Important foreword: The events of today were only made possible by the fact that we were all up and dressed and out of the door on time. Some days this would have read much differently; with more manic begging by me to put on shoes, brush teeth, finish reading….
Photos taken by my son (age 8 and a half)
As I sat down to write this morning I was going to muse about ‘how nature inspires us’. I had already formulated how that would work in my head. I had noted things I wanted to say about the natural world, the plants and flowers… But now as I start typing I know that will have to wait for another day.
Today my inspiration came from my 8 year old son.
This morning we were in the car dropping the tiniest one off at nursery before rushing back for packed lunch making and the school run part two…
As we stood outside of the gate of the nursery we took a moment to admire the view. It really is breath taking all year round. The nursery is in the heart of Lamberhurst Vineyard, overlooking a Kentish valley in our garden of England. Those toddlers are lucky. Today it was freezing cold, the sun rising had an orange glow and the ground was covered in a glaze of crispy ice.
“It looks like icing sugar sprinkled on a gorgeous cake”
My son said. He was right. He took my camera and started to take photos.
He was absorbed by the view, he noticed the blades of grass standing frozen and still, the tiny patterns dancing on the twigs, the feathery shapes on the windscreen, the bubbles in a frozen puddle.
And through his eyes I saw what he saw, the beauty of a lovely day, a moment out from the early morning chaos. And so I suppose this piece is still about nature, but it’s also about remembering to stop, look, enjoy and look through the eyes of our children.
And as we drove back home he asked me to stop the car as he’d noticed another lovely view to take a moment to look at. I did. I stopped the car, we shared the moment (my phone camera not good enough to do it justice), and then we carried on our journey.
Now I am back in the warm and working on a new collection of children's wallpaper and fabrics. Happily drawing safari animals, I am a long way away from the icy beauty of this morning but in my mind I keep coming back to the start of our day.
That little 'time out' this morning really set me up for the day. I felt more peaceful, productive and inspired. Thank you darling boy.
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