Notes from the Underground: A Mother on the Edge Reports
From my painting journals two years ago. Don’t I look like Velma?
Maybe it’s the cooler weather, maybe it’s feeling like a sherpa as my kids follow me around from one room or another, but I am SO ready for school to start. Ordinary things that usually don’t phase me are getting me down. Last night I ran away for fifteen minutes to Mark and Meryl’s, so I could have a good cry before tackling bedtime. So sorry for the melodrama, but that’s where I’m at this very moment!
Today I’m shipping Carter off on a playdate, so Madeleine and I can go try our hand at some guerilla art a la Keri Smith style. At first, Madeleine was horrified at the thought–”Mom, really! That sounds ILLEGAL!” But after I assured her that you cannot land in the slammer for leaving post-it notes in public restrooms saying “Don’t give up!” or “Love is all around!” she was totally on board.
What message found in an unexpected place could turn things around for you today? Comment now and we’ll add your thought to our list of post-its making the rounds in Silver Spring today.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:30 am
That is such a wonderful idea…and will make you happy as you do it, too.
I could do with something along the lines of “Getting things done doesn’t matter. Taking time to hug is what counts”
(not very eloquently put, but its the sentiment I need to hear today)
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:38 am
What a great idea. How about: “Look for the divine in everyone you meet today.”
About the fighting kids: that’s one thing I never imagined when I thought about having kids. The fighting! It’s what will do me in, if anything ever does.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:54 am
Oooo. How fun. I want to do that now! The one you posted “don’t give up” is really good. Probably other things like “breathe” or “You’re acceptable” or “You are beautiful” - Have you heard of the you are beautiful campaign? It’s pretty great and has a similar idea.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I’ve had many a good cry as the summer break came to an end (my kids started school on Monday).
Your day today sounds wonderful. You could put some of the sayings from “Beginnings” out there- what about ‘you can take risks. you don’t have to play it safe.’
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Brilliant idea! I’m going to do it too!!
I have a post-it on my monitor that reads, “breathe sister, breathe. Make way for peace and forgiveness and breathe…”
Kinda keeps me grounded.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Ack, the fighting I can do without as well! I’m going to take a fellow blogger’s advice and when I see the negativity rise in my home, I’m going to send them rays of LOVE, LOVE, LOVE instead…in hopes of diffusing it, and calming myself.
And I love this idea of leaving anonymous notes around your community to perk someone’s day…the right person always reads the right one don’t they! How about ~ Love your Soul! Re: You are beautiful campaign, the link is on my site under “muses”…
Here’s one personally for you Jen…
When life hands you lemons, smell a flower instead!
Peace in,
Lil
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:39 pm
“Remember to eat your broccoli but leave some room for chocolate.”
This is how I remind myself that we have to deal with everyday ups and downs, and that we also need a balance between discipline and play, structure and spontaniety, we-time and me-time.
(I adapted it from the title of one of my favourite nutrition books.)
I absolutely love the guerrilla post-it notes idea.
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:43 pm
what fun. how about
You are exactly what you are supposed to be at this very moment.
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Ok, direct quote from a little green guy, but if I were to have a headstone, this is what I’d put on it.
“luminous beings are we, not this crude matter”
Yes, it’s from Star Wars, but really, I believe this.
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Perhaps something like “You are loved, too”. There is somebody here in Toronto who has spraypainted in many places (in green) the words “I love you”… this has made me smile many times when I’ve come across it unexpectedly.
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Awesome idea and I’m totally on board.
Things I could really stand to be reminded of right now:
“It’s going to be OK, pinky swear!”
“Just keep breathing, the rest will work itself out.”
“Stop thinking so much.”
“So, um, what will worrying about it actually change?”
“Look UP!”
“When was the last time you really looked at the clouds?”
“You’re only human.”
Perfection is tiresome. Be messy.”
Apparently I have a lot to think about.
August 22nd, 2007 at 5:02 pm
What a great mom you must be. How cool.
August 22nd, 2007 at 5:34 pm
I found my fortune cookie’s little wisdom as I cleaned up my desk today . . . Any impatience you show will only create more stress.
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:39 pm
You two are so cool!
How about “Something fabulous is just around the corner!”.
It’s the only possibility that keeps me going at the moment…
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:16 pm
zoinks! you do look like velma…
i love the post-it note idea. you’ve got the wheels spinning in my sleep-deprived brain.
xo
w
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:28 am
Sick of the fighting as well and I had the big meltdown on Monday as well! This Monday will bring a new meltdown as my baby goes off the middle school and gets on the bus for the first time EVER! Glad to know I’m not the only one crying these days!
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:01 pm
why hello! nice to meet you jen lemen. i’m nina beana, and i found you through pixie, who speaks wonders about you.
i’m recently obsessed with “i collect good people”. maybe finding “collect good people” on a post-it would be a good reminder for some people? i’m currently researching how to get the saying onto t-shirts, but i can’t figure out cafepress.
anywho, nice to meet you!
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:13 pm
nina–nice to meet you, too! you should check out my sister’s company–she runs her own screenprinting press. http://www.babybrewing.com and she does small runs on request as well.
i like to collect good people, too!
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:19 pm
There is still hope.
or “Whatever it is, it is not impossible”
or “there is a smile left inside you”
(can you tell, I need some of that for myself)
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:16 pm
This is just fabulous, it makes my heart skip a little beat…for me, it is simple…my two favorite affirmation words:
- dream
- believe
And I happened upon a pendant this weekend that has “dream” on one side and “believe” on the other side.
Have the best time spreading the love.xoxoxo
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Oh Jen– that’s one of the best ideas I’ve heard in a long time! I love all the messages everyone’s posted here and I know they’ll make a big difference in someone’s day!
August 24th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
i’m so happy that this is happening.
love k.
August 24th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Jen –I’d love to see your art work with some of these messages! You have the perfect style for it.
August 25th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
[…] « Notes from the Underground: A Mother on the Edge Reports […]
August 26th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Here’s one of my favorite quotes……..
“Time does not change us, it just unfolds us”
~Max Frisch
August 29th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
[…] I’ve been a big fan of Keri Smith’s illustrations-and-ideas ever since my beloved Jen sent me home from Maryland with a copy of Living Out Loud: Activities to Fuel a Creative Life. In this first sprial-bound tome I learned how to make Keri’s “magic book,” which was the basis of my free love give away project last February. […]
October 25th, 2007 at 8:07 am
[…] Inspired by Jen Lemen’s post-it adventure, awhile back I stuck a post-it note on my fridge door. I wrote the word GRATITUDE in block letters and stuck it square in the middle of the freezer door. Whenever I walked by the fridge, I would see that word and think of things that I feel gratitude for in my life. […]
March 11th, 2009 at 11:43 am
[…] been a big fan of Keri Smith’s illustrations-and-ideas ever since my beloved Jen sent me home from Maryland with a copy of Living Out Loud: Activities to Fuel a Creative Life. In […]