its funny the fragmented thing - i am a very adhd person and have the attention span of a gnat - when my son came along i suddenly came into my own - my head worked really well with the tiny bits of time! i love this shot!

One of my work friends got into a bicycle vs. car accident a couple of weeks ago (Michael was on the bike), and it sounds like it's just as much of a mental shake up as it is a physical one. I hope he bounces back soon! Though, at 40, I'm starting to really realize that it takes a little longer than it used to, even at 35. It's all good though....

'f you stand back just a little bit you can see how it all fits together and makes something beautiful.'

a kind and applicable insight- i am now going to apply to my present life which i describe as feeling like a pinball. I really like this and it feels so much better then beating myself up

=)

(((Healing energy))) coming Matt's Way on hummingbird wings

Namaste

You have such a way of "bringin' it home", Sista!
I am sorry to hear about Matt...praying for a quick recovery ;)

poetry andrea. that was poetry.

Don't I know: waiting for THAT moment. Glad you settled for this one. The place where things can always look up from!

Big healing vibes to Matt! I appreciate this post a great deal today. I've taken the day off from my day job to have some time in the jewelry studio and I'm fighting the urge to distract myself by folding the laundry on the couch, doing the dishes (yea right), oh yea, and there's the boy who needs to get to school, I must shower, or should I update my blog first or....

It will all be done in the exact right time.
Thanks!

Sending good wishes Matt's way. I love the paint chip analogy. I find the people that I value, love and admire in my life are the people who are vulnerable. They expose their "paint chips". We are all doing the best we can and hoping to enjoy it along the way. There isn't a cuter picture than Ben in the last post!

the bohos are sending you so much healing and love matt!!!

and for you my sweet friend, i love your perspective of fragments here. one of the many things i adore about you is your ability to find the beauty and wisdom in all things and then, even when you have little time to do so, you share them with the world so we can be blessed as well.

sending you oodles of strength to care for your boys and most importantly, to care for yourself.

we love you over here.

xoxo

Heal well, Matt!

Great pic Andrea!

Thank you for this post, Andrea! I especially loved your paint-chip metaphor... It got me to thinking about compositions in general, about whether or not I thought it possible to make a composition I'd like from only my favorite colors...and I resolved that it's not. Without some murkiness, the composition would be so flat! This all struck me in a really big meaning-of-life kind of way, yesterday. It helped me to see my trials and imperfections as something less like failure and more like the assurance that beauty is not only waiting but present. :) So often your writing brings me to these little realizations!

What an inspiring post! I never thought of life as being fragmented like that, but it really is true. Thanks, Andrea, as always, for the inspiration.

And well wishes for Matt. Feel better soon!

wow, I love this post. I think learning to deal with life in smaller choppy increments is the hardest part about being a parent. I'm still getting used to it, and feel like the title of my life should be Project Interrupted. Recently I've realized it only leads to frustration when I fight it. So I love the way you've put it here. Find beauty IN the fragments, instead of wishing for life to be something else. Thank you!
also, get better soon Matt! Yikes!

I was just visiting the paint chips this week. The blues, actually. There are seven sets of blues on my bulletin board now, and I'll think of you guys and send healing thoughts for Matt :).

I was just visiting the paint chips this week. The blues, actually. There are seven sets of blues on my bulletin board now, and I'll think of you guys and send healing thoughts for Matt :).

I want to give you a hug today, because it sounds like you need one and because I need one too and because it always seems like you manage to write something like this on days that I need it so badly. It helps me realize that we're all pretty much the same, we all have struggles, we all wonder if we're alone in it all...and we're not. We're not...sigh. I like knowing that. Thank you!

Thank you for something that I needed to hear these days.

Sending healing thoughts and prayers to Matt.

I know exactly how you feel, though I wouldn't have found such perfect words to describe it. You are beautiful! Just sent a big shipment of healing energy on the wind waves from Montreal to California, addressed to Matt. Hope he feels better soon.

