold between family life as she's always known it and her older son's departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life, the very moments that she once took for granted, or rushed right through without noticing at all.
The relationships, hopes, and dreams that Kenison illuminates will touch women's hearts, and her words will inspire mothers everywhere as they try to make peace with the inevitable changes in store.
