The pictures were taken, finally

Just to make everything “easy” on ourselves we had scheduled an outdoor photo session for the whole family, in the same week that we were painting our house. If you really think that sounds easy you have to consider that the location was in Trondheim, in august, when it normally rains. We were all to be pictured in our national costumes which takes time to put on. Then our housepainter had left the job half done, as it was impossible to finish it when it was raining all the time. Our garden was ruined by the big scaffolding he had left in our flower beds the whole wet summer, and of course, the house had to be painted, impossible or not. Which meant the job was going to be an involuntary character-building exercise for the whole family.

At times like this, when I feel the day really does not have enough hours, when I really need to sleep to be able to do anything- then I feel like I am hovering in the air above the bed, never able to sink into the refreshing sleep that I need. It is not that the tasks are impossible, I just keep going over my game plans, rearranging and thinking it through. Never quite believing that it will all add up to a day well spent, which is my goal everyday.

So it kept raining, every time it stopped we ran out to paint. The deal was that the photographer should also call the next time it did not rain and she was able to make it. Just to complicate it all, we wanted the shots to be taken in the woods, not near her studio. The first time she called we were able to change from overalls to national costumes and be at the spot in two hours. We arrived  just as the photographer came, and just as it started to rain again. We waited for a while, overcast is actually a very good light for portraits, but not rainstorms. No luck. The next day we were quicker, even so I had to do some extra breathing exercises to look as if if strolling through the woods in my best finery was my favorite pass time, any day. We managed, she got great pictures. The kids cooperated on the experimental shots she wanted to do for an exhibition, we all were happy, but quite worn out. Not she though, she was just laughing.

The day I picked up the pictures had also been hectic, she was still calm while she talked to the customer in front of me. Then I saw that she had a bowl with tiny woven dolls on her desk. They did not look neither as toys or collectibles, I had to ask, “what’s the thing with the dolls?”
“Oh, them, they take care of my worries so I don’t forget them,'” she said,” It is my Mexican worry dolls, at night I tell a worry to each of them, then I put them in a small bag, and stuff it under my pillow. It is very relaxing, I never worry that I forget to worry about the things I should be worried about anymore!”

To me that’s often it, to be able to sleep I have to know that my worries are taken care of. It works to write a list. It also works to mention each in a prayer, often prayer is just that. It is not God that needs to be reminded of all the things we are worried about, it is I who need the reminder that he knows. The dolls were cute though, and they never loose a worry.

In November I take part in the NaNoBloMo not the BlogHer network. I post every day on “The Untangling Tens” what women do when life gets tangled. These are the ten tools that worked for those I have asked, what are yours?

All pictures in this blog are taken by me, Solveig Mjolsnes.