I'm babysitting the Taproot Market plants from Broadturn Farm while the market is closed and everyone on the team is working remotely. I'm doing my best to take care of these plant babies until the day we can reopen the shop! And I'm enjoying their green company in the meantime (as I look out my window at snow on the ground).
Ada found the canvas above buried deep in a dusty corner of the barn. It has Michael Franti lyrics, "All the freaky people make the beauty of the world" that Ezra (and I?) painted many years ago now. Ada was on a search for some blank canvases in the barn (you never know what you're going to find out there) so that she could paint over them. I approved the repurposing of most of them, but held this one back just for a little longer so I could appreciate it for a few days at least before turning it over to a layer of gesso and whatever beautiful thing she decides to paint on top of that. That little lyrical phrase of Franti's could certainly mean so many things at so many different points in life, but right now, it's reminding of how all the creative folks are rising to this current situation. All the art that's being created. All the beautiful creative offerings being shared. The many unique ways in which small businesses and makers and doers are keeping on and supporting each other. It's an inspiring thing to be sure. (And on that note, I added a little sidebar if you can find it over there to the right. Good Things in Hard Times. So very many cool and creative offerings are popping up right now, and I wanted to share some of our favorites. Let me know if you have something that's keeping you inspired these days, and I will keep that list growing and updated!)
But none of that - plants, or painting canvases, or "good things" lists - are really what I wanted to talk to you about today. I want to talk about teenagers. It seems that I have three of them in my house right now. Wait, what? How did THAT happen? I'm not really sure....but here we are. Are you there too? How is it going?
I'm holding my two little(r) ones close right now - we are doing all (most of) the beautiful school work that their teachers sent home. There are walks in the woods, and lots of fireside knitting and reading. Harper has discovered a love of sourdough bread baking (he made his own starter, what the heck?). And Ani is obsessed with making sure she gets the duck eggs before the crows show up to steal them, which is more of a full time job than you might imagine. And for the most part, I feel pretty good about being able to protect them from some of the very hard and real things that are happening in the world and in our family right now. Keeping them engaged, creative, healthy and loved. I've got this!
But oh, these teenagers. It isn't as easy to soothe their souls and spirits as reading a storybook by the fire and laying out a craft project for our day. In the beginning, I was struggling with enforcing our family stay at home rules ("Mom, you sound crazy!" "Everyone ELSE is still hanging out!"). And that was hard, but they came around and got on board with staying home. But now they are home, and honestly....what a time to be a teenager, right? To be figuring out learning online without the in-person interaction and accountability of those teaching you when you'd rather just sleep in; to be letting go of prom dreams and dress plans and spring internships, sports and graduation ceremonies; to abruptly end your freshman year of college without goodbyes (or your stuff!); to be maintaining relationships with a boyfriend or girlfriend from far away; to suddenly to be "stuck" at home at a time in life when social interaction with your peers is perhaps the most important thing of all? Oh these three young adults of mine certainly make me want to tear my hair out from time to time but for the most part, I so feel for them right now. And, for some strange reason (ahem) they are not comforted by Steve and I telling them how much worse this 'situation' would have been when we were teenagers (seriously, though? 1990 us stuck at home with no technology with which to connect to our friends, or to binge watch the latest show? SO MUCH WORSE, am I right?!).
It isn't easy for them right now, and I worry about the isolation within the isolation that is happening for so many kids in this age bracket. The only thing I think I can do though, is to try each and every day to summon all the empathy, patience and love that I can. And, maybe most importantly, to give a little. That might just mean ordering online the likely very toxic hair dye that my fourteen year old daughter asked for (she's got black hair now, y'all!). Or putting - for the very first time in Soule Family history - a television in the living room so that they can watch movies together. And just rolling with it a bit, when there is lashing out or behavior I'm not thrilled with. Letting it go...on a whole new level.
And also? Embracing and celebrating the moments when the magic happens and it does all come together. On Saturday, Steve and I found ourselves barely able to make eye contact about it, for fear of jinxing it all, as we saw all five of our kids, unprompted, playing capture the flag for the third hour in a row. Granted that may not be how most of the days are going, but it is happening. And so we hold onto that treasure of a moment, and we do our best to be flexible and to forgive. And to love. So much love right now, that's what we all need.
