 Close up of painting waiting to be finished January has slipped by with the beat of a bird's wing. The height of summer in New Zealand is traditionally a busy time of year with Christmas, New Year and school holidays happening mid summer. My artistic work has had to wait in the background while I juggle other areas of life. My son turned 21 in January and we celebrated this milestone with family and friends. I have been scrapbooking his journey by going through all those photos that proud parents take. This has been quite a feat and there is still a few more pages to go.  Sorting through 21 Years of memories One area of my life that has kept me very busy lately is the holiday home rental of our beach cottage. I manage all aspects of this from bookings to cleaning and laundry. January to February is the peak of the season. For us the holiday rental is a 'means to an end' as it is our long term dream to one day live at the cottage permanently. I do need to keep the end goal in site when I get swamped with all that laundry.  Looking through the doors of Sea Greene Cottage, Kaka Point, NZ I have also been journaling to gain clarity for the year ahead. It has been hard to find space even for this during this hectic period. But it has yielded a guiding word for 2016 - discipline. I did initially resist choosing this word in favour of something more gentle or inspiring like balance or clarity but discipline kept appearing in front of me. It seems the universe had spoken!  An old Home & Garden magazine I knew discipline is what I had to practise to give my creative desires space. I had to be tough on how much time I gave to other areas of my life. It was time to find balance again. When I take the time to look back at how far I've come to fulfilling that big dream that seemed so impossible all those years ago, a feeling of amazing gratitude comes over me. Sometimes life can be all work and no play but it is important to stop and reflect and give acknowledgement to all that we have achieved - big and small .....  Our favourite place to walk and relax - Nugget Point, Otago, NZ AND find the time to play and relax! Sue x |
Sue McPhee
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