Time Passages

In yesterday's Hodgepodge I asked readers what they were doing five years ago, and decided I'd make that more or less the subject of today's post. When not a lot is going on in your corner of the world you have to reach a little for blog content.

After I asked the question it occurred to me that we've been at this whole Corona mess for five long months (feels like years) so I started wondering what we were doing just prior, and decided to take a peek back at that too.

Five months ago...we were in the first few days of everybody stay home !!! Stay far and away from everybody else in the entire world including your own extended family !!! Now in our house we'd been discussing the virus for a solid two months prior as it hit South Korea hard in January. A friend reminded me yesterday how we'd had a conversation back then, so concerned about my daughter and her family, never imagining we'd be in the same boat just a short time later.

Five months ago hubs and I drove home after spending a long weekend with friends in Florida. Things were open when we headed down, but closed by the time we headed home. The shutdown happened almost overnight. We ate lunch at Chick-fil-a coming back and it was only their first or second day of strictly take out. Of course Chick-fil-a is awesome and handled the upheaval like it was no big deal.

I don't know if anyone imagined in March we'd still be slogging through this insanity five months later, yet here we are. Who's over it?

Five years ago...I wrote a post entitled Retirement Day 187. Currently we are in Retirement Day 2000 so I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. By the way, it's going swimmingly.

Except for the pandemic and the unrest across America and the general nastiness online and the no travel-no-houseguests-no making plans, but other than that it's going swimmingly.

Five years ago we took a fun trip up the East Coast to attend a friend's daughter's wedding.

We drove from New Jersey to Prince Edward Island Canada and thoroughly enjoyed eating our weight in lobster rolls, the staggering beauty of Maine and PEI, and in-person time spent with real life friends.

Also, five years ago I apparently still took pictures with a good camera and not just so-so pictures with a phone.

I would so love to jump in the car and take a road trip somewhere new and pretty and not give a thought to hotel cleanliness, gloving up to pump gas, masking up to get out of the car, or doing math to calculate how many gallons of hand sanitizer we'd need for the journey.

Five years ago we sold our house in New Jersey and spent six weeks living with my mama before heading south. I'm sure she was ready for us to take all our stuff and get on with things, but five years later would give anything to have us back in her house for six weeks.

Six days even.
I haven't seen my mom in person since January.

While we were living with my mom our old and beloved dog died. Five years later her name is still mentioned on a fairly regular basis with an ache in our hearts and smiles on our faces.

NJ winters could easily last into summer, but this photo wasn't actually taken in August. I like it though, and it is five years old. This beautiful pup was something else and when she was gone we said we'd never have another. Letting them go is too hard and we travel too much and have too much company and blah blah blah.

About that same time Daughter1 brought a puppy into her Washington State home and now that puppy is a five year old dock diver living his best life on a Carolina lake. Go figure. And his mama is raising our two favorite boys on the other side of the world, which is something else we didn't see coming five years back.

Five years ago we moved from New Jersey to South Carolina. Not to this house, but to a cozy apartment just across the parking lot from Daughter2's cozy apartment. Those were the days!

Well maybe not really 'the days' because it wasn't a huge amount of space, and we were so anxious and excited to get this house built, but also yes it kind of really was 'the days'. Apartment living meant we didn't have to think about home maintenance and repairs, dock maintenance and repairs, boat maintenance and repairs, catching beavers before they destroy the landscaping, and a host of other assorted bits and bobs that go hand in hand with home ownership.

Then again, there were no early morning lake sunrises where the sky turns pink before your very eyes, no magical light dancing on the water, no boating to dinner, no big porches for napping and reading and enduring this weird season that in 2015 we didn't know was coming, and for that I'm grateful.

Five months may have dragged, but five years have flown.
Time is funny like that.

"The best thing about the future is it comes one day at a time." 

attributed to various speakers...true for us all

The Merry Merry Very Very Month Of May

It's funny how there's so much time to blog, but not a whole lot to blog about these days. Thursdays were made for lists of thirteen, but can I even come up with thirteen things today? It's almost the end of May so let's go with thirteen randoms from the longest May ever.

1. Seriously. Normally I feel like if you blink you miss this month, but not 2020 May. I keep looking at my calendar thinking surely it's time to flip to June, but nope. Still May.

