This & That from Here & There

The days are becoming - for the most part - more and more spring-like.  Consequently, I am getting cheerier.  Not that I was overly gloomy, but I do notice that as the days get warmer, I enjoy my work more, I'm a little more patient and a little more fun in the violin lessons I'm teaching, and I have renewed energy for all the little things that need to be done.  Even 'eskimo kisses' and snuggles with my baby girl seem better when the sun is shining, if that's possible.

{Of course, come September, I'll be oh-so-ready for Autumn, and by December, the anticipation of snow and Christmas will have me nearly giddy... but I've said that before.}

Spring is notoriously a tease, however, so if you find yourself indoors on a chilly day sipping a cup of tea -- as I am this gray and dreary morning -- here are a few interesting reads:

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From Nell at Whole Parenting Family: Parenting Styles Vary. Get Over It.  She mentions pretty much all the major differences in parenting babies that I've already noticed (sleep training vs. co-sleeping, organic vs. conventional foods, mall shopping vs. thrift shopping, etc.) and offers the reminder that only moral issues are the ones worth worrying about.  In other words, don't dwell on the small differences between friends when it comes to child-rearing.  In my own case, I've felt the lure of comparisons awaiting me around every corner.  It's easy to either come up lacking in these comparisons, or perhaps to momentarily pat myself on the back and consider myself morally superior.  Oh, how foolish...!

I want to give my daughter the gift of not comparing her to other children.  I want to give my fellow mama friends that gift of non-comparison, too.  And you know who else?  Yes... myself.  To be able to live without comparisons is freeing!

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From Jenni at Story of my Life: Advice for Bloggers, Vol. 2: Blogging Your Life.  I was particularly struck by her discussion of the importance of including photos of oneself on one's personal blog.  It may come across to some as weird, or even egotistical, but I think Jenni is right -- what's a story without a main character?  While there are certainly a few blogs I can think of that remain excellent reads with only the rare photo making an appearance, the majority of the blogs I enjoy show me regular glimpses of the blogger's life, including the writer herself.  Recently I've found myself thinking, "Which posts will my daughter most enjoy reading someday?  Which will give her a full picture of what our life was like?  Which will Nathan and I enjoy browsing years from now?"

{If you've read my Why I Blog page, then you know that this is, in part, all about Nathan and me being able to remember our little life, such as it is.}

What do you think?  Are you more drawn to read blogs where the blogger is seen frequently in photos, or more 'behind-the-scenes'?

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I found myself surprisingly moved -- if not to tears, then to glassy eyes, shall we say -- by this post from Shaye at The Elliott Homestead: Uphill. All the way.  I suppose any blog post quoting a Christina Rossetti poem has to be a good one!

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If you weren't following along with Auntie Leila's series on Pope Pius XI's encyclical Casti Connubii (Chaste Marriage), it's not too late to go read all her posts now.  The last post (and possibly my favorite) in the series is up: What we do "in here."  From there, you can find links to the earlier posts, as well as the encyclical itself.  But even if you don't have time to read the encyclical, Leila's posts will edify and inspire you!

"If you can love the hidden and resist the lure of the oversized and loud and lucrative claim to fame, you will have the privilege to know how it can be that one woman, one family, one home -- yours -- can change and build and restore."

So quickly, go read all her posts in this wonderful series!

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Have a wonderful Friday, friends -- whether yours is sunny and warm or a bit overcast like ours is here in Massachusetts.