I've realized recently that I have friends with really good ideas. Some of which I've incorporated into our routines. Some that I think would be fun to start doing. Several of which I thought I'd share here, in case you find them to be good ideas, too.
Christmas card prayer prompts
When I was in college I was a student worker for the Dean of Students. It was a great job that I looooved. She and her husband are now at the King's College in New York City (her husband is actually president there- no big deal), but one of the ideas she incorporated into their family life has become a fixture for a lot of Unionites over the years. They save all the Christmas cards that they receive and keep them in a container on their dining room table. At every meal, when they pray for their food, they also pray for the person/family on the top of the pile. This is very similar to something my mom did with us when we lived in the Middle East (my mom: rocking Pinterest-y activities before Pinterest was even a thing). That fond memory from my childhood, combined with the fact that I hate throwing away pictures of friends and family, made this idea perfect for us Boswells. So, if you sent us a Christmas card, know that you get prayed for every couple of weeks. I love this for the reasons I already mentioned, PLUS it means that Claire is seeing the faces of friends and family that she may not know or remember. How great is that?
Sometimes, we don't get Christmas cards from loved ones in our lives, but they send cards or letters for other occasions like birthdays or Valentine's Day or something. We stick those in the rotation, as well. Prayer cards for friends in the ministry (East Africa! South Asia! Boston!) also make appearances (Hi, LK and KM and Williamsons!). One of my favorites is from some Boston friends of ours. They don't send a Christmas card, exactly, but Edith hand writes a family update in a beautiful typographic script that is so perfectly uniform it appears that she typed it. She used to do this kind of writing professionally, which I think is a cool line to include in one's resume.
So, send us a Christmas card! We'll add you in (or rotate your new picture in as we bid farewell to last year's)!
That's my sister on the top, there. How. Cute. Is. She? (and her little dog, too)
Postcards just for fun
Our friend, Karl, is just one of the most interesting people. We know him from Union, but we spent quality time with him during his stint living in Boston while working on the Romney campaign in 2012 (so interesting). Since then, he's had a myriad of cool jobs, all in D.C. Really, he just has a super cool life of working, traveling, and living in a really interesting city. He's also a very intentional friend, in general. So, at the end of 2015, he sent a survey to a ton of friends, asking for everyone's address update. If you filled it out, he promised to send you a card from somewhere that he visited sometime during the year. Knowing that he'd follow through and that we'd probably get a card from somewhere cool, I filled it out and sent it back. We just got ours a while back. From Utah! He took a quick trip out for some skiing (as one does when he has expendable income and no toddlers). How fun is that idea? We don't travel nearly as much as Karl does (anymore...we're old and stodgy and have children), but I love the idea and have been mulling over how to do a Boswell variation. Maybe friends would enjoy postcards from Durham or Duke...? And, if any of you are in the habit of doing this already, how do I get on your mailing list?? Seriously, chime in on this one.
How fun is that?? Thanks, Karl!
Mixed Media Mondays
A friend that I went to school with from 8th-10th grade majored in art in college before getting married and having three little girls. She does freelance work from home now, but something that she does consistently (and posts about on Instagram) is something she calls "Mixed Media Mondays." I've been watching her posts about them for months and have been motivated to start planning out some super simple MMM's of my own with Claire (although, they're not always on Mondays) because I like the idea so much. The basic premise is that she and her girls do a craft/artwork/something creative together using a variety of supplies and inspiration. She usually has an idea in mind that she prompts them with and then lets them really tap into their creativity and just go with it. It's the cutest thing. Sometimes they do something like paper mache (no, thanks) or they'll grow their own crystals or they'll make fairy houses out of toilet paper rolls (and glue and paper and flowers from the yard) or they'll color or do something with fabric scraps or...fill in the blank. She pulls out all kinds of great ideas and then takes pictures of what her girls come up with. I'm super interested in helping Claire develop her creative side (which has a lot of potential, I'm discovering) and think that it would be good for me to set aside a specific time every week to do that- even if my goal for the day isn't particularly spectacular. Do any of y'all do/have any of y'all done something like this with your kids or kids you babysit or kids you teach? Have any tips? I'm fairly creative in very specific areas of life, so I'm trying to expand my horizons for this little endeavor.
So, I'm hoping to work (or continue) these ideas into our everyday lives. I really like the skills/sentiments/disciplines that I think they cultivate. I know that so much of life when in graduate school and while parenting small children can seem so just-make-it-through-the-day-in-one-piece, and I'd very much like to work in habits like these that are geared toward enriching our lives, not just sustaining. Maybe that's not practical for the time being, but we'll give it a shot and see where it goes.
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