I don’t know what to title anything but what I do know is that the time I spend thinking about it could likely be put to better use. For example, I need to make a grocery list and put on real clothes. I’m certain that the phrase ‘real clothes’ never crossed my lips in 2019. Like, not one single time.
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Do we still consider ourselves in the midst of a pandemic? At the tail end? Does your cat’s tail shake oddly sometimes, too?
These are questions I ask myself. I just told someone this week my spirit animal is a squirrel. It feels accurate.
Continue readingI want to preface all of this by saying that only on one or two occasions was I invited to tell some kind of story. I’m recalling a movie where a woman sat in front of a group of children at a library and took her story-telling to a level exceeding inappropriate for the little ones – she was dealing with … things. I had to applaud her, though, because in that moment she needed to voice her story. I think that’s what brings me here today. I’m not telling a story for an audience. I’m telling a story for me. Because I’ve learned that in my own journey, there is no better way for me to get it out other than to write (type, I know).
Continue readingYou guys. We have a year of high school under our belts. In what will surely go down in history as the most chaotic, confusing, and challenging of all school years, we did it. And I say ‘we’ because I’m the mom and I will take some of the credit.
Continue readingGoodness gracious it’s been a minute. Hi, how are you? Me? Ummm, how long do you have? I’ll just say that I have so many swirly twirly thoughts that I haven’t been able to cobble any one thing together into something I think may be worth sharing, but tonight? I just want to share some William.
Continue readingI just turned 41. And it’s after 9:30. So, either this will be short or I’ll word vomit all over and publish with the uncertainty of it making any sense. Are you as excited as I am to see where we end up?
Continue readingI still catch myself asking the question, ‘is this year real life?’ more than I’d like to admit. But apparently it is and aren’t we all just figuring it out as we go?
Continue readingOk, humans. I need to preface all of this with an acknowledgment that I’ve spent a significant amount of time debating clicking ‘Publish.’ Because we might not be on the same page. I also want to make it 10000% clear that I believe in humanity as a whole. And I also support those whose role is to protect and serve. In fact, I personally know and love some of them. But, it is possible you might not like what I’ve poured out here. And, it’s ok. And also? Going back to something I’d shared a while back, I can’t give one single crap about that. Finally, I truly believe we can still be friends. The world would be so boring if we all felt the same. Amiright?
Continue readingOh, 2020. Although it feels like 17 months ago now that the calendar changed, I remember how much hope you held. And now? Well, now I think you’re kind of a jerk. And it’s only June.
In hindsight, how many times have we heard ‘don’t get your hopes up.’ And how many times do we do exactly the opposite because, things! They hold such promise! And I turned 40 at the Grand Canyon! And Connor had a golden birthday! And my dad turned 70! And Connor finished middle school! And Alyssa graduated from college! And we were going on trips!
And that’s where that word that rhymes with zovonatirus broke everything. Because we had a grand family trip planned (after the other trip CJ and I had to cancel) to one of my very favorite places in all of the entire universe (which my familiarity of travel-wise is fairly small, but still) … Colorado. We were planning on leaving this coming Monday.
And while it is really, really difficult to put my hopes back down about a hot air balloon ride in the middle of Rocky Mountain country (wut?!), there is still cause for celebration. And this is where I’ll peel my temper tantrum-throwing body off the floor to share something really sweet.
These two? They’ve been married for 50 years. 5.0. Fifty. Weren’t they adorable? That was February 14, 1970. The day my dad proposed. And for the record, my mom was still in high school.
Now, I can’t sit here and pretend I know the secret to a staying power like theirs because … I’ll just say that I will likely NEVER be married for 50 years (yo! potential husbands! we are running out of timmmmme!). But, just like Forrest Gump, I know what love is.
And it’s what they’ve got.
My devotional actually led me to the love chapter this morning. You know … the one they read at all the weddings. I’ve been especially taken with The Passion Translation as of late and the seventh verse hit me in a special kind of way.
Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up. 1 Cor. 13:7 (TPT)
I should have asked them what the trick is to tolerating the same human being for that.freaking.long but after watching them for the past forty years, I have a few ideas. I’ll be as brief as I can (grab a pencil and some paper, too. it’s a golden list. duh.)
Quite frankly (dad! lol), I could go on and on with what I’ve witnessed in a marriage that spans 50 years, but here’s the very simple truth …
You just don’t give up. That’s it.
How many times do you think my parents failed each other? I’m guessing at least a few. But both of them; both of those young and adorable ‘children’ decided on June 12, 1970 that they were choosing each other. They were choosing to be each other’s safe place of shelter. And they were choosing that regardless of anything this completely questionable and seemingly unraveling world could throw at them, they were going to make that choice to fight for the other day in and day out forever and ever amen.
Love never gives up.
I love you and your love, D & C. I pray that some day I can have something like you do, if only so that I can show you that I DO know what love is. It’s what you’ve got, even if I have to break up your arguments over how to operate the FF button.
Cheers to your golden day. And to many, many more. ❤
How is that for an attention-grabbing headline? I’m just teasing. I mean, can we not use this time to talk about the news? At all? Ok, deal. I honestly do have a reason for you to celebrate today, though. Ready?
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a brand new ending 