Focus on Life, Week 5: Capture Our Hearts

Festus, one of the many fine ARA steeds. San Acacia, NM, Feb. 2013

So the photo-a-day thing isn't happening; between my work schedule and essential family time I just can't squeeze out enough time for daily photo taking and processing. I'll try to make a weekly post at least, just to keep myself creating, and am happy to link up with other creative people at Studio Sublime... Yesterday gave me plenty of creative opportunities and inspiration: I took the kids and my dad for a ride with Acacia Riding Adventures (ARA), an outfit in San Acacia, NM, that specializes in horseback rides for all ages and experience levels. It was AWESOME. The kids and I were tired and edgy after a long week, me after 20 straight days of non-stop working and traveling with no downtime, but after a few hours of riding Ranger, Char, and Splendor through high-desert chaparral and Rio Grande woodlands we were revived, to say the least.

I felt almost born-again, in fact, and could feel my long-buried love for all things equine finally begin to come back to life. Why long-buried? When you have something and then can't have it anymore because life intervenes and makes it impractical or takes it out of reach, I think you sometimes have to wrap it in a thick shroud and bury it somewhere to dull the keening ache. (To put it dramatically, I guess.) As a child, I lived for horses. I mucked out stalls and cleaned tack and fed and watered horses at a local stable just to be near the horses and to earn riding time. When I was 15 or so, I got too busy, and money had to go elsewhere, and then... somehow 30 years went by during which I was able to ride maybe 3 or 4 times, and having a horse or even access to one was so far out of reach that I had to let go of the desire before it burned a hole in my heart.

Embers can hold heat for far longer than we might think, fading almost to black yet reviving brightly when finally reunited with air and fuel. We'll be riding again very soon, that much I can say for sure.

26/365: To Market, To Market

Philbert the pig enjoys a backslapping good time with a new friend. Reading Terminal Market, Phila., PA

Yesterday I took time out to see family and spent much of the day with my beloved aunt Nancy and her husband, John. We ended up at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market, which I first visited in 1984, and I am so happy to see that it is just as vibrant as ever. I went there almost weekly for the six years I lived in Philly and as often as I could after leaving for graduate school, and I visit every chance I get to return to the city. This market makes Whole Foods look like, well, the shamelessly overpriced, self-righteousness-inspiring, fake-green enterprise that it is... sorry to offend anyone who shops or works there, but seeing the Amish families bringing their foods to Reading Terminal for a quarter the price of Whole Foods, and knowing exactly where this food comes from and who raised it, affirms my belief in truly local markets run by the people who actually raise the foods they offer us.

That said, I will miss this place when I fly back to New Mexico today... and I will renew my commitment to buy locally wherever I am, whenever I can.

I'm linking up this week with The Studio Sublime's Focus on Life series; please visit the other participants' pages for some really beautiful art in various media.

25/365: According to What?

Bowls of Pearls by Ai Weiwei, Hirshhorn Museum/Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC

After training, a treat, a quick stop in Washington, DC, to see the sights (gently dusted with snow) and stop in two of the Smithsonian museums. This photo is from Ai Weiwei's exhibit at the Hirshhorn, "According to What?" If I get time later I'll put up more photos from the trip. I'll be so happy to get home, though I am also happy to have had some great experiences here.

24/365: Repurposeful

Mural in paint and repurposed water bottles, Monarch Academy, Baltimore, MD

This week I've been learning about how to do education the way it should be done, if we really care about kids enough to understand how they learn and live best. All my training this month, in fact, has been about working most effectively with kids, which really means learning about how they experience the world and how we can help them make their way through the world. If this means setting aside the worksheets and charts and mastering paint and scissors and glue guns and glitter instead, I'm all in.

21/365: Big Picture

Rocky Mountains from 35,000 feet or so, Colorado

Travel day, this time by air - I hate flying, except that I love being way up in the sky and seeing all those amazing patterns and formations and textures formed as earth, water, and air interact in geologic time. What looks rock-solid up close is revealed to be constantly shifting from afar, and immensity becomes pattern, and unscalable becomes comprehensible.

20/365: A New View

View from a courtyard, Corrales, NM

This weekend's training in play therapy gave me excellent theoretical grounding and practical skills in what I consider the best and usually the only truly effective way to work therapeutically with kids. It also affirmed what I've been doing so far, mostly winging it with help from books, DVDs, and consultation with other play therapists. I was surprised to learn that most therapists and psychologists, when asked directly, say they don't really want to work with kids. I suspect it's because kids don't usually talk openly or logically or coherently, at least not to relative strangers peppering them with prying questions, leaving us left-brainer adults at a loss and, I'll admit to this if no one else will, feeling kind of dumb for not knowing what to say or what to do when faced with kids who can't or won't talk about what's going on with them.

