“…I allow, just for a moment, the past to push hard against the walls of my heart. Being alive, it seems, means learning to bear the weight of the passing of all things. It means finding a way to lightly hold all the places we’ve loved and left anyway, all the moments and days and years that have already been lived and lost to memory, even as we live on in the here and now, knowing full well that this moment, too, is already gone. It means, always, allowing for the hard truth of endings. It means, too, keeping faith in beginnings.”
~from The Gift of an Ordinary Day:A Mother’s Memoir by Katrina Kenison
Katrina Kenison’s Gift of an Ordinary Day
By the time I finished reading this quote, tears were rolling down my face. The journey of parenthood so often pushes us to places we never imagined, and throws us into moments that, if we truly pause and savor, teeter us on the brink of excruciatingly beauty, tenderness and often, just a touch of peril.
For me, reading The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison is like simultaneously savoring the taste of a fine chocolate, rolling around the decadent sweetness in my mouth, and wanting to devour it, hand over fist, to fill that need for connection to a writer who shares the universal experiences of motherhood, womanhood, and staying true to our dreams. After I read Mitten Strings For God: Reflections For Mothers In A Hurry about her life raising two very young boys, I instantly recognized a kindred spirit in Katrina Kenison – a spirit that I wished I had known when my children were in their early years. But for right now, as my teens explore their identities and their dreams, and as my husband and I attempt to parent them with the willingness to honor their dreams, The Gift of an Ordinary Day softens my soul and frequently leaves me in tears.
Thank you, Katrina Kenison, for being one step ahead of me on this journey, and for sharing your world with us.
Jennifer Wolfe
Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.
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February 21, 2015[…] At the same time this happened, I was reading a blogpost by one of my favorite writer/bloggers, Katrina Kenison, who so eloquently pens the exquisite agony we feel as mothers adapting to different experiences […]
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November 21, 2014[…] Keeping Faith In Beginnings with Katrina Kenison […]
Beth
February 15, 2014I first admired Katrina Kennison for her relationship and work with Olive Ann Burns and her help with Cold Sassy Tree — one of my favorite books. Then I read and really fell in love with Mitten Strings for God! Her words and wisdom is what helped me embrace buying some fun band-aids and stop trying to withhold band-aids from Mary Kate when she needed them on every inch of her body, every single day. 🙂 And yes, the Gift of an Ordinary Day is that much better…helping to arrive at a point of enjoying the transition and embracing the never-ending flow of changes that come as our kids get older and older. So glad you are enjoying her beautiful work! She’s a treasure! Isn’t it wonderful when we find someone who can match our feelings exactly with their words of experience. Right then, life seems less like a personal race and more like a track meet — where we all just stand around and cheer each other on when it’s our turn. Glad to have you at my meet, Jennifer. 🙂
Beth recently posted…My Hero
Jennifer Wolfe
February 16, 2014Beth, I love the idea of thinking about parenting, motherhood and growing older as a track meet…the craziness of all the events happening at the same time, people working to improve their personal best and support their team…great imagery! Yes, yes, yes, I love Katrina Kenison’s lyrical writing; it hits me right in the heart, the core of what I’m experiencing right now – what you’re experiencing, too! So glad to have you at my meet as well, Beth. Thank you. ~Jennifer
Lindsey
February 15, 2014Oh, I know I’ve mentioned how incredibly dear and important this book is to me. It touches me again every time I open the pages. So glad you loved it too.
Jennifer Wolfe
February 16, 2014Lindsey, yes you have. I’m savoring every bit, and highlighting as I go! <3
Lindsey
February 15, 2014Oh, yes. I think I’ve mentioned how incredibly dear to me this book is. And that passage you underlined is one of the ones that touches me most deeply. xoxo
Lindsey recently posted…to call forth its treasures
Jennifer Wolfe
February 16, 2014Yes, that passage just brings tears to my eyes and fills me with such contentment, knowing there are other women out there who not only have experienced identical feelings, but are making it through to the other side. Hugs, Jennifer