Words are powerful things, especially when they are strung together tenderly, with art, care and passion. I think, often, that I really don’t know where I’d be without the words of books and songs. Shauna Niequist describes this eloquently in her book, Cold Tangerines. She tells the story of the birth of her first child…
Author: Amy T
I am a writer, reader, adopter and teacher. I have started a new project called Feel Good Education and also write at Life Lived blog.
Limits
If there’s one thing that a nice, long summer holiday can teach you, it’s that we all have limits! Fill in the gaps for yourself: There are limits to how much spending/mess/bickering/clutter/adventure/organising/day trips/food/sleeplessness/work/failure/achievement/expectation_____ I can handle. I recently read this – about knowing our limits – by Micha Boyett (If you’ve not signed up for…
Calm and Chaos
Finding calm in amongst life’s chaos is something that I’ve been learning about lately. A lot of my reading material, conversations, and general day to day experiences have circled back around this theme and I feel a huge swell of gratitude for all the wisdom and encouragement I have encountered on this subject. I’ve been…
What am I thinking? (A poem for our daughter)
“What are you thinking about?” you ask, A few times a day. Your eyes, as you ask, hold four year old curiosity, A frisson of anxiety, A determination to read adults, me especially. What am I thinking about? My mind wanders, it’s true, But never very far from you. Sometimes, I’m thinking Have I replied…
Things I wish you knew (a poem for our son)
I wish you knew That Your laughter, your questions, your little thoughts and kindnesses and songs – All these things are full of wonder. I wish you knew That Your smile really does light up a room! I wish you knew That In those years, when you were tiny, (perhaps, in spite of it all,…
Life Lately
Our little corner of the world, in June, is timelessly, heartachingly lovely. In the evenings, I sit with both children trying to sleep, listening to birdsong through the open windows as the light begins to fade. The profusion of wildflowers and weeds festoons everything: the steps by the barn, the yard, the garden, the hedgerows…
“The marvel of an ordinary life”
I’m lying on the floor of my son’s room late at night again, with an aching back, trying to help him to settle to sleep. The rain and wind – which have been unseasonably wild all day – are lashing against the window. I’ve been grumpy, I feel tired and hungry, but as he quiets…
Small Things
Oh, the small things. The small things are life itself, in all its fullness. The tiny dog violets on my parents’ lawn, little specks of blue, which on close inspection are so very detailed; The orange tipped butterfly, fluttering nearly as fast as my laughing daughter running along; The moment or two lying next to…
Regeneration: The Rescue of a Wild Land by Andrew Painting
Regeneration is my brother’s book about his time working as an ecologist in the Cairngorms in Scotland. Regeneration is my brother’s book. Which makes writing about it that bit more complicated. But, fortunately, it’s a really good book. A lot of people have already written about it, using words like “ground-breaking” and “remarkable”, so we’ve…
Happy World Poetry Day!
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” This famous quote from Mary Oliver’s poem, The Summer Day, is something I think about a lot these days. It’s a poem – a very beautiful one – about paying attention to the small things in the world. Read…
Slow
Have you ever held a smooth pebble in your pocket? I often find one or two in mine, souvenirs from beach or river walks with the children. I love holding them and turning them over in the palm of my hand, these small, smooth tokens that have travelled years and distances until time and water…
Life Lived 