The key: communicate with kids in their "language," whether verbal or nonverbal, and be open to viewing things from new, unexpected perspectives. Watch them play to learn their language. Accept them for who, what, and where they are - if they sense that, you already have a good connection to build on.

18/365: Outside

Testing the ice, near Magdalena, NM

My travel schedule is harder on the kids than it is on me, so I took Friday off to spend the whole day with them before taking off for two more trainings, one over the weekend and one next week. With the weather finally warming up, a walk on the property got us all out of the house and into the fresh air again. Laz went straight for the pond to see if the ice was still there (it was), and Lucy seemed to watch him carefully and actually nudged him a few times when he got close to the pond's edge. Best. Dog. Ever. As you can see in the upper right side of the image, Riley wanted to play, too...

17/365: Domestic New Year

Of all modern notions, the worst is this: that domesticity is dull. Inside the home, they say, is dead decorum and routine; outside is adventure and variety. But the truth is that the home is the only place of liberty, the only spot on earth where a person can alter arrangements suddenly, make an experiment or indulge in a whim. The home is not the one tame place in a world of adventure; it is the one wild place in a world of set rules and set tasks. (G. K. Chesterton)

16/365: Dognapping

Riley and Blue

15/365: Interlude

Drago in the sun, near Magdalena, NM

I took the morning off to take the kids for flu shots, and since getting a shot always sucks I then took them to breakfast before dropping them off at school. Since I had an extra hour before having to head to work, I took a short walk on the property and soon had company, always welcome and especially if it's equine. Drago is one of my favorite of Doc's horses; I haven't ridden him, I just enjoy him walking beside me and occasionally nudging me for treats. This was such a welcome break from the week's busy routine that I might have to do it again soon, once the weather warms up a bit.

13/365: Sierra Ladron Sunset

Sunset, Sierra Ladron, Socorro Cty, Jan. 2013

12/365: Winding Road

Detail of patio at Southwestern College, Santa Fe, NM

“The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order... the continuous thread of revelation.” (Eudora Welty)

11/365: Outside World

Mural, Southwestern College, Santa Fe, NM, Jan. 2013

Finally, some photos of the outside world, thanks to a trip to Santa Fe for the first of four clinical seminars in infant mental health. This newish, multidisciplinary field weaves together family therapy, neuroscience, and even some anthropology to understand and explain how infants develop and learn, always in the context of their human relationships. Working with babies seems, to me, like a joy and a privilege, and helping families and communities address emotional and behavioral problems early on can have a huge impact down the road. And as much as I love the comforts of home, I did need a change of scenery, some novelty to reawaken the imagination.

10/365: Insistent

"No, you will not move; I am comfortable now."

Might as well round out the pet parade here; I didn't have much choice since I didn't want to stray far from bed this evening (Thursdays are 10-hour workdays) and Max wasn't about to yield his warm spot 3 inches from my face.

Weekend rambling might bring more photos from a broader range of experiences... maybe. And I might even use my real camera for a change. Dang, winter makes me lazy.

9/365: Tiny Hearts

8/365: "You sleeping again?"

Rocky investigates why his food bowl is empty

You may notice a theme to my 365 project photos so far: at home with family and (animal) friends. It is too cold outside (for me) to hike or garden or "appreciate nature," so I am focusing on home... and waiting for spring. That is all for today.

7/365: Therapy Dog

Lucy has been my steadfast companion for almost a decade now, and she always seems to know when I need extra loving. She came into my room this evening, lay her head on the bed next to me, and looked so soulfully at me that I could have sworn she was telling me, just rest, you need it. Indeed I do; an old back/shoulder injury has been flaring lately and the pain is intense, even waking me up sometimes. Having Lucy beside me is the best medicine... she always gives, never complains, but I know she has pretty bad arthritis in her legs these days, so I comfort her whenever I can, too.

6/365: Twelfth Day of Christmas

Interior of an old snow globe

So it is time to put the Santa snow globe and all the rest of the holiday things away, put the tree outside (it's a live one that I'll probably plant in the front yard come springtime), take down the lights... maybe tomorrow. Weekends are too short to rest *and* clean house. Winter weekends are, anyway.

5/365: A Dog's Life

Riley naps on a winter day... on the leather sofa...

4/365: Game Night

Tonight we had an impromptu game night; Maggie beat me soundly at Earthopoly (the Millenials' version of Monopoly) and did the math to prove it. Smarty pants. :-)