Posts

Happy Birthday Wisdom!

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*Note to the reader - Nerdy stuff in the blog.  Fun stuff in the captions. Among several other titles (currently wrapping up my Capote phase), I am currently reading a Guideposts  book called Know the Bible in 30 Days .  I am in the chapter studying the book of Proverbs and came across these quotes (by J. Stephen Lang).  Here is a little conversation I had in response: Just as I was celebrating 46, my great was turning one!  We are birthday twins.  💗 [I deliberately never put them (or anyone else) on here, unless they are biologically mine.  I value others' privacy too much.] Lang: "We have all encountered the unintentional arrogance of youth, young people full of the enthusiasm of their inexperience."   Me: Myself included, for sure!  But I love the way he speaks in love rather than in criticism and judgment.  We are ALL guilty of the need for improvement - more so if we blindly believe we are not.  I have chosen to remind myself to "remove the log out of my own ey

The Dance

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We lost Eden to that stupid college again today.  My heart is heavy, and I started the morning a bit emotional. I know it will sound callous for a mom, but I usually sleep through (or am gone for) the actual leaving part.  I’m just not good at goodbyes. We got her a warm new coat and boots before she braved the cold, and I didn't have to worry about her traveling alone - thanks to her roommate's amazing parents. We had a lovely Christmas break, and I'm enjoying some extra time off creds to living in Kansas City.  (It's becoming quite popular, I hear.)  Right now, it's a frozen tundra, and everything is cancelled.   I've been a bit in "sabbatical mode" since September, when I finally got my counseling licensure.  Not that I slowed down at all...I revved up my mom and housewife role, and Christmas (though remarkably peaceful this year, all around) was a LOT of work.  (I shared the load with Matt more than ever, and that was a success I intend to repeat!)

Just in Time

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I was laughing, the other day, with a client mom over my latest purchase for the office… a fan.  We were having a virtual session, when I thought to show it to them.  (The upcoming forecast was grim - and on point - incessant rain and the first freeze of Fall.) Mom chimed in on my purchase, “Just in time!” Happy Halloween from my son, The Rake. 🤷‍♀️😂. What can I do?!! The kid loves monsters… I advocated for the purchase and it’s potential winter use, but I was also happy to admit the irony so fitting to my personality. I have never been on time.  It kind of became a thorn in my side for awhile.  However, I am now content in the fact that I have both faults and eccentricities.  It is a beautiful (sometimes burdensome) part of the package.  And “timeliness” has never been a natural gift of mine.  (But…like old wine, I continue to improve.) And speaking of wine…making this batch from my own grapes.  I harvested 14 pounds this year!! (I’ve had my eye on these persimmons in our local park

Cruel Summer

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How've you been, my friends?  Feeling a little lonely/isolated over here (typical for people like me...who have need for relationship but find relationship devastatingly exhausting), so I decided it was time for a post. It's the deodorant I'm using.  Everybody loves it!! I've been kicking it in high gear trying to get ready for "back to school".  It sneaks up on me EVERY year!! And, oh, I am learning so much about myself, as I settle in to my new(er) career.  (BTW...I have started the process for full licensure, and I am currently accepting prayers. 🙏 The Missouri licensure process is a bit of an impossible escape room...too many riddles and not enough clues...and, to be honest, I'm surprised I've managed to make it this far!) I am realizing how deep is my discomfort with saying no.  I am realizing how much I suppress my own needs for the "common" good.  And I am realizing that this combination is the main source of anxiety and discomfort in

Friday Night, Saturday Morning (The Specials) - SURPRISE

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Let's start with the canopy...which really begins with the budget: Recently, Matt has taken over the family budget.   It was my decision, to be honest.  He tends to be the party pooper when it comes to all of my exceptionally good ideas, often revolving around some of my purchasing.  (Secretly, the most likely reason I hoarded the  budgeting responsibility.  But I never once lied about my purchases!  I just eased him in on my decisions.  😬) Well...now he sees everything directly - live action style.  And he doesn't always happen to see the value in the things I value.  Like...the canopy. Ok.  To his credit, I was getting a little out of control with my spending.  I bought a bunch of things for the office, some things for the great nephews, some things from my friend's AMAZING business (Insert plug for KC Pallet Hunters - 50% off or more.  Check them out on FB!). Also to his credit, he has learned that most of my ideas really ARE amazing.  To my credit, I have learned 1) to

Thursday -Pet Shop Boys (Let's warm Matt up for tomorrow!)

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😂😂😂😂😂  💞  😚 -K We are coming to the end, and I don't happen to like endings.  It reminds me of other endings I don't (and didn't) want to face.. My precious little guy in his special little nook. 💕 I couldn't drop out neglecting one of the best parts of the trip: Evan's little nook. Oh, he is slowly coming into that in-between phase, and I can feel myself losing my last baby's childhood.  Ugh!!!  It's inevitable, and it is good.  Still, I cry. And I cherished this potential "last." We had a bit of an awkward balance in the rooms, and I had to work out the problem of where Evan could sleep.  He spends time with the teens/twenties half of the family, but he has too much little in him to hang 100%.  We didn't have enough rooms to give him his own, so I had to be smart and think quickly.  (Fortunately, making the kids happy tends to be my forte.)   I didn't want him to even know we didn't, naturally, have a plan for his room.  So, I

Wednesday Morning, 3am

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Or pm...what does it matter?  I just don't like leaving things undone.  It may be the last you hear from me, but it will be finished!  So, the next day...June 16... All my children... ...was the day I've been looking forward to all along.  I got to see my lifetime friend!  (Oh darn!  I already shared the photo.  I get excited and jump the gun like that...💁)  We got to be alone together for like 30 whole minutes, and I'm pretty sure we picked up right about junior high. It was sooooooo good for my heart!   There are some friends that just click and you know they love you and you know you love them.  And then she started talking about having a girls' reunion and all the fun we would have, and I started to freeze up and said I would bring my family...and she said no I wouldn't and I finally felt safe to be honest (about a LOT of things!!), "Oh, Stacy...I don't do well in groups." And she had me at, "I know." Like Sands Through the Hourglass...