Five Fridays (nine)

FUNNY

I sent this poem by Wendell Berry in a text to my dad the other day.

Luckily he thought it was funny too.

FASHIONABLE

Undoubtedly, this is the hardest entry for me each week.

What in the world do I know about fashion?

Wait.  I’ll tell you.  Absolutely nothing.

Recently hannaH told me that a friend of hers put me (and hannaH) and our chosen style of dressing in the category of Mary Poppins.

I can’t even understand what that means but I feel confident that no one alive is thinking, “Who should I ask for fashion advice?  I’ll ask Mary Poppins!”

I’ll tell you what I do know, though.

It’s this:

Wear what you want to wear.

If you like stripes AND you like polka dots – wear them!  At the same time!

Who cares?

And better yet – who cares if anyone does care?

Here’s how I decide to pick out my clothes most days:

Hmm.  I like skirts.  I like dresses. I like leggings.  I like sweaters.  I like stripes.  I like patterns.  I like layers and textures.  I think I’ll wear all of those things today.  Good job.

Oh – and yes I’ll add earrings and six bracelets and a headband and boots.

(And some days, just for fun, I sleep in all of my clothes and wear them again the very next day because I liked them so much.  Not because I’m lazy.  No. Not that.)

FLAVORFUL

You know, some meals just don’t look all that pretty.

And Country Corn Chowder is one of those meals.

Shoot.  The name doesn’t even sound right and it totally doesn’t taste like what the name implies.

It’s one of those dishes that my momma used to make routinely and I didn’t grow up in a family obsessed with clever names.  They wore more of a practical nature, my family members.

So they called this dish – Sausage and Macaroni.  (With corn.)

We call it Country Corn Chowder and I don’t know who named it.

It’s so simple and quick and basic and comforting.

Country Corn Chowder

Brown one pound of sausage.

Boil and drain one package of elbow noodles.  (Or whatever noodles.  Really.)

Toss in one block of cream cheese, about 1/4 cup (ish) of milk, a bag of frozen corn and some salt and pepper.  Stir together until the cream cheese is melted and everything is warm.   (You can add more milk if you want it to be creamier.)

The end.

FAITHFUL

The God who lets me “fall into” finding tutors and reading helpers who fill in the gaps for my children during seasons and in areas where I lack ideas and time and abilities.

Both Piper and Otto are excelling in their new reading class and I am loving the confidence it has given both of them in other areas of school as well.

FEELS

Being sought out by this beautiful twelve year old late into the night.

Sharing confidences over a cup of tea and a sketch notebook and knowing that the best work of my life will absolutely be the relationships I forge with the six people that call me mom.  Did I point them to Jesus?  Did I offer hope in what is lasting and safe?

It’s the heaviest weight my shoulders have known, but when those kid arms search mine for a hug, I hold tight and don’t let go until they let go first.