Unfolding

It occurs to me that a blog is quite a bit like a romantic relationship. It starts out all fresh and new and oh! so! exciting! You have so much to say to each other. You miss each other (or your comment notifications and site stats) when you’re apart.

Over time you calm down. You settle into a comfortable routine. You’re talking (writing) less and less.

This blog was easy to write in the early days of the farm. There was so much going on. New ventures, new animals. So many things to learn, so many problems to solve, so many (many!) mistakes made.

And now… it doesn’t seem like there’s much to say. Really, this is a good thing. It means that things are quietly humming along without the earlier drama and angst.

But I wonder if it also means I need to look closer, dig deeper, pay better attention.

I’m sorry if this blog has become boring. It’s not that I haven’t been writing, it’s just that I haven’t been writing here. Today I was looking for a poem I’d written last year, trying to remember which of my random notebooks I’d scribbled it in. In the process I came across a piece about the farm that I don’t even remember writing. I sense that I was unhappy with it, cast it aside and evidently forgot about it. Almost a year later, I kind of like it. Not because it’s a great piece of writing, but because it recorded a day where I did look closer and pay attention. I’ll share it with you soon.

I’m a little sad that I won’t have newborn calves to take pictures of and write about this year. I’m sure it will make Matt happy to hear me admit that, as much as I liked to complain about his cows. But this year there are no mama cows, a story that I apparently neglected to share here (but I think did mention on the Facebook page.) So I will catch you up on that one soon, too.

My “word” for 2011 is cultivate. My idea was that each month of 2011 I would choose a different focus for my word, and of course my left brain had 12 different topics of focus planned out for the entire year. For example my focus for January was “cultivate routines to allow for spontanaeity.” But since then I’ve found that it’s been better to let the focus for each month come to me organically, and I’m feeling like the focus for April just might be my right brain saying “screw you” to my left brain and have something to do with writing & art & poetry & photography & creativity.

We shall see how that unfolds. “Unfolding” seems a fitting metaphor as we head into spring. The tree buds unfold into leaves, shoots unfold into flowers. I feel like that’s where I’m at as well, unfolding back into my creativity, my own spring, after a year or two of just laying low. Stay tuned…

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5 Responses to Unfolding

  1. Mindy says:

    Kelli, I so enjoy your writing. You really should make a book. Add that to your long list of to do’s. I will be first in line. 😉 Hugs, -M

  2. Susan Helfter says:

    Hurrah! I’m on the stats! Thank you for writing to us. And by the way, your camera takes AWESOME pics.

  3. Patti says:

    I so love the right brain saying screw you to the left. I truly need to do that more often…well maybe not in mud season. You are right on about blogging. I lost intrest in mine when it became “day to day”. I think I may need to take your advice and look deeper, look at the small picture instead of the big one. I love the “cultivate” too. The bible tells us to “put on” so many time. Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness or put on a heart of compassion . I too love your writing even though at times we seem like different pages, we are still in the same book 😀

  4. Elaine says:

    Please don’t stop blogging…even if you think it’s boring. Sometimes reading your blog makes my day!

  5. Kris Bair says:

    I love catching up on your blog…although I must be the first to admit I come and go in spurts:)….the similarities between Iowa and Ohio are amazing….but NO COWS? We just had calf 4 (that survived – calf 5 did not) but I can’t imagine not having them…..hope you are having a good spring! we’ve had nothing but torential downpours here….
    Kris

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