N4L 105:"The Gift of an Ordinary Day" by Katrina Kenison

 SUMMARY

In her memoir, The Gift of an Ordinary Day, Katrina Kenison becomes a voice for all women who begin motherhood blowing bubbles and tickling tiny toes but are all-too-soon pulled into the tumultuous years of teenage angst. Looking back, Kenison is surprised to find her most precious memories are “the ones no one ever thought to photograph.” Fortunately, she had the good sense to slow down enough to relish "the gift of an ordinary day.” Then, while transitioning from mothering teens and emptying her nest, Kenison simultaneously experiences physical upheaval as well. For three years, her family lives in a state of “constant impermanence” as they leave one house, tear down another, and build a new one. In this “Mother’s Memoir,” Kenison gives us a front-row seat to her intense, maternal emotions while “stumbling through the intricate dance of holding on and letting go.”

KEY MENTORS

Olive Ann Burns: after being newly diagnosed with cancer, this author of Cold Sassy Tree teaches Kenison how to live in the moment Krishna Das: leads the only retreat Kenison ever attends; in spite of traveling 300 days/year, he proclaims he is “always home” Kenison’s parents: offer to let Kenison and her family live with them for three years during their home construction; help her “pick her battles” while raising teenagers

QUOTES FROM KENISON

“The idea of an ordinary day as a gift was profoundly powerful to me, and it didn’t change the way I parented in any way my sons would particularly notice, but it changed everything for me because I didn’t want to miss a single minute. I didn’t want to find myself looking back someday with regret because I’d been too busy racing through my life when I could have been enjoying it and savoring it.” “My job [as a mother] was to make sure that my family was always ‘home.’ So, when we were feeling a little uprooted and at loose ends, I realized ‘home’ was something we could create wherever we were.” “[To bring love into our home], I did a lot of work on myself, my own 'soul aerobics.'" “We have so much practice with “lasts,’ and they begin in infancy…so by the time we send them off to college, we’ve had a lot of experiences with ‘lasts,’ and yet that is such a huge transition.” “It’s about process, not product….The more we can let go of attachment to outcomes, the happier we are.”

BUY The Gift of an Ordinary Day Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition

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Watch Kenison read a chapter from her book, "The Gift of an Ordinary Day."

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