Wednesday, 13 May 2009

Together Moments




This painting makes me think of those special moments we share with our children when they are little and so new to the big wide, thrilling world around them.

Like the time my daughter and I sat on a beach together at the very tip of Africa where the gently temperate Indian Ocean meets the ferocious and frigid Atlantic. We watched as an ungainly pelican pottering drunkenly along the shoreline suddenly opened his wings and took flight. I remember her excited intake of breath as he soared in precise and elegant circles overhead and then like an acrobat, swooped down in a graceful arc to catch his dinner.

Those joyful moments of discovery when paddling through the shallows hand in hand, we spot the luminescent pink interior of a perfect conch shell lying in the sand at our feet. I can recall so clearly her look of surprised delight when she put the giant shell to her tiny ear and listened to the swishing, echoic sibilance of the sea.

Moments when you see that glowing look of triumph when she accomplishes something momentous. It may have been when she finally reaches the topmost branch when climbing a tree, or riding her bike for the very first time without support. Maybe it was when she swam a whole length underwater, or when she shoved fear aside and dived from the highest board.

Those moments when she cups a butterfly in her hand before letting it go in that wide gesture of freedom. Or perhaps that moment when she watched a foal being born – a sweet mixture of slight repugnance and wonderment on her face.

That moment when, together, you laugh so hard at the antics of a mischievous vervet monkey that your tummies hurt. Those moments on the boat, with the wind filling the sails, the water flashing diamonds as it skims the prow and you turn to each other and just smile at the heady exhilaration of it all.

Those moments when she is tucked up in bed, all shiny and clean and sleepy. Pink-cheeked from a day in the sun, she snuggles up close as you sit beside her to read a bedtime story. Halfway through, you look down and see dark eyelashes fluttering as she drifts off happily to dreamland.



Bean Dreams


33 comments:

A Cuban In London said...

Tiny moments... little mementoes that keep those halcyon day firmly engraved in our mind. Many thanks for sharing these memories.

Greetings from London.

Hana Njau-Okolo said...

What a lovely summoning of moments that breath fresh courage and beauty into our days. Thanks for sharing.

Mama Shujaa

Tess Kincaid said...

This was lovely.

pink dogwood said...

I absolutely love this post. The last picture takes me back to when my daughters were very little and I used to sit next to their crib and watch them sleep.

Renee said...

Tessa that is beautiful.

The mometns shared with our children. The real moments shared with our children where we are both present.

Beautiful Tessa and it made me cry.

Love Renee xoxo

Debra Keirce said...

This is such a sweet post! Of course, I noticed you didn't mention the first time you got into a vehicle and handed her the driver's wheel, or the first time she shouted "Shut Up!" to you, or the first time she declared that you had no idea what you were talking about, because you were born in a different millenium. I think I like your memories better than mine right now, Tessa! For sure!

Vanessa Brantley Newton said...

Hello Beautiful Tessa, hope that you had a most wonderful Mother's Day. Thank you so much for your very kind and heart felt words left at the blog! Such good energy to start the day with. You are such an amazingly talented woman. What a great painting. It's so very moving! I wonder what they are talking about???? Amazing work you share and do.

Rosaria Williams said...

Tessa, we are in awe. You weave beautiful stories for all of us, taking us along on your journeys, on the beach, collecting shells, spying pelicans. "..Echoic sibilance of the sea" is a perfect example of your exquisite prose style. You transform the ordinary into a lyrical splash of sounds and sights. Thank you for sharing this gift with your blog friends.

And thank you for visiting and chatting with us. We are lucky to know you.

Elizabeth said...

So very lovely
yes, when we have children we experience everything all over again and more vividly even.
Wonderful memories to share with your daughter in the far far distant future.

Grace Albaugh said...

How wonderfully lovely! What a lucky girl to have a mother remember these things about her.

Grace

Ces Adorio said...

You narration gives me goose bumps. So heartwarming, you induce me to reminisce and my heart is both afire and afloat!

I love your bold colors and clean lines. Thank you for being so kind and generous with me.

Eleonora Baldwin said...

That painting looks like me and E.

I am living those magical moments now with my little man. Same exact wonderment, awe, giggles, freedom, fluttering sleepy eyelashes. Same same same, Tessa. This was beautiful and it made me cry happy tears. We are so lucky.

