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When my youngest was a teeny tiny newborn (teeny tiny he is no more), my boys were given a book called Unstoppable Me. The story’s all about Makana the surfing lion who wants to give up when she’s pummeled again by a ferocious wave. It’s written by Adam Dirks and Bethany Hamilton.

Bethany Hamilton knows a thing or two about how challenging life can be. As a 13-year-old up-and-coming surfer, tragedy struck when she lost her left arm to a tiger shark. Everyone assumed this would extinguish the rising star’s dreams, but not 4 weeks later, she was out on the waves again. Bethany has gone on to become a champion surfer, an awe-inspiring international speaker and a best-selling author. Her infectiously positive spirit and her unshakeable faith, has inspired people world-wide to live their best lives.

My three littles also know about life’s challenges… My big little, now 5-and-a-half, has had sensory-integration issues since birth. This can make the world an incredibly overwhelming and, at times, scary place. My middle little and my little little both have a genetic condition (inherited from Yours Truly) which causes contractures of the hands and feet. This can result in anything from clubfoot to vertical talus to hypoplastic thumbs – big names which simply mean that the hands and feet don’t function properly. Needless to say, we’ve seen our fair share of doctors, therapists and plenty random artwork on hospital hallways (if you’ve ever paced through the passages of a hospital, you’ll know what I’m talking about).

As we stand on the brink of the silly season, usually marked by shopping, shouting, shenanigans and sweating (normally the cold kind when you realise on Christmas Eve that you haven’t got the love-of-your-life a gift yet), I’d like to take a minute to remind us of a little something.

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Last year, hubby and I embarked on a gym and eating programme – pretty intense weight training, cardio and targeted nutrition. Although I’ve done exercise programmes and diets of all shapes and sizes, this was definitely a step up. Wandering into the male-dominated territory of the weight section in the gym was quite daunting…

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I’ve realised that being a mom comes with a certain set of challenges and a skills set no university professor could ever teach you. It’s just something you have to learn as you stumble along the beautiful road from being an untethered young adult, to being a parent pinned down by two little cubs at every turn. Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way. But it does make for great blog material and will hopefully add a smile to your dial.

Please enjoy my musings…

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So it seems that I’ve come across a bit of a creative conundrum… Creativity needs two things – time and space. Come again? Well, creativity needs time – you need to constantly plug at it, practice it and put it into play. And creativity needs space – it needs a place to breathe and grow and develop. “Time” demands that you get your hands in there. “Space” needs you to take them off and let go.

So therein lies my creative dilemma…

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Even winter has a lighter side. I’m certain that God gave us humour to help us through the tough times. We can find funny in almost anything, even if it is under a landslide of pain. In fact, we seem to be designed to look for the funny, even if it comes out as awkwardly ironic or hugely sarcastic.

So here’s a little funny from our winter season…

Musings from a hospital bed

Part 3

Order of  horrific events:

1. Major car accident
2. Using a bed pan
3. Having someone walk in on you while using a bed pan

No wait, I think it should read…

Order of  horrific events:

1. Having someone walk in on you while using a bed pan
2. Major car accident

Photograph Designed by Freepik

Our Winter experience certainly brought perspective to our lives and made me reassess a whole lot. Here’s the next installment of…

Musings from a hospital bed

Part 2

Grumbling. Ooo, that awful attitude. We all know it and we all know the havoc it can wreak. Why is everything so easy for everyone else? Why can’t I get a break? Why do my babies have to have all these challenges? Why does no one see everything I do? Why am I so tall/small/straight-haired/freckly? When we come across a situation we disapprove of, it’s like the strong-willed child inside of us rises up and demands their way. And it ain’t pretty!

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So it would seem that most of my posts to date have been around either, finding your creativity in the chaos, your serenity in a situation or your hope when you’re in a heap… I’d like to think of it all as the season of winter.

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You’re in this season for a reason…

For whatever reason, when we’re pinned down and told to stay put, we want to do the exact opposite. Throw our hands up to the sky, make a noise, kick against the system and fight with a revolutionary’s heart.

I am no exception. If I don’t happen to like a situation I find myself in, I try to push, squirm and work my way out of it, with varying degrees of success… And usually a lot of tears.

But it occurred to me one day, that maybe I shouldn’t be fighting, struggling, “grrrring” at the lot I’ve been handed. Maybe I shouldn’t be charging into battle with the rage of a thousand armies and the noise of a thousand drums.

Maybe I should just accept where I’m at. No, not just accept it… Embrace it. Say what?? That’s right, I said, embrace it.

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I’m slowly realising that if you force something, it doesn’t often pan out the way you want it to.

In our instant-access, quick-fix world, we’re so accustomed to snapping our fingers and Voila! – mission accomplished. And when it comes to relationships, issues of the heart and dreams we hope to achieve, we expect the same. Snap! Snap-Snap. Click. Post. And it’s all done.

But real life, the in-the-trenches, messy, try-your-hardest-day-in-and-day-out kind of stuff, just isn’t like that is it? Things don’t just fall into place like the all-too-convenient ending of a Rom-Com. And when they don’t, we tend to force the issue… Or at least, I know I do. I want to get my hands in there and make it work.

But the image of a budding flower popped into my head today. It’s so delicate and so beautiful. If we applied our heavy-handedness and tried to pry its petals open before it was ready, we’d break it. And it occurred to me, some things just need time to breathe, to open, to grow, to be. And all the pushing and pulling and pleading in the world won’t fast-track that process… In fact, it may land up bringing it to a screeching halt for good.

So whatever your situation is today… A creative block, a stubborn trait, a tricky relationship, maybe it’s time to take your hands off it for a moment and let it breathe. It’s not about sitting back and being apathetic, but about being at peace in the waiting and maturing process. In time, you may find it gently opens to full bloom.

(Photograph by Norman Hanna – www.hannaphotography.co.za)