Oops . . .

I made a boo-boo in my last post. I musta been so caught up in the joy of finally posting after a long four months away . . . or maybe I was carried away by delight in painting something new and fresh.






Anyhoo, what I forgot to do was to share that the artwork shown in Saturday's blogpost was inspired by one of my favorite artists, who just happens to also be my daughter. To see more of her vibrantly beautiful art, and to hear her honest/tender/wise insights on her thrice-weekly blogposts, visit her at http://www.persistentgreen.blogspot.com/.



A few days earlier, I had just returned home from several days out of town, and my sweet daughter had surprised me with a "welcome home" painting--a brand new kind of image she was trying. It so intrigued me that I wanted to play around with the same colors and techniques and materials. I had great fun, but ended up "copying" her work. That's not bad, in and of itself--that's actually one of the ways I learn best--but I neglected to cite her as my muse, my inspiration. And in my eagerness, I shared MY art on MY blog, before Amanda even had an opportunity to share HER work on HER blog. Oh dear. NOT good.



I humbly apologize. And I publicly give thanks to Amanda for the myriad ways she inspires me, not only in my art, but in life itself.

Welcome home, Maureen

A new friend just asked me, "How come you haven't done your blog since May 7th?"



That's a question I've asked myself often these past few months. A few blogreaders have even said they've missed me.



Well, I've missed me, too.


And the answer to "Why?" has become clear after much introspection.

[pause here for a floral interlude]

The answer to "Why?" is . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . because.

Yep. That's the long and short of it: because.

I remember when my children were little and traveled frequently on avenues of wonderment and inquiry. These journeys of theirs often set off waves of questions that, in turn, triggered much wonderment inside me. Sometimes what I was thinking and feeling was so large and complex that I couldn't find a way to answer their questions except with a feeble "because."

(Hey . . . something just occurred to me: maybe they didn't want answers from me, so much as a companion on their wonder-full adventures . . . )

Anyway, this current question of why I haven't posted on my blog since May 7th has engendered the same overflow of feelings too big for words, at least for right now.

I went back yesterday and re-read my last post, from May. Honestly, (and hopefully without sounding as if I'm full of myself), I was pretty impressed with that entry. The woman writing it seemed pretty on target with her understanding of crossroads in life, and choices.

For now, what I CAN say, is that that woman made some choices these past few months, some pretty brave and messy and raw and beautiful choices. The road she took then, has led her to this place, now.

She will likely choose, at some point, to share some of her adventures in the Land of Because, because she wants to understand them better, and for her, sharing often brings clarity. Also, because those travels WERE brave and deserve to be honored.

But for now, thanks to encouragement from a very very VERY special fellow-journeyer, that woman is painting again, and can once again see sunlight, even on a cloudy day.

How are you doing, on your journey? I'd love to hear.