The Fine Art of Savoring Life

"Autumn by the Creek" sketch

Inktense pencils in Moleskin watercolor sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

When I was younger I didn't think much about savoring life. I had lots of free time to spend however I wanted. If a day ended up feeling kind of "blah" or unmemorable, it was no big deal. There was always tomorrow.

Now that I'm older I think a lot more about whether I savored any part of my day. Part of that may be contributed to getting older, and hopefully wiser, but I think a bigger factor is the busy schedule that comes from living with a husband who is never still and two fun-loving pre-teens.

Many of our days are jam-packed with activities, commitments, obligations. The free times are fewer and farther apart, making it all more important to me to savor both the free times and the fuller parts of my life.

Here is a list of some of the ways I savor my days...
- talk with my husband about travel, going after our dreams, successes we are striving for, how our kids crack us up, anything and everything;
- take "Family Fun" outings to amusements parks, the beach, mini-golf, the woods, creeks and streams, the ice cream store, historic homes, any place interesting, beautiful or fun;
- relax on the screened porch;
- spend time with family and friends;
- eat really good food;
- spend time in nature;
- hug the ones I love;
- laugh, dance, act silly;
- create art.

What are some of the ways you savor life?

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About the sketch: I created this quick sketch on Monday. School was closed in observance of Columbus Day, and my hubby took a vacation day from work so we could all have a three day weekend. We went for a short hike and ended up on the bank of a creek. While the kids splashed around in the very cold water and skipped stones with hubby, I perched on a fallen tree and made an attempt to capture the sunlight, the color of the changing leaves and the way they reflected in the stream. A good time was had by all and I savored both the moment and now the memory of it.

The grey area at the top of the sketch is a shadow created during the scanning. Adjusting the colors of the scan was a challenge. The white of the paper was reflecting too much light causing me to lose the yellows in the sketch. This one looks better in real life than on the screen.