This Moment.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Inspired by Soulemama. 

A Mixed Bag.

Oh, what a time we have had lately. Thank heavens for school holidays! Honestly, I could write that last sentence here and just leave it at that. 

This blog post was started during the school holidays over Easter but obviously I got sidetracked! We've had a carnival of weather fronts around here, and although it has now settled somewhat, into typical late Spring weather, I thought I would share some of it with you.

A few weeks back we awoke to this, my favourite kind of day, the kind of day when the veils between the worlds melt away and we find ourselves in some Otherworld, where even sound becomes different, and our footsteps echo strangely, the quiet breath of imagined Other~lings cool against our cheek.

These kind of days take my feet on a wander, down to the sea shore, and away into the hills, where People seem to have retreated away from this world and do not walk the streets, but stay quietly indoors away from the damp, the strange stillness, awaiting the return of the sun.

But not me. No, my feet wander, my heart filled with the monochrome silence, happy to be Lost for a while...

And then, one morning soon after, we awaken to find that Spring has arrived, the bluebells nod outside the window, the air stirs a little warmer and the children shed their winter skins, coats discarded in the garden, shoes and socks kicked off, oh joy! at cool, dry grass between their toes!

And the days warmed so considerably that the sea began it's siren call, drawing us to it's shores, promising summer days to come, filled with sandcastles and picnics and lazy days with nowhere else to be.

And even though the days turned wild and stormy again, still the pounding sea could not quell that growing Summer-ing that has taken hold of us all, now that the evenings stretch out their arms, lingering just that little bit longer each day, shyly hoping we won't mind.

And we did retreat indoors for a while, the halls murmuring with little voices, important business of the day beginning early for some, and for a while the focus was on Home, and Time Spent Together.

But as I said, the Carnival continued, and the sun simply could not stay away.

It's times like these, when little boys are being Little Boys, taking life by the horns with gusto, and revelling in the light and the few extra degrees in the air they storm through, building tents and making go-carts, and doing it all themselves when the grown-ups are too busy to help, it's times like these I catch in my heart, hold tenderly and with complete focus, for I know oh too well they melt away all too soon, drift away into teenagedom and a bigger world.

And although it's behind us now, here's a picture of this year's Easter tree.

We had a lovely break, with family time in abundance and not much else, other than good food and attention to detail.

But tonight, with a storm warning in effect, we baton down the hatches, and await the next dip in this roller coaster that is Springtime Weather, dolefully eye our sagging, leaky sand bags, and hoping the sea stays where it's supposed to, over the next few days!

I hope you are all warm and dry, wherever you are!

Before They Fly The Nest....

Thoughts of a Mother when she spies her chicks testing their wings.

Has anyone ever noticed how easy it is to blog with small children in your ether? How the tiny, busy hands just beg to be photographed? The little tousled heads bent over a treasure, a wondrous find? Oh, the ease, and the countless magic moments that present themselves each day if we pause and look up for a minute.
It has been on my mind lately how the years are racing by, just a breeze glancing past my ear at times, and suddenly our small ones are not small but big, and we have two teens in the house who, because there are still two more small ones here, often escape my camera and I seldom blog about them any more.

For what do they do but sleep and lounge and eat, with no interests other than friends and music, no concept of a world outside their own, and a social life I am rarely privy to? Oh we are in the midst of someone else's Age Of Unreason. Remember that? Not the unreasonableness of a toddler. That is sweetly endearing. Most of the time.
No, this is the teen version.
I have no doubt many of you reading this are fantastically familiar with this?

And while it is the most natural, gradually evolving process, so subtle for the most part you barely notice it creep into your household, still, one day you find it is there, has swelled to fill hidden corners you never saw, is now like a presence right there with you, these people whose passage out of the green scented bowers of childhood is fast approaching, who are no longer completely immersed, but are treading water, heads glistening, excited faces turned towards the sun, about to strike out for shore, so sure of their way.

And while there are times we disagree with their methods and means, can see how difficult they make it for themselves, still, we have to stand back and let them figure it out, (with the occasional firm guiding hand when inexperience is a danger!) for let's face it, they have yet to realise that their previously held, and now somewhat doubted, belief that we, their parents,  know everything, may not be that simple and straightforward, but is nonetheless still kind of true. 

And do you know what? So far, I have been nothing but heartened. Heartened and reassured. By their choice of friends, and the way they are with one another, by the tales that have come back to me via other parents of their thoughtfulness and, at times, their courage to stand up for their friends, to stick to their principals and say 'Now hang on just a minute!' 
So I am happy to stand back, to let them test their boundaries, test their wings, but in doing so provide a place they can come back to, a place they want to bring their friends, and that their friends want to came to.
For I am not yet ready to let them go.
Not just yet.

Quite Early One Morning.

I took a short walk down the garden, and contemplated the arrival of Winter.

I took a few minutes to pause and breathe and wonder.

