June has swept by — I had resolved to write a post at least twice a month, and I’m just scraping under my self-imposed deadline.

Lately, my thoughts and musings return to topics I’ve touched on before: the beauty and difficulty of quiet or unseen work, the way the garden and its seasonality mirrors shifting seasons in our own lives, the sanctifying fire of parenthood; the gift that is creating and shaping things with our own hands.

But the words have been hard to find. I don’t have the space or time to sit and craft the things I’m dwelling on into something worth reading — not yet, not right now (ah, yet another way the seasonality currently touches on aspects of my life).

So in the meantime I’m focusing on taking pictures, writing down my son’s funny toddlerisms, and harvesting imperfect produce from my garden (and fighting squash bugs with a fiery vengeance).

Michael currently has two movie obsessions: Disney’s Robin Hood and The Sword in the Stone. He spent a week using any string and stick as a “bow and arrow” until I finally caved and got him an actual (age-appropriate) bow and arrow set (it was much safer than letting him launch colored pencils across the room with ribbons). He picked up the concept quickly, but still prefers to hold it backwards to shoot the wool-ball tipped arrows at his targets. He runs up and down the hall with it, firing arrows and hunting a “dragon-monster”.

The hallway is his favorite place to play because that’s where he’s allowed to launch projectiles (balls or arrows can’t break anything or hurt anyone there). He’s also obsessed with using tools — from cutting up play-doh or his own snacks to using his play hammer and wrench on imaginary motorcycles and broken engines. His newest games are “playing communion” (with a mason jar, broken crayon pieces, and a spoon or his fingers) and “motorcycles” (scooting up and down the hallway on a blanket).

Right now he’s fascinated by both birthdays and weddings. He sings happy birthday at least once a day, usually to me or Grandpa or any other family member he can think of. And he often asks to look at the book of our wedding photos so he can reproachfully remind us that he “wasn’t there” because he “wasn’t born yet”.

More toddlerisms include:

“Here I are!”

“My seat is sunburnt!” (Hot)

“Plug that out!” (Unplug it).

“Play ballyball with me!” (Any game that involves a ball)

Beatrice is growing like a weed and as happy as a flower. She has what I call a “full body smile” that is often accompanied by kicks and wiggles. She’s beginning to teethe, which has led to more contact naps during the day. She continues to be an excellent sleeper at night (praise the Lord). She prefers going to bed early and waking up early: her favorite hour is currently around 5 am.

It’s given me a new appreciation for the quiet grey dawn hours, and it’s made me more of a morning person. I’ve been making a pot of coffee and readying the house for the day with her in my arms, then sitting down for snuggles and tummy time while reading or knitting.

The quiet morning hour or two I’ve been getting to myself has given me time to intentionally revitalize my love of reading. I’m determined to meet my Goodreads goal of 50 books this year (after failing to reach it 3 years in a row). So far I’m on track! If you’re interested in following me on Goodreads, you can find my profile here — I love seeing what my friends are reading.

(I’ve been tempted to add the many times I’ve read aloud Go Dog Go, Green Eggs and Ham, and The Little Engine That Could but I have refrained, since it would put my book count into the hundreds).

One of my favorite recent reads was Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. While I don’t fully agree with all his premises or conclusions, I strongly recommend it to anyone who’s negotiating their relationship with technology. He offers a measured and reasonable response to living intentionally in a technological age. As he says, “A foundational theme in digital minimalism is that…technology, when used with care and intention, creates a better life than either Luddism or mindless adoption.”

My favorite chapter was the one on leisure: a key point was replacing mindless screen time with “high-quality leisure” — things that require mental engagement, hands-on skill, craft development, or social interaction. Right now, my main sources of leisure include knitting, spinning, sewing, reading, writing, and gardening.

I made Jake a pair of socks for Father’s Day, and I’m currently finishing up a matching pair for Michael with the leftover yarn. I’m knitting a simple summery cowl for myself, and I finished sewing a quick summer sundress.

I’ve also been slowly getting back into fiction writing. Beautiful tools have helped my love of it. I’ve talked about my wonderful LOTR keyboard from my amazing husband before, but now I’ve rediscovered writing by hand with fountain pens, and can’t recommend the LAMY Safari pen enough.

One of the good things about most of these activities is that I can do them alongside my children (unlike Instagram). Michael loves reading his books alongside me, or sitting on my lap while I use the sewing machine, or watering or squishing the “bad bugs” in the garden. I knit or write by hand when he plays independently. Spinning and fiction writing usually take place after bedtime.

So I’ve been trying to find the virtuous mean in my relationship with technology and social media in the midst of life’s busyness. It’s definitely a work in progress. But I’m grateful for the progress, however imperfect. It’s drawn my focus towards what I value most of all: intentional presence with the people and things I love.