“I was 17 at the time — I thought that writing meant using $20 words and if you can find $50 words, all the better. And I wrote these essays about — I don't know what topics — topics I considered worldly. And I had my mother read them before I sent them off to colleges and she said, 'You sound insane.' It was one of the biggest arguments we've ever had and we just went around and around. I thought, 'This woman obviously doesn't know good writing.' And we were slamming doors. I remember this like it was this morning. But she, as she always does, she prevailed and she said, 'Just tell them the truth. Pick out something from your life. Speak from the heart.' And so I told them about a part-time job I had with these two eccentric booksellers in this little bookstore near our dinky apartment, and I just wrote about how these guys gave me books and talked to me about books and how much I looked up to them and how they'd open the world to me and I couldn't wait to extend that experience to college — just read more books with smart people.”
—Author J.R. Moehringer on writing his college application essay
Eye Candy: Balancing Act
Life can be overwhelming sometimes…well, a lot of the time.
Its difficult for me to balance the many aspects of life, the many roles I play: mother, wife, daughter, friend, small business owner. And most days the only time I have alone, is when I shower and that’s usually interrupted by Hawke banging on the door yelling “mommy, mommy, mommy.” My mornings are spent with Hawke. I try to schedule play dates and trips to the museums, library, and zoo in the morning. Naptime is my only solid two to three hours of solid “work” time, when I ship orders from our website, return emails, and make phone calls. I finally saw the top of my desk last week, for the first time in over a month. After nap time we run errands, play outside, clean up the house, and read books. Then its dinner time, bath time, and by the time sleepytime (Hawke’s bedtime) comes around, all I can think about doing is face planting onto the couch!
Each and everyday resolves around raising my son and while that is certainly my top priority, I must start nurturing the other relationships in my life: my relationship with my husband, my family, my friends, and myself. The past two years I have been in a hormonal haze, which I finally feel like I am emerging out of and what I’ve learned is that balance is the key to living life with a smile in your soul and the sun on your face. Balance means letting life flow through you and that means taking each day one at a time. When something is funny, I laugh. When something needs to be done, I do it. And when I need to cry, I cry. And that’s ok. I’m still figuring it all out.
- Sutton
All photos can be found on my Pinterest boards, “Eye Candy” & “Picture Perfect”
