Crazy fairy random moments – Page 3

Posted on February 28, 2015February 28, 2015 by Amanda Viviers — 4 Comments

Cyclone kinda friends

This afternoon another fire was found to be ravaging our little part of the world and my Mum rang me whilst driving out to her brothers property, asking that I notify the family and see if anyone can help my Uncle fight fire at his doorstep.

One family group facebook message and the word was out. The fireies had it all under control but it got me thinking who are my natural disaster kind of friends.

You know the ones you can call no matter the hour and talk through the catastrophic in your days.

Cyclone kinda friends.

I have heaps of fair weather friends, you know the ones that I can hang out with and have a pleasant conversation when the weather is nice, the wine is chilled and the table is set.

But I am so much more grateful for my cyclone kinda ones.

Seasons come and go, but I have had heaps of seasons when my life looked like a natural disaster.

Disappointment.

Loss.

Stress.

Hasty words I wish I could gobble up and take back days.

Dark, lonely and downright disgusting days.

Through my life I have tried to be a natural disaster kind of friend.

I want to be there when the shades are drawn and the PJ’s have become a uniform.

Also the days when the party shoes are on and we dance until our feet can take not another song.

That kind of friend.

One of my dearest has her birthday around today (a leap year baby) and she is also shifting with her little novice family overseas to New Zealand on a new adventure in the next couple of days. So here is my ode, to one of my natural disaster friends.

Bonnie, thanks for being a cyclone friend.

Someone who kept things real, even when we really annoyed each other.

Someone who with grace always lead me back to Jesus and our faith.

Together we have worked on massive events, birthday bashes, published books together, worked together, mourned over loss of love, celebrated weddings, gasped at the sheer beauty of giving birth to babies, walked, run together, cooked, dieted and feasted together, shared flats, shared too many coffee’s and even more sublime moments.

But mostly I am grateful for the natural disaster kind of days.

Those days when I had nothing left, but you still loved me.

When my babies were newly born and you drove miles just to sit and chat.

Those days are the ones I will miss the most.

See you on the other side my dearest.

Bold moves = Bold results.

Forever

Posted on February 2, 2015February 2, 2015 by Amanda Viviers — 2 Comments

the inbetween

Most nights this summer, as I have seen a flash of pink hit the sky, we have run out to our little position on the stairs and watched the sun say goodbye to the day. Lately there have been many bush fires, so the sunsets have been somewhat bittersweet. The bush fire smoke throws a pretty amazing filter over what would already be a beautiful sunset over our Shoalwater Beach.

Every night as the sun slinks behind the sea though, there is this moment of nothing that lasts a good minute before the throw of colour hits the sky canvas. As I wait there for the colour to come, it is so easy to turn and walk away. The one minute seems so much longer than it actually is.

Many people take photos of the sun circle half dipping into the ocean and others of the purple and pink paint thrown across the sky, but no one really notices the space of the in-between. No one really notices because they are waiting for the flashes of colour to appear. They have a hope that the aftermath of the sun setting will be as beautiful as the time before. Moments of beauty mixed with moments of waiting.

This week I have had many conversations with people who are tired of the in-between. They so desperately want to move forward into the future and live the life they are dreaming of, but they are stuck in this place of in-between. Waiting for something we desire so deeply is a difficult season in anyones life.

A lot of the conversations I have had this week have been with people wanting to get married and they have been waiting for a long time. The in-between.

How do we carry ourselves in the in-between moments of life?

When we are applying for jobs and they just don’t pull of?

When we so desperately want to change our status from single to married?

When we want to start a family and the second little line just doesn’t want to appear?

The in-between.

It is a terribly vulnerable place to stand and look into the distance waiting for the colours of the picture you had of your life. It is just easier to believe that it is just not going to happen and to turn and walk away. It is easier to stop hoping than to stay stuck in a place when the deferral constantly makes your heart sick.

In my seasons of waiting, I have had some years when I have done it well and other times I just got sad, angry and completely over it.

The one thing I was determined to do though was to never give up in that in-between place. I never walked away. Even when my hope was so low, I still faced the mountain before me and believed that there was some way through.

Finding friends who would stand and pray with me. Chatting with counsellors and using writing as a therapy to process and let go of the disappointment and anger. Staying in that uncomfortable place of expectation no matter the years I waited. Reaffirming myself with promises and dreams that tarried.

Whether it is a job, a husband, a realisation of a career you’ve longed for, a change in circumstance, a family. I acknowledge the pain you are feeling in that in-between place. I am asking you to turn and face the horizon though and look for new and beautiful colours to return again.

Have you stopped believing your dream for better days could come true?

I pray healing over that in-between place and hope you can find rest, not growing weary.

Today if you are in an uncomfortable waiting place, my prayer is that endurance would fill your days and the answer you have been searching for in your in-between would come quickly.

Speak soon,

Posted on December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 by Amanda Viviers — Leave a comment

the last time I cried.

On Saturday evening just gone, I sat in a dark room with hundreds of people and cried. Tears dripped down my face and I relived my childhood.

The lights were turned low, the crowd was hushed and music captivated hearts, the curtain rose and I took a big breath. It wasn’t until the little ballerina’s tripped across the stage, that the tears started to flow. Bright coloured tutu’s took my creative heart back to those many years and many concerts and those costumes I adored.