2. The weather isn't helping. I cannot remember a gloomier grayer spring than the one we've had this year. On the bright side the grass is green (and soggy), my knockout roses are falling over from the weight of blooms (and water) and my tomato plants have tomatoes so whoohoo! Trying to keep them from drowning is the new obsession round here.

3. There are bigger problems in the world I know.

4. How about some happy news? I got my hair done this week and feel like a new woman. My appointment was first thing Tuesday and the shop had been closed for two days prior due to the holiday weekend, so I felt good about the timing.

The 'new normal' way of doing things is you wait in your car until the stylist texts and when you do come in you take your temperature with a side of hand sanitizer for good measure. We both wore masks and she wore gloves and it was just the two of us in the shop the entire morning. A day brightener for sure.

5. In other happy news May-June means we have three nephews, a niece, and a daughter all marking birthdays within forty days of each another. That's a lot of Amazon-ing.

Besides the other Amazon-ing I mean. ahem

We have ordered more than a few things online this month including our drug store essentials, a cap for the Septic tank, a new pair of pjs, a filter for the ice maker, a door mat, phone chargers-cases-and cords, dog food, replacement cereal bowls for my everyday dishes, binoculars, a photo canvas, an herb garden stand for the deck, baby gifts, engagement gifts, a hammock stand, and this that and probably the other too. I'm thankful for online shopping and the US mail right now.

6. Also during this season of not making plans my niece is making plans. She got engaged about a month ago so we're going to look at some venues together tomorrow. At an appropriate distance while wearing a mask because it's 2020 and that's how 2020 rolls. They won't be getting married this year because bless their hearts, brides everywhere y'all.

I know people are struggling with so much serious stuff, but we know more than one bride who has had to cancel, postpone, or hugely adjust plans and deal with enormous disappointment in the past few months and it's hard. We understand this sort of sadness very well and I do hope the heaviness of navigating what should be a joyous time will lift and people can celebrate all that should be celebrated.

7. I do think the wedding industry is in for some changes, and couples are spending more time thinking about being married as opposed to the wedding itself. A silver lining take away perhaps?

8. We've had a lot of storms this spring, including a couple of tornados striking tiny town, although not our particular neighborhood. About a week ago we noticed one of our ginormous pines was seriously leaning. It sits beside a rock wall, the construction of which we knew disturbed its roots. The tree was holding it's own until it wasn't so removal was in order.  

9. These tree guys are amazing. This tree was about 100 feet high and he scampered up there like it was no big deal. Sometimes they can just fell them, but because of the proximity to the house this particular tree had to come down in pieces. It was fascinating to watch them work.

10. Truthfully my stomach was in knots and I couldn't watch the whole thing, but hubs gave him his camera and tree guy helpfully snapped a photo of our house from on high. Hubs was green with envy and if there'd been an extra pair of spurs? tree climbing shoes? he'd have been right up there with him. Another reason I had to wait in the house.

11 Quick topic change...Blogger has changed it's format. For once I think I might like the new better than the old. Once I  get used to it of course. Technology always gotta be changing but I guess that keeps us on our toes.

12. Speaking of technology my teacher daughter made an end of year slide show for her class, and y'all it made me so teary. Three quarters of the year spent with big smiles on their faces, doing all sorts of learning and growing together in the classroom, their best buds beside them, and then the last quarter pics of at- home learning that parents sent her. The contrast tugs at the heartstrings.

Parents have rallied in this season, and truly they've done what needed to be done, but it's just so different and strange and you could see so clearly some of what's been lost for these little ones. I pray they can return to the classroom come September.

13. Hubs and I were enjoying our coffee the other morning when we spied a beautiful blue heron on the shoreline. He started making his way across the width of our property with his eye on something we could not see.

We thought maybe a snake, but then all of a sudden he plunged his head into a tiny hole and came out with a chipmunk in his bill. He quickly got back to the shoreline and proceeded to prep his breakfast.

By prep I mean drown it before he ate it because this is what they do. I always thought herons were pescatarians, but evidently I thought wrong.

Guess I was also wrong about not having anything to say today. Ha!

Before And After

Continuing with the ten day writing challenge hosted by Kate Motaung.

Today's one word prompt is-After

I've done a few of these five minute writing challenges through the years and know what works best for me is to go with the first thing that comes to mind the minute I read the prompt. I always end up coming back to that first thought anyway, so might as well embrace it from the get-go.

