five finds friday (funny kids, garish sofas, filthy rocks, twinkling lights)

But seriously –

Friday AGAIN?

This week there were birthday parties, cross country conditioning, teenage tears, education a-happening, some genuine love expressed by some of my kids toward one another, meals of cereal, meals of hot dogs, meals of beef stew and meals of chicken and broccoli.  There was a tad of single parent drama and a touch of divorced parent drama but we all survived and made it to the other side, if there is another side.  

You know.  Life was lived.  The sun was shining more than the sky was raining and I had next to no work meetings and I rearranged some furniture and tried to sell a desk (for real – who wants to buy it?) and I lost another round (or three) to Otto in Around the World and I started reading a novel called Under a Painted Sky.

It’s been an A-okay week.

funny

I miss the days of when kids would constantly say hilarious things because of little kid misunderstandings or little kid ideas. 

Those were funny days and I was always writing their words and phrases and mispronunciations down.

My kids are still funny today.  In fact, it is possible that at this house I prize funny to the detriment of what I should actually be prizing.

But their funny has definitely shifted and the ludicrous but tender words they used to say have all but faded.

But I still get a kick out of funny when it does come out of their mouths.

Like Otto – who was pondering the human hand recently and remarked, with all seriousness – “Sometimes I question the value of the pinky.  It’s so weak.”

fashionable

I know I have mentioned before how I want to purchase two chairs for our library area.  I know just what I have in mind – but cannot find just what I have in mind yet.

I’m always looking though.  CraigsList. Good Will.  TJ Maxx.  Vintage stores.  Whatever.

Last week Bergen and I stopped at a home decor store I’d never been to – At Home.  And there were rows of chairs.  We mostly tried to sit in every single one.  Because we could.

On one aisle was this show stopper sofa – plush and soft and teal.

I loved it.

Like, a lot.

I didn’ t buy it because A. I’m not looking for a sofa currently and B. Some child or pet would stain it and C. It was more money than I wanted to spend.

But I still loved it and gushed over its dreaminess.

Bergen thought it looked garish.

That’s the word he used.  

To which I maturely responded, “You look garish.”

And to which he calmly responded, “Actually, that’s the least likely word to describe how I dress.”

And, of course, he’s right.

But isn’t the sofa great?

flavorful

Last weekend after Piper’s soccer game I took the kids on a spontaneous to them, pre planned by me, picnic up to Bald Rock.

I needed to see a mountain.  I needed a view.  I always feel like I’m holding my breath until I see some long range view.  It is as necessary to my sanity and health as good sleep and decent food and clean water.

To make the mountain drive and the short excursion more palatable to some of my home-loving children, I packed fun treats.  Ridiculous things.  Like Swiss Cake Rolls and Cadbury Eggs.  I’m not above stacking the deck in my favor.  We had meat and cheeses too, of course.  And white grape juice.  In their own bottles.  A rare offering indeed.

We also had strawberries.  And after the delicious insides of the Cadbury egg are consumed – guess what? They hold a strawberry just perfectly!

faithful

Bald Rock is just this giant outcropping of rocks that overlooks a part of South Carolina.  From it you can see Table Rock and valleys and trees and all that wonderful stuff.

Because it isn’t a state park, just some random pullover, people have wildly mistreated the rock.  It’s shameful, actually.   Graffiti.  Love notes.  Bizarre gross notes. People start fires on the rock and there’s no management of any of it.  Apparently people feel it to be fine form to litter, leave glass bottles and generally treat the beauty as a trash can.

Truthfully, I don’t normally stop at Bald Rock because of all this.

However.  Bald Rock is a very short drive and the first long range mountain view you can get to in a hurry.  At Bald Rock you can toss your blanket down and find a spot and not be in anyone’s way.  It has its benefits and for what I needed that day, it suited me just fine.

But what I thought when I was at Bald Rock last weekend was a reminder of how I think our lives are – or can be sometimes.

A mess.  Right?  Junky and full of wrong words and trash and litter and just all around poorly kept.

But when I look up – standing on Bald Rock – all I see is beauty.  When I look around – the views are stunning.  The distance you can see is wonderful.  The vista is life-giving.  Down at my feet – y’all, it’s a train wreck.  But look up – and that’s exactly what I need.

feels

The little things are always the big things over here.

I love twinkling outdoor lights.

I don’t care if it was a fad and if it was over last week.

I love them now.  I’ll likely love them always.

And I added some myself to my very own back deck and they make me unreasonably happy.

The end.

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