Walking with Toddlers

Toddlers don't understand the concept of walking as a function. For them it is a chance just to amble about while staring at bricks and clumps of earth and marvelling at how they came to be on the pavement.

They double back, walk sideways and often simply stop walking altogether before staring attentively up into the sky.

Instead of getting cross and trying to hurry them on, embrace the way they follow one impulse of curiosity after another.

Toddlers are the masters of instinct. Once you have rejected your agitated impulses that seem intent on driving you on and on you will discover what it truly means to be relaxed.

At first this process may be frustrating for a hassled adult, but once you have abandoned the hope of being somewhere at a specific time you will find yourself revelling in a state of childlike torpor.

While following this nobler means of perambulation the world around you will begin to morph into a more magical place.

Sticks you would have otherwise trodden over turn into the staffs and swords that swoosh through the air to the echo of brave, long-forgotten heroes.

"The fundamental job of a toddler is to rule the universe".
~~ Lawrence Kutner


These are photos of my beloved Joseph when he was a toddler. He is now 5 years old and will be starting school in 2012. I feel so blessed to have shared one day a week for 5 years looking at the world with this beautiful soul.

A Smile

Is the most beautiful and multi-lingual silent statement.

A smile can mean so many things:

Hello

I am so happy

Guess what I've been doing?

I am a friend

Thanks

Pleased to meet you

No one can tell I'm in pain

Everything will be all right

It's great to see you back on your feet and looking so well

I'm here if you need a hug!

"You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face, And show the world all the love in your heart, Then people gonna treat you better, You're gonna find, yes you will, That you're beautiful as you feel."
~~ Carole King


My favourite photo of Joseph taken in Dee Why February 2009.

Here is Joseph's version of the ABC song - he is my little ray of sunshine and always makes me smile! - May 2010

A Bit of Advice

Joseph 1 day old in August 2006.

Letter to be given to Joseph on his 18th birthday:

Dear Joe, may angel face friend

• Don't listen to baby boomers who tell you you've got to slow down and "smell the roses". We never took that advice when we were young and neither should you. Throw yourself at life!

• Don't cross the road with your iPod on....or whatever the devise is called in 2025.

• Never get into a fight with your neighbours. Apologise. Make Peace. Buy them a case of beer......anything.

• When meeting someone over lunch, the way they treat the waiter is a better guide to their character than how they treat you.

• Eat your vegetables and clean your teeth.

• You are what you eat but also what you read and watch and hear. Don't feed your brain with rubbish, at least not all the time.

• Don't be negative. Whingeing is for people who want to blame others for their troubles, because it's easier than finding their own way forward. If a friend makes a habit of bad-mouthing other people, take a moment to wonder what they say about you. Spend your mental energy on people who think you are terrific, not people who dislike you.

• Tread carefully if a friend asks you to counsel them about their love life. Never agree with their assessment that their ex-partner is horrid, as they will make up the next day.

• Never ignore an invitation to dance.
  

• Never buy an expensive umbrella as you'll lose it within the month.

• Don't be tight with your money when it comes to your friends or charity.
  

• Surround yourself with people who bring out your best side; people in whose company you become fabulous, funny and wise.

• Remember the most important decision you'll ever make isn't about career or investments, it's your choice of life partner.

And remember I will always love you unconditionally.

Namaste
Pegs xxxxxx

"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing." ~~ Author Unknown


Joseph - March 2010, Cromer, Sydney - In our favourite park.

Bonds Boy

Inspiration seems to be the buzz word for June.

AVT Coach is talking about it....here are some questions she is posing:

"Can we decide to "inspire another" or do we "inspire another" by living a quality life of positive abundance and that in itself is enough? Does inspiration come spontaneously in a different form for each individual or are there qualities that are globally inspiring? What or who inspires you"?

Then there is Annemarie's brother Andre who created a photo blog called A to Z Photos , hoping to inspire photographers and get us clicking away again.

Andre wrote "As a professional writer and photographer sometimes I find that when I'm away from work I've exhausted my creativity. I've found it hard to keep myself inspired and motivated to shoot photos for myself".

Andre wants to encourage all photographers--pros and hobbyists--particularly all those who have had a little trouble staying motivated to shoot more personal photos, to take part in A to Z Photo Blog.

These photos below of my beautiful "Monday" little man Joseph are my "B Photos". As it was way too cold and wet to venture outside I decided to scan my photo files and found it was such an enjoyable experience searching for photos relating to the letter B.

I hope Andre's blog attracts lots of participants because we could all do with a little inspiration and that's what the blogging community is REALLY good at.

We Support, We Teach, We Inspire AND we have heaps of fun along the way.