The first thing that popped into my head when I saw today's prompt was 'after school'. I don't know why the brain traveled there. It's been a very very long time since I've had school aged children.

One day you're chaperoning a fourth grade field trip and the next you're somebody's grandmother. The little girls who filled all the empty spaces in your home are teaching school and raising children of their own, and you rarely think about those long ago days of math facts, reading logs, and whispered bedtime prayers.

When I think 'after school' my mind never goes to the teenage years. Instead I am catapulted back to 1990-something and the elementary school where nobody had to buzz you in because it was before.

In my minds eye I see little girls clambering off the bus. Eight years old. Ten years old.

Emotion splayed across their faces at the end of another school day.

Tired. Wired. Hungry. Hurt.
Delighted. Excited.

Full of words or tears, stories about their day spilling out everywhere or drawn out slowly bit by bit.

I take in the always too big backpacks and the everyday after school refrain of 'I'm starving!'.

I see that well loved, well traveled oak table, the one hubs and I bought unfinished when we were newly-marrieds. That table sat in front of the kitchen window and it was there those little girls talked about their day, ate their snack, did their homework.

I remember the plink of piano keys and the ringing of the timer saying practice done.

There were little legs in ballet tights, pony tails in scrunchies, puffy coats.

The sound of little girl chatter in the backseat of my car.

I remember singing.

Freckles across the nose.

Making plans.

I remember thinking after homework, after dinner, after the bedtime routine is through, then I can rest my ears...my brain...my feet.

I remember some days wanting to hurry up to the after.

There are days I'd love just a few more minutes of before.

Sweet Childs O' Mine

Back at it on Day 4 of the A to Z Blog Challenge-

D is for Daughters

We hear so much now about everything that's wrong with this 'millenial' generation, but I'm here to tell you there are more than a few defying the stereotype.

When my girls were small I don't think I spent a lot of time thinking about how we would interact as adults. Three decades of parenting have shown me there is something magical to be found in every season and this one I'm living now is no different. There are joys and there are challenges and there is grace for the day.

Since it's Thursday how about a list? Thirteen things I find delightful about these girls who call me momma-

1. They're funny. They share our sense of humor, get the inside family jokes, and they make us laugh. They help me laugh at myself too, which is a gift. We all need people in our lives who can do that with gentleness, and these girls are my people.

2. They're wise. When did they become so wise? Deep thoughts and observations about the world around them spill out and amaze me on a pretty regular basis. They give me a fresh perspective when I'm locked into an idea, and they're intuitive about people which is maybe my favorite thing of all the favorite things I'm going to list here.

3. They answer all my technology related questions of which there are many. Often they answer the exact same question multiple times because I can't remember what they told me to do the first time I asked. They only sigh a little.

4. They call to ask me cooking questions. I still sometimes call my own momma to ask a cooking question so this one is super delightful in my book.

5. They bless me with new titles like mother-in-law-

6.  And Nana.

7. They're strong and responsible. They work hard, make decisions, and do the difficult things adulthood so often requires. They make me want to be a better version of myself.

8. It's fun to watch their lives unfold. They help me remember what it was like to be young, newly married, raising babies.

9. They read the same books I read and share new titles they've discovered. Also fun things on Pinterest we should definitely make, hilarious twitter threads I'd never find on my own, cool websites, helpful apps, travel tips, TV shows they think we'd like, and restaurants we should try.

10. They keep my prayer life growing. This has been true in every stage of motherhood, but never more so than in these young adult years where some of life's biggest decisions are made. Where our children are figuring out a career path, choosing a mate, setting up their own homes, and starting families.

11. They are still and always best friends. Delights my heart more than words can say.

12. They encourage me in my pursuits and passions outside the role of mom. They're my honest critcs and my biggest cheerleaders. They hold my hand and laugh at my ridiculousness. They tell me to write more and try the new thing when I'm second guessing myself.

13. Every now and then I catch sight of the little girls they once were. Those little girls are in there still, only I see them now through the wider lens of time. I see all the ways they've grown and bloomed...

...and my heart beats wild with delight.

A Throwback Thursday in 514 Words

I saw a little blurb somewhere recently that said we're closer to the year 2030 than we are to the year 1999. For some reason that doesn't sound right to me, but do the math and you'll find it's true. While 1999 might sound like the not so distant past, when I consider where we are now and where we were then I find myself thinking, 'Only two decades?'.

