An Ordinary Life

Recently I came across a blog written by a fellow expat living in Australia titled "In Search of a Life Less Ordinary."  The title resonated with me, so I bookmarked the page and have gone back a few times to read his posts.  Is that what we are after, I wondered, a life less ordinary?  Is that why we find ourselves living in Melbourne, Australia? Is it a good goal? Perhaps, and yet, by far the majority of our time is spent doing very ordinary things.  It might sound glamorous to move to the other side of the world, but the reality is that most of our days are spent dealing with the mundane.  Grocery shopping, folding laundry, going to school, completing homework assignments, compiling reports, responding to Blackberry emails, and sweeping the kitchen floor for what feels like the twentieth time in two days.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to hear Sarah Turnbull, author of Almost French and All Good Things, (which I reviewed in my last post), speak at the Melbourne Writers Festival.  The host of the discussion remarked in his introduction that Sarah has been called "the most envied woman in Australia," largely because of her perceived glamorous lifestyle that came about after she moved to Paris on a whim and married a Frenchman.  To make it even better, she and her husband relocated from "Paris to Paradise" when he accepted a job in Tahiti.  And yet, as Sarah spoke to her audience, it was clear that her goal as a writer and reader is not to be part of extraordinary stories, but rather, to participate in the ordinary. "It is the well-told story of an ordinary life that fascinates me," she claimed.  What is more, she came across as totally believable.  

I grasped on to those words and they gave me inspiration to keep trying to write a good story out of what feels like a very ordinary life.  We muddle along most days, trying to keep our heads above water, wondering if we are making the right decisions for our future.  Should we be aiming higher?  Are we stuck in a sea of mediocrity?  It sure feels that way from time to time.  

Ordinary can mean different things depending on your perspective.  We have noticed that in Australia it often has a negative connotation.  "That coffee was pretty ordinary" means it was a lousy cup of coffee.  But sometimes ordinary sounds not so bad--after reading about a tragedy, for example, or a story of a ruined celebrity's life. I haven't decided yet if our goals for life should be labelled either ordinary or extraordinary.  For now, what I tell my kids most nights is to make the most of what they have been given:  to extend kindness to all those around them, to respect their teachers, to learn as much as they possibly can, and to try their hardest. Now that I am thinking about it, those goals are somewhat out of the ordinary. 

Here are a handful of moments from what has been an ordinary week.  

First, the morning school run to drop the girls, brightened on this particular day for James by a special friend to take in the car: 

Spring flowers on the walk to take James to school:

Picking rosemary to add to our risotto:

Waiting for an afternoon strings concert to begin:

Smiles from my daughter when she spots me sitting in the front row:

 Those are all ordinary moments I would not mind reliving.

Comments

[Karen Morris]

I love it! Great reminder! Blessings to you and yours "down under" from " over and up"!

[Linsey Smith]

James looks so cute, what a stud!:)

[Christie]

Thanks, Linsey. I won't tell him that you said this, however, as James does everything possible to avoid the adjective 'cute.' Stud is probably okay :). Blessings to you and yours as well Karen. I enjoy keeping up with the whereabouts of your family through your fb status updates.

[Shanda]

What a wonderful essay, Christie. It spoke to my heart.

Thank you, also, for commenting. It was especially nice, as I was just thinking about you yesterday as I folded clothes. I realized with a start that I had not visited your site in a while....so here I am, and happy to see the pictures of your life and family.

much love!