Joining with Kate and others today with Five Minute Friday post where we set a timer and write for five minutes on a given topic. This week, the topic is NURTURE.
When I think of the word nurture, I think of the loving care—tangible and otherwise—that a mother pours into her child to nourish and keep him or her safe and protected through the growing years and continuing in different ways after the child strikes out into the world. But, nurturing can take different forms with different people.
This week, nurturing our marriage looked like taking a drive, parking and paying attention to one another, and talking. It looked like lunch at a favourite place, followed by a walk through a gallery. It sounded like shared smiles and laughter. Connection.
Nurturing the tender places in myself that have felt battered lately, looked like pulling out my watercolours and painting something whimsical. It looked like writing down a recipe and making a shopping list. It looked like sitting with a cup of tea, a dog asleep on my lap, and getting lost in a book.
Nurturing is as necessary as oxygen to life for those we are blessed to care for from birth into adulthood, the partners we share our lives with, and the tender place within ourselves that is sometimes neglected, but just as in need of gentle care and nourishment.
—Stop—
I got to the end and realized I had swapped out nurture for nourish in the title. (I’ve since fixed it.) Nurture, the stated topic, has to do with caring for and fostering growth. Nourishment, on the other hand, supplies the sustenance needed for that growth. It’s been said that to nourish addresses the present while nurturing forms the future. The lines blur beautifully, don’t they?
Since returning here to my online home, I’ve felt freedom to join in with some link-ups again just for fun. Here’s a sampling from this week.
Monthly Musings with Patty at Good, Better, Best
Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond
Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne at Living To Tell the Story
And a personal reflection.
Thank you for reading,
I enjoyed your description of nurturing your marriage. Relationship takes time and attention.
I agree, Carol. It can be too easy to take things for granted. Thank you for stopping by.
This is such a lovely post. We all need to nurture ourselves. What a lovely reminder.
Thank you, Karen. Happy Friday!
Nurture is something that is often overlooked in our lives. Thank you for sharing your great opinions on what it means and the reminder that all of us need to do this more often.
God bless.
The need to nurture is easily overlooked in our busy lives, isn’t it? I can certainly use a reminder, and appreciated the prompt.
A lovely ramble on the word nurture. Our most important relationships thrive on being nurtured, including the relationship with have with ourselves. Have a good weekend.
Wishing you a nurturing weekend, Lorrie!
Good words!!!
I like your water colour painting a lot. Sweet!
Thank you!!
it’s so nice to be able take time to connect with loved ones. I love finding the time to just sit and be with my fellow, so I understand how nice that was for you. 🙂 visiting from FMF15
Thank you for coming by, Annette.
Yes. We need to nurture all of our relationships. I usually start wondering why I’m aggravated with someone and then realize I haven’t put effort into nurturing that relationship.
In the busyness of life we sometimes forget to nurture the relationships that should be the most precious to us.
FMF#17
Busyness robs us of many things, doesn’t it? Healthy relationships can be one of them.
Amen
Beautiful, Linda. Love how you reflect on both taking care of relationships as well as yourself. A great reminder that we need to do both!
Thanks, Wynne! I need the reminder most of all sometimes!
Linda, this is such a lovely post. And I absolutely love ❤️ your painting.
Agree, Pam. Relationships take effort.
Love this, and your water color as well.
A very uplifting post.
Thank you for coming by, Sandra.