A few moments in which to gather myself.

To let go of the whirlwind of chaotic madness that took over my life for the last few days.

The running round chasing my tail driving endless forking out meeting needs hugs and kisses bumped knees shouting laughing toast and jam soup fireside stories bedtime waking up time bath time homework washing clothes friends coffee driving nagging nursing hugging walking breathing dreaming loving...
driving
driving
driving...

Yes. Jay is away again. And someone always gets sick!

Roll on the weekend...

A Little Milkmoon-ing Of Another Kind.

One day not so very long ago, on a bright sunshiney day I gathered my best-loved everyday things,  put them in my doughty, dependable bag and ran out, (leaving the door wide open for hedgehogs and lizards and herons to come calling) of this little blog-place I call Milkmoon, hair all asunder, cardigan-in-case-of-clouds all askew, and I think I may have lost a shoe. Or two. And in the last days of this most lovely of summers I lost my way too, followed too many white rabbits to too many beaches, took trains and boats and marvelous travelling contraptions to places I'd never seen (and some I had before).

We lost days and days and days I am sure. For it is the only explanation I can find for how we have ended up in the rainy windswept grey autumn place we are now. But I thought I would not spoil this lovely sunny memory with that just yet, so will keep those pictures tucked away in a brown paper envelope under my book pile for another day or so.

But I have returned. And look! A small flurry of leaves have crept in the door, a tiny mouse sits on the windowsill, and oh my, a film of dust on everything.

So I promise to set to work, to roll up my sleeves and polish and scrub and scour, and set to rights all that has slipped into this sorry, neglected little pile of Milkmoon-ness. And I will practice my extraordinary powers of ignoring the obvious, (in this case the fact that School has started again), and I will instead turn my attention to my trustworthy little car-companion: my Little Red Tin.

So here's to busy autumn fingers, and I hope yours is being productive too. And now, back to some proper blogging for this tardy lady. I promise.

The Little Ghosts Of Summers Past.

This weekend we will be returning to an old haunt of ours. A very special place that we hold dear in our hearts. A place we knew so well as children, and have magical memories of.

Lough Key Forest Park 1976.

A place we returned to year after year, for as long as we could remember, up until we were briefly too cool to go and the spell was broken for a while.

Lough Key Forest Park, 1980.

A place that lent itself to the idyll that is a child's imagination, that made books like 'Swallow's and Amazon's' and The Famous Five come to life.

Lough Key Forest Park 1980.

We were Kings of the Castle, Lord's of the Lake. We tramped through the mud, the mizzling rain, we ran the gamut of possibilities that this kind of freedom allows.

Lough Key Forest Park 1976.

And though these holiday's ingrained in me a love of eating outdoors, a dread of Monopoly and Scrabble, and a love/dread of camping in general, this lake and land of memories never fails to cast it's spell.

Lough Key Forest Park 1980.

And so this weekend we will return once again, with all the additions to our ever growing family, in the hopes that it becomes, for the next generation, the Place Of Great Importance that it was for us.

Please Indulge Me A Moment Longer?

There will be real photos in the next post, I promise. But for now please indulge my latest penchant for such nostalgic images as these, as my devotion to all things Nostalgic is well known in these parts, and indulge I may. For another little while...

This littlest of mine, finally back on his feet after a whole week of poorliness, of broken nights, of coughing and fever. Always such relief, especially as I am always reminded of this time last year, something I would rather not do.
So between having a babe-in-arms again, and party preparations, it has been a quiet week here at Milkmoon the blog, which I hope to remedy this week.

Party celebrations I hear you ask? Yes! We've had another birthday here in the Milkmoon household. Our Only Girl is now twelve! A proper Tweenie, and her last year of it. And her birthday party was the most relaxing one I ever had the pleasure to host. All that was required of me was to provide food and cake for twenty (plus) children and they did the rest, including organising a Talent Contest which we had to judge. It was absolutely wonderful, the winner being an eight year old guest who got up and made up a song on the spot. A scurrilous tale that was hilarious and actually quite moving, and in the true bardic tradition named and shamed the rascal that broke his promise to her. As he sat there in the room. Marvelous. And yes, he saw the funny side!

So while they partied, we Mama's prattled, and enjoyed ourselves quite as much as the children did!

And with the earlier part of the week lovely and sunny, being home was a pleasure, and as we have our annual Solstice Party coming up, as well as some visitors from Paris in July, we've been snatching any spare moment we can to try and actually finish a number of housey things that have been on a very, very long finger indeed.

And I promise in the next few weeks I will have some long-overdue house pictures to share. Almost a year late, I know, but gradually becoming a real possibility.

And in the meantime, have a wonderful and beautiful week!

(I think I may just have to make this Nostalgia post thing a regular here...)

We Couldn't Help Ourselves!

First of all, thank you all so much for you're sweet words on the previous post! It was truly wonderful to get each and every one of your comments, and so many too!

