Friday, March 13, 2009

Domestic Bliss or Carl Larsson Moment

Does it ever happen to you that something undefinable shifts, and you see everything in a slightly different light? I mean "see" as in how things actually look. A moment (or longer hopefully!) where all objects, living creatures, hopes and dreams all seem connected to each other, perfectly placed, the light touching down in just the right spots, with colors, sounds, smells, temperature, all adding to an overall perfection?

Ahhh. So rare.


So wonderful!

I had a moment like that today. I will try and capture it...It was mid afternoon, we were still in our nighties Annie and I, me wearing a favorite multi-pocketed apron and knee high rain boots, the both of us going about garden/aviary tasks, granting a few of Spring's many requests. Our silly hens were walking single file around the edge of Annie's trampoline, while Jasper warmed himself on the patio instead of chasing the poor dears. I'm aware of, but not tracking, the on-going conversation that Annie's is having (to herself?) as she talks to the birds and tucks fine strands of nesting material through the wire of the aviary for all the busy, nesting pairs. I turned to grab the broom and oh! Everything pulsed in unison, and I'm seeing all my deepest wishes and loves and dreams merging together in a few moments of suspended joy. Oh! The intense pleasure of sharing this day with my child in all her vitality and connection + the animals roaming freely with their humor and earthiness + the safety and embrace of my own back yard + and myself, hair in a scarf, still not dressed, gliding from morning to late afternoon following my bliss as it presented itself. Could I have dreamt up this life exactly?

Much later,
I thought of Carl Larsson. When I look at some of his work it hints at his ecstatic moments of domestic bliss. I love how he captured his family, going about their lives, in the garden and in the rooms of the house they shared together, all on a sheet of watercolor paper.

Brita In The Flowerbed
Carl Larsson (1853-1919)
(My apologies to Carl for tinting Brita's hair to try and match Annie's.)

4 comments:

Pat said...

If a mother is blessed, she will have a moment like that. when the earth, the sun and her connection with the child seems so ordained, so right. It feels as if the circle of life is flowing through you and the child to the earth and to the sun and then starts all over again. You have been blessed, and you expressed it beautifully.
The painting does look like Annie, proving another connection with the universe.

Garden State Kate said...

what a glorious morning!
It is quite chilly here this morning, and no sun..we are off to the garden center to pick up a few things...blueberry bushes perhaps...later we will plant our peas and beet seeds.
I love spring!

Kristin said...

Was it deja vous? It doesn't matter really, but it is strange when something so familiar presents itself. It nice you acknowledged your feelings of happiness and that you shared your experience with your readers.

In a small picture on my reading list of your post, I thought the image was your daughter at first (because of the hair) until I went to your site and I noticed it was a painting. I enjoy your blog so much because of all of the original art in it.

Cher Mere said...

Sounds like you had a beautiful moment. You shared it so wonderfully.