In 1999 my girls were 9 and 11. Wait, what?

And now it's 2019 and I'm a long, long way from the every day parenting of tweens (although nobody was calling them that back then). The telling them to brush their teeth and don't forget your backpack and I'm picking you up after school because you have a piano lesson kind of everyday ordinary that's both exhausting and precious.

I glanced back through some pictures from that year and saw a family camping trip, Halloween costumes, and The Bay Bridge Walk.

I saw neighbors dressed in 70's wear for hubs big birthday.

I saw pink bathing suits in the summer sun and girl scouts at Antietam.

I saw blue eyes and innocence.
Blond hair and soft smiles.

The words to Baby Hit Me One More Time might have scrolled across my brain.
I might be singing it right now.

N'Sync or Backstreet Boys? How do you choose? We couldn't Google them back in the day, or maybe we could have at some point during that year, but mostly we didn't know what Google was. It was born in 1999.

I do know many a Friday night was spent at Blockbuster agonizing, debating, and compromising over which movie we would rent. "Are we old enough to watch Titanic?" NO! Raise your hand if you miss Friday nights at Blockbuster.

Raise your hand if ruled television viewing with an iron fist in 1999.
It was easier back then.

In 1999 the Euro was established as the common currency of the European Union. Pshh. Who needs to pay attention to that? As it turns out we did, but the European Union was nowhere on our radar in 1999. Do you know what was on our radar in 1999? Y2K.

Everyone had their knickers in a knot over the looming technological disaster that would hit at the stroke of midnight all because the new decade would end in 000. We stashed cash. We bought bottled water. We filled our gas tanks. We had cans of cans of canned food and powdered milk. We went to bed singing along with Prince on New Year's Eve and woke up in the year 2000, everything still humming merrily along.

1999. One year in the life of a family. One year of mothering daughters who laughed easily and loved big. Daughters who made me want to be more like them.  

We went to Disney World in November of 1999. Hubs had a work trip and we joined him after.
Time marches on y'all and thankfully so does fashion.

And little girls grow into women, and moms of once upon tweens become grandmothers who smile at the way they still laugh easy and love big. Still make me want to be more like them.

She Said Yes To The Dress

I think I might have mentioned Daughter2 is getting married, but in case I didn't-

...she's getting married!

And of course she has asked her big sister, the person she's loved best and longest, to be at her side on the big day. She had the most adorable box of personalized goodies made as a way of asking, including this little print-

One of the things Daughter2 has looked forward to the most was having her sister with her for dress shopping. That sounds simple enough, but with the bride in the southeastern corner of the US of A and her sister in the northwestern corner of the US of A, maybe not so simple.

It's okay. We're all used to not simple round here.

We were so excited with the way timing worked out for Daughter1's trip to the lake (note to self: in all things wedding related timing generally works out), and we happily scheduled an afternoon of dress shopping last Thursday.

Our appointment was for 5 PM, but we wanted to pop in to the reception venue just before that so Daughter1 could see it up close and in person. She worked in events and sometimes notices things about a space that I might miss. It was really fun to see the venue again and I'm excited to see it all prettied up for the big day.

Which is still many many days away, but anticipation is all part of the fun.

We dropped baby boy at his other grandparents house then headed to the very lovely bridal shop where we had the nicest afternoon I've had in a long time. This particular shop books appointments so we were the only people there, never felt rushed, and our consultant was so sweet and helpful in understanding the different bits and pieces (fabric, cut, neckline, back, sparkle, etc) Daughter2 was hoping to find in a gown.

Our plan had originally been to have a first look in this shop, then perhaps check a second shop only because Daughter2 wasn't exactly sure what she wanted.

Except she kind of was.

And y'all she's such a beauty. When I saw her in 'her' dress the word that came instantly to mind was breathtaking. As in she literally took my breath away.

She tried on several dresses, but came back to this one every time and it's absolute perfection. As soon as the consultant set the veil on her head she knew.

I knew the minute I saw her step out of the dressing room in it, but that's because I'm her momma.

And now a public service announcement for anyone who's watched too much TV-

I don't believe there's just one dress out there that's right for you. Nor do I think you need to try on  umpteen million to find 'the one'. In fact I think if you try on too many it all becomes a jumble and none feel like the one. There are many, many dresses you can look and feel beautiful in on your special day. My philosophy is choose one you love, one you feel comfortable in, and most importantly one you feel like YOU in.

