Shauna Niequist's Blog, page 5

On Summer, Part 1

Hi, pals. Love to you from my go-to coffee shop, where I am happily surrounded by lists, scraps of paper, and essays that need a little love.

Today is the beginning of a new season, a clearing away of the last, a list-making, laundry-folding, vegetable-eating day. For the next week or so, I'll try to catch you up on both this last lovely season and also what's to come, in a rambling and random series of updates on a hundred million things at least. 

We'll start here:

We’re home again after a truly fantastic month at the lake.  I love it there, as you know, as evidenced by the fact that I routinely post several pictures a day of the water, the pier, the blueberry cobbler, the farmer’s market, the boys, sandy and full of sunshine.  Everywhere I look, summer in full bloom.

You don’t realize how slow and lovely the pace of life is in that sleepy lakeshore town until you leave, and I’m telling you: it’s different there. I’ve been back home for just about 24 hours, and it’s more than apparent: it’s different there. Different in a wonderful way, in a “sandy feet all day, ice cream for dinner, no makeup and no high heels” kind of way.  Love, love, love. 

The boys are at such fun ages—Mac took his first step at the park on a Sunday night a few weeks ago, and that seems especially sweet to me because Henry learned to walk in South Haven as well. To be clear, Mac isn’t walking by any means, but every so often he stands on his own and then lurches forward with one or two clumsy, awkward steps before plopping back down to his knees and speeding away. 

His favorite things to eat are (in order): sand, paper, and blueberries. He also likes waffles, frozen peas and yogurt, but he shovels in sand by the fistful and will crawl, lightning-fast, across a room for a piece of paper that’s fallen on the floor and then stuff as much of it into his mouth as he can before we get to him. Also, a little known fact: too many blueberries will not only yield a shocking blue diaper, but will actually stain those little baby buns bright blue. Or so I’ve heard.

Henry swims like a fish, and he especially loves swimming in the big waves with Aaron or my dad. He loves to color, and he’s in a hardcore dinosaur phase. He’ll go to kindergarten this fall, and he’s totally ready, but I predict big-sad-happy-can’t-believe-it tears from me on that day. Kindergarten? Practically a man! 

Summit & MOPS Convention

We’re back just in time for The Leadership Summit next week—it’s always an amazing collection of talented, smart people, and I always scribble pages and pages of notes that I come back to all year long. For the first time, I’m missing the second day of the Summit, because I’ll be in Dallas speaking at the MOPS Convention, a keynote on Friday night and a workshop on Saturday morning. 

I’ve never been to the MOPS Convention, but I have spoken at many, many, many MOPS groups. What I love about MOPS is that mothering little ones can be so isolating and so hard, and MOPS exists to connect mothers, to give them spaces and places to tell their stories, share their challenges, walk well together. I’m all about that, of course. My friendships with other women and other moms are what get me through on the hardest days of mothering, and I’m so thankful for organizations like MOPS for helping moms to get connected all over the country and all over the world.

CC Garage & Bake Sale

If you’re local, mark your calendar for the First Annual Cooking Club Garage Sale & Bake Sale. We’re baking up a storm, cleaning out our closets and basements, and giving all the money we make to our church’s Care Center. Come see us on September 15th—there will be yummy treats and all sorts of stuff for sale, all for a great cause. Details to follow.

In the next couple weeks, I’ll update you on Bread & Wine, post a few highlights from London & Paris, tell you about a few books I've loved recently, and a billion assorted other things, I promise. But first, a grocery list and approximately a thousand loads of sandy laundry…

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.


Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story. 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. 

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism. 

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass. 

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself. 

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. 

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy. 

Max Ehrmann, 1927.

I need these words this morning. I have long loved this poem, and this morning, I needed this line: "And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."



I memorized these words in high school, had them posted on my wall in every college apartment, shared them with the students I worked with after college. 



I slept badly last night, mind running about what feels like an impossible deadline. Henry howled at 2am, awakened by a nightmare, and even after he went back to sleep, I was rattled. My mind couldn't shake all manner of fears about the future and frustrations with myself for a myriad of failings.  



These words met me this morning, and they healed me, for the thousandth time. May they do the same for you, whatever life holds today. XO

The View from Here

I walked through town early this morning, and it’s quiet for the first time since we arrived. You can tell that the big holiday week is over, and that the weekly renters who came for the Fourth are gone, houses empty, coolers and umbrellas packed up for another year. 

We had our own houseful for a really fun long weekend. Aaron’s family came up, and we packed a whole lot of playing and sun and beach and laughter and ice cream into those days. This is the 6th year, I think, that they’ve come up for a long weekend in July, and we’ve got some Niequist family traditions: boat ride to Saugatuck for lunch and sweets from Kilwin’s, salmon or perch fishing early one morning, beach day at South Beach, ice cream after every meal. 

There’s a new restaurant in town: Brix Corner Oven is right by the Sea Glass Cottage shop, and it’s an all outdoor set-up with really, really good wood-fired flatbread pizzas made to order. On our way out the door our neighbors told us we had to get the South Haven lemonade—lemonade with basil and blueberry-infused vodka. And they were right. I had the pesto pizza with arugula and it was fantastic, and they have gluten free pizzas as well. 

The family left last night, and our little family fell into bed, tired and happy and thankful for the family and for memories we’ve made in this sweet little town.

Remember one million years ago, how we went to London and Paris? I spoke at a conference at a really wonderful church near Windsor, and then we spent two days in London and three in Paris. Lovely, crazy, busy, fun, once-in-a-lifetime memories with our kids in such amazing places. 

One of my projects for this week is to write all about it, and even just a few weeks later I’m anxious that my memories of it are fading, receding behind the fullness of our days since then. Hoping I can grasp it for a little while longer and wrestle it into words.

While we were in Paris, I got a message that a dear friend’s mother passed away completely unexpectedly. We returned on Friday, moved up to the lake on Sunday, and I flew out Monday night for Sacramento, and then met a friend for an early morning drive down into central California for the service. I arrived very late to the hotel and we left at dawn, driving down the 5 through pastures of black and white cows and orchards and bright golden hills.

My friend’s mother was an extraordinarily kind person, and at the service her friends and family told story after story about her thoughtfulness, her commitment to prayer, the little things she did to make people feel special and loved. Remembering her that morning made me want to be a better mom, a better friend, a more prayerful person. After the long flights back to the lake, I was practically aching to hug Henry and snuggle Mac, reminded again that parenting is a privilege and that some things—like love and faith and family—matter more than anything else.

Speaking of family, my lovely mother-in-law is staying with us this week to help with the boys so that I can get some work on the book done. Oh, yeah, remember how I have a book due? Yeah, me neither. Yikes. My editors are coming at the end of the month for the next round of work on it, so I have my work cut out for me this month, especially because the book has been pretty far from my mind these last weeks. Back at it, starting today. 

I’ll write here from time to time this month, but Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are much better bets these days for keeping up with the day to day, and for a list of all my South Haven favorites, here’s a post from last summer.  XO