I am wearing my new superhero pendant (which just arrived in England yesterday!) and thinking about all of you, hoping some peace and calm will come your way so that you can enjoy the fragments.

and absolutely! sprinkling magic healing dust your way...*poof*! boo-boos all gone. :p

this is why i keep coming back to your website, andrea. you have a way and it's a very tender, gentle and lovely WAY. thank you for sharing that. makes perfect sense to me!

this brought a tear to my eye - which is rare. what a beautiful metaphor for life. i have felt this way for some time now and have never been able to articulate it. thank you for the gift.

you have heard this before (a million times) but it does get a little easier. as a mom of a 4 and 7 year old i am living proof. I did love how you compare life to the paint chip because that is exactly how it is. you sometimes have to stand back and search for the beauty.

sending healing thoughts to your matt. yikes that sounds really scary.

my son had chewing issues until he was probably four or five. he had an extremely high palate and very sensitive gag reflex. i used to thank god for peanut butter, cheese, milk and multivitamins - i think that's what he lived on. anyway, he's a 6 ft tall, healthy 28 year old now - so there is hope!

i wonder if we mamas ever get to live our lives in more than fragments in these first years. i know i feel very much the same most days, things tend to fall away in the face of the daily work of having babies and i find i do far less than i want to when scrolling through my daily lists. but i love how you put it, that it really does look quite beautiful when i take a step back. i remember years ago i though my life like a quilt, full of little pieces of me that i had stitched back together in a pleasing arrangement. now the paint chips seem appropo....
oh, yeah, speaking of fragments and poop...gotta go. one of our twins just pooped in the tent during the only 5 minutes that we let them run naked in the whole day. sweet.

Warm wishes, lots of rest, and speedy recovery to you. (I think some pancakes might help)

i don't have kids, but i can definitely relate to feeling fragmented. mostly because my current passion and my current job do not coincide. but like you say, "If you stand back just a little bit you can see how it all fits together and makes something beautiful." in standing back, i realize that i am grateful that my current job has blessed me with the time and energy (and the funds!) i needed to discover my passion. and maybe someday soon, i'll start making a living doing what i love. thank you for your amazing insight! please share my healing wishes with Matt.

I AM sending healing thoughts to Matt - hope he's better soon.
(Also, I had a baby with "chewing issues" if you need to hash it out...

Healing and warm wishes sent for both you and Matt.

K.

hope you're back on the bike soon...peace and healing energy to your bod...

Healing wishes to Matt from Sedona!
And from the vantage point of having a 24 year old daughter, Andrea - you really can't screw up anything if you're honest with yourself and with Ben. Truly. Enjoy these years. :-)

This post was incredibly well timed. As if you were in my head (which I would not wish on anyone today--way too cluttered). A much better perspective. One that I will don immediately.

I am sorry to hear about Matt's accident. Sending healing thoughts aplenty his way. I'm glad he wasn't too badly hurt.

Andrea, We will send your Matt our healing wishes!

This is so "new mommy" acknowledgment and wisdom:)
I can totally relate and feel good reading your words. May I add from one painter to another that you are painting even when you write at this busy time. Sooo cool, it's your presence showing up in the space between fragments or something like that:) xo and a speedy recovery to your hubby! -L

I'm sorry to hear about Matt's accident & I will be sending healing thoughts through the wires & miles to your home.

I've been lurking here for over a year - since I first found that I was pregnant. I'm constantly recommending your blog to people. I've never commented because... I don't know you personally & for me that's a whole, big, complicated bit. But I really appreciate your posts!

As a mom to a nearly 10 month old I can completely relate to the feeling that life is so very fragmented!

i'm very much in need of this new perspective today, my wise and beautiful friend.

poor matt!!! goodness, that must have been quite a scare!!!
sending healing thoughts for a speedy recovery.
xoxoxo