Then love that dress.

Your dress.

And that's what she did.

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

In this week's Hodgepodge we were asked to sum up our 20's in one sentence. I found it nearly impossible to sum up a decade filled with more change than perhaps any other in my life in one measly sentence, and decided instead I would need a whole blog post. So here we are.

I mentally scrolled through the years and took inventory of what all transpired in my life between the ages of 20 and 30, and while I remember it as chock-a-block full of fun, new experiences, and a mostly light heart some of the biggest decisions of my life were also made in this decade. Those decisions included who I would marry, what sort of career I would have, when should we start a family, and where do we want to be in ten years.

Actually that last bit we probably didn't think about as intentionally as we tell our 20-somethings now to do, but if you'd asked us back then our answer would have been simple and straight forward. We wanted to be moving forward. Always moving forward. Ahead of where we are now. That was our expectation and I think it's safe to say most of our friends had similar expectations.

We wanted a house, children, meaningful work, and a thriving marriage. The way to make that happen was nose to the grindstone, work-save-throw in some fun, but definitely keep your eye on the ball with the ball being your future.  Now that might sound predictably boring but I assure you it was not. It was a million happy-hard-hilarious-humbling moments that grew us into the people we are today.

Here's my 20's in a nutshell-

Met hubs
fell head over for his devilish charm and the way he made me laugh
graduated from university
working girl
married and moved-new city
moved and married-new city and state
bought first house-new city only
preggers
bought second house
moved-another new city and state
birthed a baby who today has a baby
and surprise! moved-still another new city and state

I was looking for some pictures to include and y'all we just have so many awful pictures from those years. The people are far away and teeny tiny or out of focus and their eyes are red or closed or rolled sideways. And there's a lot of junk in the pictures. Why didn't we ever neaten up the table beside us or the floor in front of us or wait until that random stranger exited the shot?

Because we just didn't. People who took the time to do that when I was in my 20's were called professional photographers.

I worked and had three different employers in my chosen profession in my 20's but I loved this assignment best-

I was a speech pathologist in a public school setting (a preschool) and it was rewarding on so many levels. It might have been three decades ago but I still remember nearly every child from that particular school placement.

On a lighter note I wore bows in my 20's. If your 20's were the same decade as my 20's you likely wore bows too. This particular bow was not attached to the blouse either. You could buy them separately kind of like we do now with scarves, and tie them on any old blouse or top. This picture also reminded me of my love for electric rollers which I used every morning before work way back when.

Also I miss my 20-something skin. Carry on.

1985-Washington D.C. on the 4th of July. A whole lot is going on with that group behind us but maybe you didn't notice because you were distracted by the size of my glasses? It was really hot this particular day which might explain why all those boys in the backdrop have their shirts off.

My girls have seen a picture of me in this outfit and ask if I still have it because rompers are once again a thing. For the record I do not. Hubs and I had been married one whole entire complete year in this picture. I loved being married. I was never that girl who wondered if she wanted to be married or not.

Hubs and I share a birthday month and I found these two pictures taken at my mom's house the year I turned 26 and hubs turned 27. Look how excited we are to be getting a STEAMER!!

And a BBQ GRILL!!  

We're not acting either. We were genuinely thrilled because we didn't go out and buy non-essentials for ourselves in our 20's. We asked for those things for birthdays and Christmas and our families generously obliged. Many meals were cooked on that Weber grill, and it lasted nearly 20 years.

I guess I don't need to point out that tanning was a thing in my 20's. Real sun, not sunbeds or salons but still my 50-something self wishes I'd slathered on a little more SPF back in the day. I'm also loving that stereo cabinet in the background of this picture. Technology didn't move at the speed of light like it does today so adding anything new to your home technology wise was kind of a big deal. I don't remember what year my parents bought that, but I can tell in this photo it's still pretty new.

And here I am 4 months pregnant-

I was working full time and when I wasn't working I'm pretty sure I was sleeping. Hubs would say some things never change-ha! That pup lying beside me is the first dog hubs and I had as a married couple because getting a dog is mandatory in your twenties. She was abandoned as a puppy, left behind our house, so she had a few 'issues'.