Bonds Boy Joseph, Dee Why, Sydney, May 2009


Bonds Boy Joseph, The Mall, Sydney, May, 2009


Bonds Boy Joseph, Cromer, Sydney, May 2009


Bonds Boy Joseph, Narraweena, Sydney, June 2008

Joseph in the Park

Joseph is 2 1/2 years old, we spend each Monday together and this is a typical scene shot with my digital camera (quality not perfect) of our time spent in the park..

He is no relation. I used to look after his mother when she was 7 years old and now I have the privilege of spending a day each week watching Joseph blossom.

Date: March 2009

Note: A little way into the video I ask Joseph what else do we like and he says "Swing Low" which is a song I have been singing to him since he was a baby.."Swing Low Sweet Chariot"....bless his little heart to remember that.

An Interview with God

I was googling something or other and found this interesting piece. You may or may not have read it before, but I thought it was worth sharing.

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

'So you would like to interview me?' God asked.

'If you have the time.' I said.

God smiled. 'My time is eternity. 'What questions do you have in mind for me?'

'What surprises you most about humankind?'

God answered.....

'That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.'
'That they lose their health to make money.....and then lose their money to restore their health.'
'That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future.'
'That they live as if they will never die, and die as if they had never lived.'

God’s hand took mine and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked....'As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?'

'To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is let themselves be loved.'
'To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.'
'To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.'
'To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them.'
'To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.'
'To learn that there are persons who love them dearly, but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings.'
'To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.'
'To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.'

'Thank you for your time,' I said humbly.

'Is there anything else you would like your children to know?'

GOD smiled and said, 'Just know that I am here.....always.'

Inspirational Quote by an Unknown Author:
Happiness is a healthy mental attitude, a graceful spirit, a clear conscious, a heart full of love and friends.

One of my favourite photos of Joseph taken in December 2007 aged 16 months.
What an amazing blessing Joseph is, a true gift from God.

Woman's Work Is Never Done - A Dialogue

Blind Freddie knows that work associated with women is traditionally undervalued!

Housework and raising children are expected to be their own reward and, indeed sometimes they are.

Occupations and professions associated with women - nursing, teaching, social work - are not the big earners. Women are dressmakers; men are tailors. The name of the television show The Cook And The Chef says it all - she's the cook (the daily grind); he's the chef (the prestigious special event). And if the title doesn't say it, the numbers do: When girls get married, they double their domestic load; when boys get married, they halve theirs!

And if wildlife documentaries can be trusted, even lionesses have their crosses to bear. It's they who bring home the bacon, only to stand back as the big boys have their fill of the choice parts. Leftovers then go to the hungry, growing cubs, before eventually, all tums contentedly full, the ladies can sit down to lunch....of what's left.

If life on Earth relies so heavily on the female, it's probably not surprising we call so abundantly on domesticity to furnish the metaphors of daily life. We have a lot to do, we have many pots on the boil and we may be cooking up a storm.

We prioritise some tasks (put them on the front burner) and downgrade others (they're on the backburner); and eventually, some will come off the boil altogether.

Problems emerge and we have to sort things out, which may involve clearing up, ironing out the creases or smoothing things over. After all, we don't want a ragged seam! We finish a project and draw a line at the bottom of the page before putting the task to bed. The days that follow may see us tying up the loose ends or mopping up.

It's not all cut and dried but we do our best.

Joseph - February 2007 - His mother was multitasking!

One Week Later

I should be in bed because I have been on the computer for hours replying to my Scrapblog comments and reading other peoples comments....it is so addictive Scrapblog!
I only joined Scrapblog in November 2007 to brighten up my Broome and Northern Territory photos and I never would have guessed that I would be drawn into the Scrapblog community and make such wonderful friends from all over the world.
I have even met one in person...MrsPeel (Cynthia) and her daughter Sarita who live in London. They very kindly met the train I was on from Paris and drove me to my second cousins house. We had spoken on the phone several times before we met and Cynthia was exactly what I thought she would be....vivacious, kind and very hospitable.

Weather wise this week have been beautiful......sunny but cold.....I am finally getting used to the cold weather.....wearing more layers of clothes helps!

I finally got all my photos printed of the French barging, London and Paris and bought albums to put them in......all 350! If I can stay off the computer for a while I'll be able to put them in those albums!

Also I was given some lovely photos of Joseph and myself at his 2nd birthday party and if I can figure out how to put them on this blog, that will be something else I have learnt.

Philosophy have been brilliant lately, we are right into the meditation part of it now, so very little stress enters into my world.

Well it is after midnight again.....story of my life!.....


Peggy & Joseph Aug 2008


Joseph jumping into my arms Aug 2008


Peggy & Joseph playing Aug 2008


Joseph having fun at my expense Aug 2008