You see, I grew up falling asleep under theatre seats. Every Thursday night and Sunday night, we had rehearsals with our local theatre company. My mum was an amazing actor and I had my first audition for a musical theatre show, when I was 5 years old. Most years we would be involved in two to three productions a year.

Make up, lights, costumes and hairspray.

Scripts, high heels, accents and stage managers.

One of my most vivid memories from my childhood was the night we were wearing our costumes home in the car after being in a performance of ‘Annie’. Suddenly with a splatter and cough, our old combi van broke down. We had no choice but to get out and walk, we had school the next day. So there we were dressed as orphans and our mum Mrs Hannigan, walking along one of the main roads of our seaside town. I can remember the toots of the horns and the flashes of the lights like it was yesterday.

What an adventure.

What a story to tell the kids the next day at school.

I was so cool.

Who had time for 7pm bedtime stories, we were living our dreams out on a stage with vivid colours, lights, with singing and dancing.

We grew up without a Tizzie Hall sleep routine, we grew up without an iPad or computer in our hand, we grew up exploring countries and customs as we pretended to be characters from their foreign lands.

It is because of the way that I experienced life as a child that I am so passionate about creativity now as an adult.

There is something profoundly rich about a childhood full of colour, life and brave moments on a stage. I cannot wait to see my son perform in his first dance concert, in the city at the convention centre this weekend. A memory of self-worth, confidence and achievement, I hope as a two-year old he will never forget.

A rich childhood, full of memories of life, colour and creativity. This is my dream for him. That he would find what he is good at and express it extravagantly.

How about you?

When was the last time you cried?

Happy tears or sad ones?

And what memory did they bring to the surface?

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Amanda Viviers — Leave a comment

Every Morning

Every Single Morning, I do something first thing before I do anything else.

Before I scrambled for my coffee,

Before I reach for the remote and switch on the morning news,

Before I spend time brushing my teeth in a bid to wake myself up.

It is a weird little thing.

A little secret between my sheets and I.

Every single morning I do it, even before I hold my breath hoping my newborn might actually snooze for a few seconds longer.

I do it before I reach for my phone and scroll aimlessly through social media searching for something that might inspire my day.

It is a little weird and you might not like me anymore after you find out what it is.

Something only my pillow knows about, something I have done since I was a little girl.

You see, I am not what one would call a morning person. I wish I could spring out of bed and take on the day with fierce tenacity but I am the sort of person who needs to be convinced out of bed.

I haven’t needed an alarm for the last three years, because my son has been my human foghorn. Even before he yells loudly ‘Wake up Mum’. I do something each and every morning.

Todays question is this;

What is something you do every morning?

Every morning, as the sun pokes its head through the dawn, I lay in bed surfacing from a dream and I open one eye.

Just one.

Not both.

It is like I am lifting the covers off my sleep and saying hello to the day.

As I lay with one eye open, my mind floods with questions like ‘No, it can’t be morning already can it?’ ‘Can I have one more minute of sleep?’ ‘What happened, is it morning already?’.

Then I close my eye. Maybe closing it helps me hold onto the possibility that my soft embrace of dreams and blankets could last just a little longer.

Then I open my one eye again. I start to listen to the ferry that docks every morning ready for its days passengers and listen to the waves that lap the shore. I try to ignore to the squawking birds that reside in the olive grove next door. It is in this half eyed moment, that I take a deep breath and greet the day.

A one-eyed greeting, that says ‘Although I wish I had another moment, even a nano second of sleep, today is a new day and I will rejoice in its newness.‘

There is something so precious and simple about the morning.

The routine that helps us remember our blessings and to count its potential.

Each and every morning.

Even if you wake a little one-eyed, like me, let’s remember that every new day that dawns has the potential to be better than the last.

When our days are dark and difficult, colour can be found in the dark. If you take the time, even with just one eye to find it.

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Amanda Viviers — 2 Comments

finishing the year well

The wash of a year like this is starting to take its toll.

Even though I failed in my mission this year to draw in my diary everyday, I have such a sense of purpose about the coming months.

I was flicking through instagram this week and stumbled across a writing challenge for the month of December that inspired me.

The company is called Life Captured Inc and it is adorable.

When I began this blog in 2005, it was all about capturing everyday moments and documenting them. These guys take it to a whole new amazing level.

I want to finish this year well, so December come at me. Join me and the amazing creatives at Life Captured Inc and use these writing prompts to journal and remember well this Christmas.

This morning, I had a little moment.

A creative avalanche.

I cut up some of my husbands old T-shirts and made some cool onesie PJ’s for my Maximus.

Creativity is honestly endless.

Never give up an opportunity to just have a go. I just grabbed some old T-shirts, put some pants and a top together as a pattern and just dove in.

Fear is the greatest hindrance to our opportunity.

Opportunities to repurpose and recreate, bring beauty from old and make our little worlds more colourful and fabulous.

Join me this December and capture those moments awaiting discovery.

Everyday, Ordinary moments.

Ps; I have only two more spots left for my Creative New Year Retreats. If you are thinking of booking, get in and do it today.

PPS; I sent my manuscript to a publisher. Gah!

Category: Crazy fairy random moments