You maybe can't tell from the picture but she was still figuring out how to behave indoors. AHEM. She loooved to chew things...the carpet, the arm of the sofa, the linoleum in the laundry room... yeah. Wasn't sure we were going to survive her puppy years, but of course we did and she lived and was loved to the ripe old age of 16 so well beyond our 20's.

Now here's that baby I mentioned-

People sometimes see a picture and say wow that feels like only yesterday, but when I look at this it feels like a lifetime ago. Maybe that's because baby girl has a baby of her own now or maybe it's because it really was a lifetime ago. Let's see if this next sentence makes your head spin like it did mine-

My daughter is 8 months old in this picture and I'm the age she is now. Huh???

I look so happy in this picture and I'm pretty sure it's because I was. So happy. Motherhood was everything I imagined it would be and a thousand things more. The sweet soft essence of the baby girl in this photograph is still so real and present in the grown up woman she is today. God is good like that.

My 20s were a decade of enormous growth and change, but I'm not sure I ever acknowledged that while I was actually in my 20s. I was always just doing the next thing which I think is pretty good advice for anyone struggling in any season of life. Do the next thing. In my 20's that meant finishing college, graduating, getting married, having babies, raising babies.

There is one thing that rings true in every decade of my life and it's that God always makes me ready for the 'next thing' with the 'what's now'.

In my 20's the 'what's now' was a whole lot of change. Change has most often been the medium God uses (and continues to use) to accomplish His purposes in me. I'm always resisting a little or a lot, but in the end there's a very deep sense of gratitude for the roads He's led me down.

In my 20's those roads were filled with so much new. A husband and baby for sure, but other relationships too- friends, jobs, neighbors. My 20's found me navigating new places too, and figuring out how things are done in different parts of the country. I had to extend myself often when what I really wanted was to pull the covers over my head. As a result I grew in confidence, discipline, intention, and most of all faith, which as it happened were all things I would be needing in later decades.

While I didn't take note of everything I was learning in the moment one thing that was crystal clear to me before I hit 30 was this-whatever road I'm on I am never alone. There is grace for the day and strength to be had for the asking.
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Thursday Kind Of Stuff

Remember back when people blogged? There are still loads of people blogging, but it's a quieter platform than when I started eight years ago. Social media has gotten louder (ahem!), but blogging seems to not be altogether sure where it fits these days.

My blog has always been a slice of life, and those are still my favorite blogs to read. Back in the old days (2009) bloggers used to post a lot of lists, particularly on Thursdays because Thirteen Things on a Thursday felt like a thing.

I'm making it a thing again here today because a list feels orderly and manageable and the last day of the month calls for exactly that.

Also, this list won't be all that interesting. Ha! Some things never change in the blogosphere. In no particular order, here are thirteen things on a Thursday-

1. You guys! The most adorable baby boy in the world is one whole entire month old now.

2.  I'm busy planning a trip out west to see
my grandsonsome of the coast and more of the PNW, and as a result I've spent hours on travel sites and travel blogs and Pinterest and wow am I ever easily distracted. I mean the Internet makes distraction easy, but y'all there are so many fabulous things to see in this big wide world.  How will we ever see them all?

3. I wish I could rock the bright red lipstick the way Taylor Swift rocks the bright red lipstick. My coloring (or is it my age???) doesn't seem to complement the bright red. And I know she's not country anymore and she's not fifteen anymore, but I still like Taylor. Have you seen her new video? Yowza! She has not lost her way with words.

4. I recently finished a book I loved-Elinor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. 

5. I've just started reading Beartown by an author whose writing I adore (Frederik Bachman), but am having trouble digging in. I think it's because I know something bad is about to happen, but I don't know what exactly that is or to whom it will happen and I'm mentally unprepared.

6. Hubs has a birthday this week. As per usual it kind of snuck up on me, but I accidentally rallied. We're meeting friends for dinner at a nearby restaurant and I kept adding friends to the reservation and now it feels like a bona fide party. Whoohoo!

7. Hey, remember when Throwback Thursday was a thing too?

Last year on hubs birthday I had a teensy tiny issue with my gall bladder and this year it's my ribs. But don't worry...he's used to me.

8. Here's an updated list of things I'm not allowed to use when hubs is out of the house aka unavailable to drive me to the ER-

knives
step ladders
a chair as a stepladder

I'm sure there's more.

