...is the process by which we create, discover, learn and grow with those we cherish most.

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the art of family

Our children constantly challenge us on how we feel about everything. We find ourselves constantly amused and confused over what seems to be the biggest obstacles to even the smallest of details.

It seems like a lifetime ago when we first learned we were pregnant (actually it was just 3 years ago really) but even so, it was a very exciting time for us - two people from two very different upbringings, cultures and religions, spending countless hours designing and dreaming a future together with little ones.


As we crafted this image of our "family" in our minds, we shared our favorite childhood memories and pastimes and talked about how amazing they were.

Aaron Indiana Jones-ing through sewer tunnels in hopes of discovering a lost artifact. He collected baseball cards and sold blow-pops on the school bus so that he could purchase more than his allowance stretched. Even yet, he truly believed he was the hulk because his arms really did glow under the covers. I played department store and tagged all my dolls while running a register out of my jewelery box. I even made my own chandelier by cutting strands of colorful yarn and taping it around my ceiling's light bulb.

Bliss was running through sprinklers in the summers with your cousins, collecting fireflies at dusk, and just making things out of anything we could get our hands on. I once took a stack of Chinese take-out menus from the front lobby of our apartment building and made Chinese stars so that I could sell them door-to-door. It meant the world to me when one neighbor exchanged what I made with my own hands for a dollar. Looking back, I am grateful to that person, who could have easily shut the door on my face, but instead encouraged a budding entreprenuer to knock on the next door. Moments like these from our childhood resonate deeply. Replicating these moments for our own children seem to be a challenge however. Mostly because of where we live and the obligations we find ourselves so conveniently wrapped up in.

Family gatherings, wooden toys, kites at the park, hand-sewn books, and endless opportunities to be creative, playful and adventurous - that's what childhoods are made of. We envisioned taking it further by adapting a greener lifestyle and surrounding ourselves with things as intended by nature. This was the ideal vision for our new family [of course, that didn't last long when I discovered a very unpractical pair of Ralph Lauren pink suede loafers for Ava.]

Now that Ava is a toddler - her natural wonder and mobility to discover and create things on her own has our hearts racing. And sometimes even out of control. Baby Noah's sweet demure and rebellious breakdowns is a courteous reminder that he is not like his big sister and therefore everything we learned the first time around no longer applies.

Our lives are shifting as fast as they are growing - and that's pretty fast. With what time we had, we raised questions and challenged both our old and new dreams. Things we have been doing suddenly didn't make sense anymore, and things we haven't been doing are now on the priority A-list.

The art of family or the creative process of raising children, is about learning from each other. It's about dreaming and connecting our imaginations together beyond what we know now. It's about growing - and learning and being lucky enough to capture the moments.

3 comments:

  1. Alot happens in the time between childhood and parenthood. One of those things is that we often forget how we used to have fun. Back then it came natural- now as adults it is something that seems like it needs to be planned. After all that dreaming and planning about how we were going to ensure our kids would have that same fun growing up, we forgot one thing. They are the experts now. Now, we just get to watch. And love every second of it.

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  2. What sweet photos-- and what sweeter words! So nice to see your prose style has far transcended he limited education you received from that Faulkner-crazed AP English teacher. God bless you and your fine family.

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  3. Mr. Crivello! Not only the finest English teacher - but also a wonderful mentor. I still have your email [the first received at 8am] on the morning my first article was published in the DMN - pinned on my wall. I truly hope that Ava & Noah will have teachers in their lives that impact their learning and embrace their talents - like you have for me. Thank you!!

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Thanks for sharing - I will respond to your comment here as well so check back! xo

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