Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem... Seize the day. We've all probably heard it repeated time and again. It was a well loved and often used saying of my favorite creative writing teacher in high school. (Robin Williams starring in Dead Poets Society anyone?) To me seizing the day meant capturing those special, magical, irreplaceable moments in life and holding onto them. But over the last few years I've come to realize that most of our days are not magical. Occasionally a day hints at greatness, but most of the time it does not. Yesterday's chores must be done again- beds made, dishes washed, lessons done. Rinse and repeat. Our dinner menu and our clothing may be different, but the essence of our days is much the same. They're... ordinary.

That insight has lead me to believe that seizing the day doesn't just mean to hold onto only the special times, nor to make everyday some exercise in the exceptional, but to seize the beauty in the ordinary day. To wake with an awareness that though the quilt is the same as yesterday's, its weight brought us warmly into the day. To know that lunch maybe peanut butter and jelly- again, but we still smile at the licking of jam off of sticky little fingers, the giggles between bites. To face bedtime chaos with a heart that knows that after the running, pajamas, and teeth brushing battles, those kisses and snuggles are no different from any other night, but we can still seize them.

I am far from remembering that those everyday moments are worthy of being seized. I often forget when juice is spilled or laundry piling up. But with effort I will remember. Barefoot Southern Life is a place for me to write about our plain old, wonderfully ordinary days. I write and photograph and slow down in order help me focus, to recognize the beauty in the chaos and moments to cherish in the quiet.

I hope that you are looking at your days too. Hold tight to the ordinary, whatever that day may look like. Embrace it with a full heart and content spirit. That my friends, is seizing the day. Carpe Diem.

Capturing the last days of Summer

Homegrown water slide