And now, it's that time of year again!

(I forgot my camera, so please forgive the slightly dodgy iPhone photos!)

It's such a rare treat here in Ireland to leave the house at 7.30 am and for the temperature to be a lovely 17ºC, or to walk out of the cinema at 11pm at night into a balmy 22ºC. Really. It is rare. And all the more to be celebrated when it does happen.

So even though I am up to my eyes, as they say, and have a list of a million and one things to be doing, when we get weather like this it really is a case of dropping everything and heading off down the coast to maybe this beautiful beach, or another, and embracing the sun while it's here.

I do hope the sun is shining wherever you are, and your weekend is shaping up to be a wonderful one.

And if it is, then do what we did and take some time out. That list of things-to-do will still be there when you get back, won't it? It's not going anywhere without you!

Have a splendid Sunday!

Summer's In Bloom.

We've had some glorious weather, followed by grim. The start to a very Irish summer, by all accounts. And it is true that we do talk an awful lot about the weather, but that's because it is just so changeable! In one day you can have hail, rain and shine. Like today.

It is heartening to see everything bursting to life around us, and some days have been truly glorious. Every year I promise myself I will start a garden and every year it becomes 'next year', yet again. Ours is a wilderness, and some day I will tame it. Someday.

But it is wonderful to have family and friends who do garden, like my parents who really and truly do make the most of their little plot. It's so lovely for the children to spend a couple of happy hours planting and watering, knowing the day will come very soon when they will be sent out to snip and pull for their dinner.

And isn't summer all about hanging out with friends, having picnics and going places? Well, we have been striving to do just that, in spite of the fact that it's not actually the holidays yet, but after all, we have to grab the sunny days when they arrive on our doorstep!

And there's nothing quite like an ice-cream sundae for a gaggle of kids on a sunny day.

But my house has been rather quiet too this week, with My Only Girl off up in the far North of the country, Donegal to be exact, a Gaeltacht where they only (mostly) speak Irish. This is the child who doesn't even do sleepovers, and in spite of the fact that she is finding it hard being so far from home, is doing it all the same.
And The Eldest has been away a bit too, off up the coast working as an extra on a film, and I have to say all of this brings a feeling of being somewhat rushed along into the next phase where they are away, gone off living their lives and oh, please!! Just hang on a sec...

Let's just pause again, for a bit...and go at toddler pace? Because they are really good at slowing things down and making the most of those long hot summer days that are just around the corner!

And finally. This is what I saw out my window one morning. And yes I am loving my iPhone Best Camera app for tweaking photos and turning my reality into a dream...

Summer Came Knocking At My Door And I Forgot To Answer...

It's Beltaine today. The first day of May. The first day of summer. And once more I am reminded that I am further out at sea then I was even a year ago...

It must be the stage that all the children are at right now, but I find myself feeling regret at all the things I did with the older two when they were little that I just don't seem to have the time or focus to do now with the younger two.

It's been too many years since we had a Maypole like this one. And last year we didn't even manage to leave out something for the fairies like the previous years. So this year I was organised, I was focused and determined, but then The Little One was on an unplanned sleepover, and being six he would be the driving force behind my desire to make sure we include this kind of magic in our year.

So it didn't happen again this year, and I am disappointed. But I reckon that the fairies that visit here are just like us, and their time-keeping leaves something to be desired. And maybe they might just be late.

So we will wait.

And I am hoping they come tonight. The Tardy Fairies. And I am hoping we get to a bonfire today, even though we won't get to the festival of the fires on the Hill of Uisneach.

And as a result of all this mental admonishing I have to decided I need to remind myself of how easy it is to include this sort of magical thinking in the everyday. And I have come up with a plan...

The Week In Pictures.

Is it Friday already?

Where did the week go? I have to admit this week was one I am glad to see the back of in some ways. Nothing terrible happened really, apart from The Little One getting a tooth pulled out at the dentist which was dreadful. Oh, and The Smallest got locked in the car. And quite a few mornings late for school because someone fell in the mud (head to toe) as they climbed into the car, or another morning someone else, halfway to school, announces she brought two shoes for the same foot by mistake, and then yet another morning someone else decides to fall in the mud. Sigh.

And I won't go into the hundred and one minor things that all add up nicely to One Of Those Weeks. You know what it's like, don't you? We all have them at one time or another.

So, yes, it's Friday, and the house is quiet at last, and there is a few nice things lined up for the weekend including a lie in for me.

So here I will leave you with the highlights of all the good parts to my week. My favourite kind of grey week that included snow and rain, and lots of walks by gloomy seas, but that started off with a sunny walk in Glendalough, a place that resonates with the voices of ghosts of yesteryear. A place that holds a certain kind of Magic. A place of incomparable beauty.

It's the still place inside me.

(These are Lights! that I found in the most unlikely urban place one day.

I really want one...)