Tasha Tudor Day

We celebrated Tasha Tudor Day last year over at Storybook Woods and we'd like to encourage everyone to take a moment (or two) and read a Tasha Tudor book (or two, or three, or four) to remember this wonderful artist on her birthday...August 28th.

As I'm slowly going through my old blog, I'm reposting our Tasha Tudor day from last year into this post.

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Something happened as we celebrated Tasha Tudor's birthday today. The day was less rushed. The baking and painting calmed us. I didn't fly around the house in a desperate attempt to accomplish...whatever. I focused on what I do best...building a home and making lasting memories for my children.

I knew that by observing this day I was walking in the footsteps of a wonderful mentor...a woman who Took Joy in everything she did and Found Peace in her life. She was always purposeful, never frantic. She was always meaningful, never harried.
If only for one day this month, I took meaningful time in the day...time from my schedule, my children's schedule, the world's schedule...and found joy and peace in a day of meaningful, intentional activities. If only for one day, I paused in the world as we know it in the 21st century and I made my children pause to look at life in the hands of an artist.

Seeing life through the hands of an artist gives us a very faint picture of God's picture frame. The work of an artist is meaningful because it shows us that this life is not all about hurricanes and rising fuel costs and co-op packets and blisters on heels after soccer practice and dirty laundry. If life were only these things then the human race wouldn't have lasted all these thousands of years. Artists remind us of the glory that surpasses our understanding. Artists get our attention in the mist of the day's muntane activities and instruct us to, "Listen! Stop! Be Still! Be Still and Know!" Artists teach us that if we lay aside all that the world offers, we see the beauty and tranquility that the Lord created for us.
And in replication of our creator, we can use our hands to create a fraction of that beauty in our homes.

I did, at one point, look over the activity on my sitting room table and thought, "Dear me, I should be cleaning up."

I did, at another point, look over the banquet of flour and cookie dough on my kitchen table and think, "Dear me, why didn't I postpone all this?"

But, in the footsteps of Tasha, we kept on, creating, puffing flour over our hands, rolling sweet dough under our rolling pins, smearing mod-podge on button boxes, and enhaling the artsy smell of paint on our Swallow Post.
And now the day ends with a tempting table set for my little Tasha Tudor fans. They know her by name. They know the peace and calm that comes from bending their heads over her books and soaking in the beauty and comfort of Tudor living.

Today was spent in true Tasha fashion. We didn't sit around and worry about things we have no control over. We took joy in being together. We didn't spend our time in frantic running around. We found peace within our home. That is Ms. Tudor's greatest lesson.
If you can put one thing into this day, I would suggest having your "children pause to look at life in the hands of an artist." Picture up a Tasha Tudor book and enjoy it with your children. We could all use this wisdom, the grace, this peace, this beauty.