We’re in single digits on days until school is out, and this morning, we decided we liked it better to say “9 days until we kick off the Summer Jar!” The kids are excited – as most kids are – to be nearing the end of school and schedules and homework and getting up for class. But, I was realizing last night how much I’m excited too. I can’t wait.
I read one time that you teach best what you most need to learn. This week, I’m saying this as much to myself as to my daughter. I’ve been struggling lately with the direction of my business, managing my schedule to allow time to really create, and figuring out how to make some of my ideas take flight. It’s hard work, and it can be discouraging at times. I’ve wondered whether it’s time to just lay aside some of the things I’ve been reaching for — things I know I really want to do. The prospect of “giving up” and leaving things unexplored feels like such a loss and a stretch to my creative energy and hope for the future. As I’ve been praying for clarity and direction, I feel like God has given me little glimpses of encouragement and possibility. The encouragement to keep pressing on. That only good can come from practice, from perseverance, from trying. And trying again. I want that for myself. And I want it for Baby Girl. I always want her to be in touch with her own dreams, and to keep after them. To not let circumstances or discouragement prevent her from what she loves. If she lays something aside, I want it to be a choice made in pursuit of something better — not in settling for a lesser version of her dream.
Don’t quit your day dream!
Today, we’re celebrating a birthday! My oldest turns 13, and I’m really kind of thrown by it. I can’t believe our family not includes a newly minted teenager, especially since every time I look at him, I seem to see this little boy smile.
Still, I’m so very proud of the young man growing up right before my eyes, and I’m so very honored and grateful that God gave me the blessing of being his mother. These years are so fraught with decisions and choices and stretching and learning and letting go and embracing. Growing up is not for the faint of heart. And neither is parenting. I told myself when they were born that I would never wish away any of their stages, no matter how frustrating or challenging. Sometimes I think the biggest lesson in parenting is grabbing hold of that tenuous balance of letting go of the last stage, embracing the next, and holding tight to what matters as we transition between the two. And, the biggest wonderment I continue to find is just how amazing it is to see them come into their own — into their own thoughts, their own interests, their own habits, their own uniqueness. That takes courage. Happy Birthday, sweet boy!
May is here with all its celebration and anticipation of summer! It’s a month when we get to celebrate the joys of motherhood in all its varieties and stages. For us, it’s a month when we celebrate my oldest son’s birthday. We’re entering the teens this year, and I willingly admit I’m a little teary about it. May also brings the end of the school year, which usually means a milestone of one kind or another. Leaving a grade, leaving a school, sometimes graduating from one goal to the next. We’re in full anticipation mode for a summer of fun and time together – “Mommy Camp,” we’ve started calling it. We’re looking forward to renewing our “Summer Jar” activities, and traveling to some of our favorite places with no particular schedules to meet. I’m always thankful in May for the blessing of owning my own business and the ability to orchestrate my own routine as I look forward to spending concentrated time with my crew. But, I guess this month seems to bring bittersweet changes, too, as we shift gears and prepare ourselves for new stages. This is the month we make some of our decisions about the next school year and its activities. It’s a month when I invariably begin to think more acutely about how quickly my kids are growing up, how precious these fleeting days are.
Today, as I was thinking about the beginning of a new month and what I wanted to practice paint for my daily “letters to my daughter” post, I settled on the word “May” and how it’s often the first word of blessings and special requests… May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you, May I have this dance, May the road rise up to meet you, May I help you…. With all the changes and anticipations and endings and beginnings of the month of May, there are a lot of blessing starters there. What a great pursuit for each day of this lovely month… what blessings can I start today? I added one to my monthly printable calendar for the month…May you dream big dreams and chase them. A letter to my daughter and to myself as I continue to fine-tune what it means to create, to be a business, to be a mom, to stick to a dream. I hope you’ll click to download the freebie, and find inspiration to share with its little cut-away art.
At school, my kids are in the middle of a few weeks of state testing. It’s necessary and important, but still stressful for them. Invariably, each one has a couple of nights of anxious thoughts and worries during these days, and I remind them. “You can do it! I know you can.” Especially when they can’t seem to muster the reminders themselves. And the worrisome thoughts deceive. “I know you can.” Don’t we all need that reminder sometimes.
Hello & welcome! I’m Haley Montgomery, and I’m the designer and owner of Small Pond Graphics. I sometimes fancy myself a frog kisser— a documentarian coaxing poignant moments from unexpected places. This blog has evolved from those moments.
The small Pond FIELD GUIDE is part diary, part sketchbook, and part wish list – an archive of ordinary wonders. For years, this space has housed my stories – creative ideas, vintage inspiration, our forays into curious places, and the simple artifacts of quiet of conscious living. Through watercolor, photography, and illustrated tales, these pages uncover the blessing of ordinary days and the wonder found in authentic places and pursuits.
I invite you to open the boxes.
Peek into the drawers.
Rustle through the pages.
I’m honored to have you here.
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