Ragsdale Road is born:

Ragsdale Road: Welcome to The Lifestyle & Legacy Blogbook - ~for the life we lead and the legacy we leave~

creating space for creativity

I recall stories told to me by my mother of my great grandmother . My great grandmother loved and lived by the Rolling Fork River as fog often blanketed the mornings and the cool sweet scents of evening settled in towards evening. A mountain to the west provided shade as she snipped beans or sang hymns on the front porch. An indoor hand pump provided her with water as she cooked on her wood stove. it was such a simple genuine way of life. Such peace emanated from her and the farm. her beliefs were solid; her love, strong, yet she was as gentle as the kiss of a butterfly.

I wanted to remind myself to enjoy the art of everyday, those magical moments around all of us. For the past few years, I found myself hurrying through the days, always trying to catch up and never quite making it. I felt exhausted, sad, depleted, but whenever I played music, it changed. I focused on each note, and how good it felt to sing. I thought, if I can relate this to my moments in life, maybe I won’t rush though it all. Maybe I can “stay present” as they all say. I never quite understood that phrase. It alluded me and frankly irked me. Present in what? In the mountain of never ending chores, sleeplessness, laundry, career tasks, and miscellaneous cavalry of to dos that march into your middle life? How does one accomplish that and what does it feel like? The idea sounded good but I wasn’t actually achieving it. Then suddenly, after a few years of struggling, I slowly started to understand…

I believe it’s in deliberating noticing the things around us that make you smile. Whether it’s a cheery orange pumpkin or a wildflower poking through bramble, it’s about

Consciously allowing yourself the space to experience.

Make room for the moments. The ones that don't involve big plans and pinterest worthy captions, just the simple, fun, lose yourself in the moment times. I found that I couldn’t do this when I felt overwhelmed, disorganized, unprepared, so here are the 5 things that helped me the most:

Sleep
Sleep is not optional folks. I operated like it was for a long time. You are NOT "getting things done" when you stay up all night; you are burning yourself out in an unproductive manner. It's especially hard if your only alone time is when the rest of the world is asleep. It is so SO tempting to just relish that time to the point that you trade sleep for it like black market currency. But just say no to 4, 5, or even 6 hours hours of sleep. You deserve more. You deserve to let go, repair, heal, switch off. Digging deep here, I wonder if sometimes we subconsciously punish ourselves by avoiding sleep. Like, "oh going to bed with a good book is for people that got things accomplished during the day. I need to finish this or I should have done better at xyz so now I'll just stay up till I drop and then I'll be too exhausted to examine why I'm feeling bad about myself."
Prep Food
and always clean the kitchen after dinner. By prep, I don't mean those weekly meal charts with carefully curated sides...If that's you, bravo. I just mean prep as much as you can manage, like even just thinking ahead to the next meal. Im perpetually in the habit of waiting till everyone was starving to be like, "ok, what do we fix?" If you can think ahead to peel some carrots, potatoes. anything that helps make a few less steps, that's huge. Plus, I find it fun to look forward to whatever I'm planning, have the kids help gather garden items for it. This takes a mundane task and turns it into a treasure hunt!
Snap Shots
Take snapshots of all the little things that make you happy throughout the day, no matter how small. Grab your phone and snap those shots, and at the end of the day, look through them together. Littles love that, and it reminds you of all you actually did and preserves it forever.
Music
Play music whenever you can. If you are musical, play the instrument. If you sing, sing your heart out. If you can't carry a tune, turn up the radio. Apple music has a karaoke feature on almost every song so crank it up and sing along. Kids love a good dance party, and even just finding a good youtube playlist can boost your mood tremendously for free!!! I also have portable bluetooth speakers that I like to play low volume piano hymns (think Hobby Lobby style) and this really calms every down and create a happy peaceful vibe for homework, quiet time, etc.
Your Time
Figure out when YOUR “me time” exists and then plan for it, utilize it, enjoy it fully. You will be much more prepared to be present when you feel like you’ve accomplished some things weighing on your mind.

This was from a spring photoshoot we did in a sea of bluebells...Check out how they turned out here

Riding down Ragsdale Road

So thank you for riding down this road of life with me and exploring the new creative space here. I'm excited about sharing all the things God has opened up in my life and grateful that He is blessing me with ways to voice it. Life can be bumpy, but there's nothing I love more than an open road adventure, good music on the radio, and a great conversation. Thanks for having it with me:-)

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