Life with Music

I can’t imagine my life without music. In many ways, music has shaped the domestic life I know. In my family, music was mandatory. All the kids started with piano lessons at age five and then were given the option of switching instruments in fifth grade. Some might think a mandatory music standard is too strict, too limiting of a child’s freedom. But I am extremely grateful for it! Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of times in my childhood that I dreaded the thirty minute timer sitting on the piano, keeping me from going outside and playing with my friends. But the reward of being able to enjoy music like I do now – to play it, to write it, to sing it, to be in a band – wouldn’t have been possible without my family’s rule.

I recently had the privilege to sing backup at a concert by my friend, Mandy. It was a blast!

Guess who was there grooving to the tunes with me? That’s right – my family. The cool part is, if we wanted to, we could put our own band together.

Hope you’re enjoying the sounds of the season with the people you love.

Haskeland

I come from a traditional family: mom, dad, siblings and multiple pets (ok, maybe the pet part isn’t traditional). Each family is its own country, unique in its manner of speech, favorite foods, and pastimes. Even as a child I remember my curiosity about my friends’ families. Did they have mandatory piano lessons? Did they get to go to the library once a week? Did they stay around the dinner table long after dinner to discuss current events and swap stories? Did they have a cupboard dedicated to Little Debbie snacks?

Paul and I have been married for six and a half years. For the last few years we’ve discussed our desire to start a family of our own. We are the founders of a new country. A combination of our unique family traditions and values, with a few of our own ideas. I think about some of the things that are ours, that make us the family we are (even though we haven’t yet added a little one to the mix):

** We love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is our greatest treasure, the source of our love, a constant companion, and the ultimate model of forgiveness and grace.

** We camp whenever we can and love to be “in the wild.”

** We care about the earth and want to be good stewards, but it doesn’t feel like a “Haske” Christmas without a real tree.

** We are not trendy, but we are loyal to certain brands: like Heinz ketchup and Quilted Northern toilet paper.

** We are usually talking about the law, politics, current events, and books we're reading.

** We often end phone conversations with one word: “pieces.” In our country, that means you are loved (to pieces).

** Popcorn is the snack of choice when watching tv or a movie. It has to be made on the stove and sprinkled with excessive amounts of salt.

That's just a glimpse of our country. 

Pretty Things

My friends know that the running joke in my family is that if I could, I would change careers each week. Although I have never considered myself visually artistic, I love, love, love all things design and architecture related. The list of blogs I read consists primarily of those focused on interior and building design.

Not long ago, my dear friend Magdalena recommended this little gem of a book. 

The book’s thesis is one that I have often thought and felt: the beauty or lack of beauty in our surroundings affects how we feel. As humans, we have a deep connection with dwellings. As a young girl visiting the San Juan islands, where my mother spent many of her summers, I remember thinking that if I lived somewhere so beautiful I would never be sad.

It’s a simple thought, and not unequivocally true, yet it created a resistance in my mind to returning to Illinois.

My dad (an Iowa native, which should explain this sentiment) believes that miles and miles of flat land filled with cornfields is beautiful. I couldn’t imagine coming home to Illinois, especially to the Chicago suburbs, because they are so uninspiring to me. I wanted to live in Montana or on an island in Washington. Instead, I moved back home – to Illinois. So while the natural surroundings might not be beautiful. It doesn’t mean the interior of our living spaces can’t be. If it is true that beauty of our surroundings impact us emotionally and our naturally landscape doesn’t help pick us up, the Chicago area should have some of the most beautiful interiors. How’s that for logic? I wonder if psychologists will start prescribing improved interior design as a remedy to depression.

All that to say, if I could spend most of my time looking at beautiful things, I would.