Ciao wonderful lady, your writing and your art are a godsend. They make us better. Thank you...

Sarah Laurence said...

Tessa, you capture the mother-daughter bond so well in words and image. Well done! I think I'll take my daughter for an ice cream today and e-mail my mom.

Angela said...

Beautiful, Tessa. Your words reminded me of my girls when they were little, and my oldest is now expecting her own little girl!
I know, DEB, there are hard times in-between, but as soon as their own babies arrive, it all comes back to them too! The love you once shared, these precious moments, they never disappear!

Woman in a Window said...

Beautiful pictures in photo, art and word. All of it. And those moments, those first ones of discovery, they keep coming but in different waves as they age, but none are as sweet as when they are two or three.

soulbrush said...

awwwww gulp.

Delwyn said...

Hi Tessa
It is so good to count our blessings,
Happy Days

sallymandy said...

I hope hope hope there are still lovely moments with a grown daughter, because mine is growing out of those innocent days and I'm currently a very sad mama. At least I know I'm not alone. Thank goodness for other mothers. I love your painting, Tessa.

xo

Hannah said...

Time passes by only memory remains. what a lovely post:-)

Tracy said...

A very tender and lovely post along with an equally poignant image, Tessa. Such an image has Mother's LOVE written all over it. :o)

Reya Mellicker said...

It's such a beautiful painting, so intimate.

Don't remember moments like this with my parents, but I have had gorgeous times of quiet and just sitting with dear friends, just looking out at a view or the sky or the fire, just sitting, not talking. Thanks for reminding me how wonderful those moments can be.

Polly said...

You write so beautifully, thank you so much for sharing those little treasures.

This made me hope that one day I'll be a mum too.

Loni Edwards said...

This post just made my heart sing. Thank you for bringing back some memories of my own daughter (who is 13) when she was small. :) It is a great way to start my day! Beautiful, vibrant painting. I can see the love!

Beth Kephart said...

I stumbled upon the conch shell. Have you really? Found a whole one? And raised it to your ear? I've dreamed of that, Tessa.

As always your colors spark me alive. Whenever I am drowning in the workaday, I am saved by you.

JuneMoonToon said...

Absolutely beautiful, Tessa.

I don't know the proper way to pass along these 'awards', but I have one for you here:

http://junemoontoon.blogspot.com/2009/05/alluring-amusing-bewitching-impressive.html

kj said...

oh tessa, how easily this brings me to tears. that picture of your daughter at the end is stunningly beautiful.

and your art. you are so talented i don't quite know what to say. i LOVE your art. i don't say that lightly or often. i want to come visit when i can take my time through your archives and savor every painting, every post.

i want to visit you regularly, and get to know you. that is my wish tonight. oh, and i want to thank you...

love
kj

Caroline said...

Tessa - your painting captures those 'together moments'so well. What a treat it was to read your beautifully written post and what lovely memories you've shared with us! I'll be spending the rest of the day thinking about my own children and those special moments! I really appreciated your lovely comment on my blog too - thank you, it made my day!

Bjornik said...

Tessa, I love this! You talk to my mother and she'll tell you what satisfaction she gets keeping the first strands of my hair, my clipped fingernails, my umbilical cord, the bloodstained shirt I was enwrapped with at birth and my first poop.hahaha

I don't know if she kept a tally of my girlfriends names too.:P

karen said...

beautiful post, and I've so enjoyed catching up on all your others, too. How I wish it would have been possible to have a bit of time to say hello in the UK, but, alas, that was not to be! x

Exmoorjane said...

What a lovely post and gorgeous pic.
Came over to say I have an award for you - though it's a bit rude.
jx

Blue Muse said...

What a lovely post -- those moments are true treasures for both of you -- As my son has moved into teenageland, those moments seem less and less, but I know that bright eyed, beaming, curious little lovebug is in there still :)
The painting is gorgeous - the colors sing "summer" and all that goes with it!
Happy weekend
xo Isa

xxx said...

So lovely to read stories of someone who shares there world through the eyes of love.

best wishes
Ribbon

Bee said...

So sweet. I guess that everyone has some version of these memories, but yours are so beautifully expressed -- and with such exotic locations,too!