9. We have three birthdays this month, including my own. Is it too early to mention that? Actually we have no birthdays this month and three next month, but in my head it's already September.

10. My Bible Study group is getting ready to begin again after a semi unplanned summer hiatus. We tried to hang in there through June and July, but life and all that nonsense. We're going to try a Jen Wilkin study on 1 Peter this fall, and I've heard great things about it. I am so ready.

11. I'm a little bit excited about all the blank space in my calendar this month. I mean our calendar isn't blank blank, but it is about as blank as we ever get. I am so looking forward to leisurely cups of coffee in my pjs on the porch.

12.  In other house news, hubs and I hung three more pictures on Wednesday. When it comes to home decorating slow and steady wins the race, right?

13. Still the best hair ever-

Still my favorite little man.

A 30's-80's-Last Week Throwback

I have three things (more or less) to post that I think qualify as throwbacks, all baby related but I believe that's allowed since I'm going to be a grandmother.

First things first...my mother-in-law brought hubs and I a little gift when she was here for the shower. Technically it's for Baby M when he makes his appearance, and grows big enough to sit in a rocking chair, but we're going to keep it at our house.

This was my mother-in-law's rocker when she was a little girl-

Hubs and all his siblings rocked away in it too when they were small, and I'm excited for my grandson to rock there like a boss. Also, is this what you picture when you hear the word great- grandma? Ours are beauties with hearts to match.

Second thing next...this basket y'all!!

 I 'borrowed' this photo from my crafty friend's FB page because it shows all the goodies so well. 

A friend of mine in NJ put this together for my daughter, and I think also a little bit for me. I know I loved it every bit as much as my daughter did, and her thoughtfulness meant so much to me. This basket is filled to the brim with adorable little lamb onesies, booties (those booties!!), a bath towel with a little lamb hood, a super soft stuffed lamb, and more. Now here's the thing-this friend did not know our shower had a little lamb theme. Pure happenstance.

My mom was here when the box arrived on my doorstep and it was all we could do not to take out each and every item and ooh and aah over it. The only thing that stopped us was we did not want my daughter to miss out on the gorgeous presentation.

Our shower was neutral in color since the parents-to-be didn't learn the baby's gender until a couple of days before they got here. My daughter received several adorable onesies, sleep sacks, and teeny tiny little outfits as shower gifts, and as she pulled each one out of the bag I thought to myself, neutrals are for boys. The colors are perfect...the grays, oatmeals, and soft greens...they all say boy to me.

Also I'm glad the big trash bag made it into all the photos. That's very From This Side of the Pond-ha!

Third thing last...I ran across a couple of pictures from my very own baby shower circa-late 80's. Perms were a thing y'all.

Side note-are you ever shocked by how young you look in a photograph? I was pregnant here with the mama-to-be! which, I'm not gonna lie, kind of makes my brain hurt. I'm exactly the same number of months pregnant at my shower as she was at hers.

I remember absolutely loving this dress, which was a hand-me-down from my sister. She had a baby almost exactly one year before my little munchkin was born, so lots of my maternity wear was hand-me-down. Back then we wore great big balloon like tops and dresses as opposed to now when moms-to-be wear clothing that accentuates their baby bump.

Also, we didn't say baby bump.

Baby gear has changed 'just a little' in thirty years. Did you know there's now a port-a-crib where you press a button and it pops open and then you press again and it shrinks closed? Raise your hand if you ever traveled with a port-a-crib and cussed a little at trying to get all the poles in place?

And the strollers! Hoisting a stroller in and out of the car was an integral part of my daily aerobic workout way back when. Remember how they would sometimes threaten to partially open on you while you were lifting it into the trunk of your vehicle? Good times!

Not sure why we're all wearing blue? We didn't know the gender, but were all convinced she was a girl. This picture makes me so happy. That's my baby's great grandma between my sister and my mama.

And that's my friend on the end. We went to the same uni and our husbands were fraternity brothers. Then a few years went by and we ended up living in the same town and she had my baby shower in her home. Hubs and I loved her baby boy back then, and coincidentally that baby boy and his wife made my friend a grandmother just a few weeks ago.

I know the world can feel awfully harsh some days, but there are more often times when the sweetness of life makes my heart want to burst.

...'and the seasons, they go round and round, and the painted ponies go up and down...