HomeLife
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. - Annie Dillard
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five finds friday (the worst jeans you’ll ever see, Otto says something funny and Dolly is the best)
Has this week been kind to you? This week has handed me a stack of “you messed this up” and “hey, here’s another bill” and “whoa – how did it get to be so late so soon?” (Which is a quote from Dr. Seuss, by the way, so that I don’t add plagiarism to my list of wrong doings and inefficiencies this week.) But also. This week has been fine. Does that make sense anywhere outside of my own head? funny It’s our Break Week from school. One day I let the kids watch far too much TV. I looked at Otto, lounging on the sofa, having hardly moved most…
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five finds friday. snow cream. snow tubing. London’s cute hair and laughter from junior high.
But the time just goes by so fast even when the days are slow or the world is weird. funny Last weekend my friend Sara and her family stopped by for a Sunday visit as they were driving through town. It was all sorts of delightful and we had such a lovely time catching up and chatting and enjoying one another’s company, something we’ve been doing for the past THIRTY-FIVE years. That number makes me both laugh and cry. Who are we? How can we be so old? But what really made us laugh was pulling the boxes out of the attic and rifling through the memories I have hoarded…
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soundtrack of my mind
I live with the relentless steady beat of the sound of time passing. I am never not aware. This is not hyperbole. Is this awareness a gift or a curse? Yes. When I think, “Oh my word. I never sleep alone. A kid is always making their way into my bed at some point in the night.” The next immediate (actually simultaneous) thought is, “Who cares? I will be sleeping alone so soon.” When my daughter stays in the bathroom so long at night that I cannot brush my teeth before bed and I think, “When will I have the bathroom to myself?” My instant response is – SOON. As in, two seconds…
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Unnecessary Tasks: A List
I’m all about learning how to do tasks well. Challenging myself to rise above and to learn new things. But also. I think there are just some skills that hold less value for me and that I have no problem with never learning to do them well. Here’s my incomplete list of unnecessary (to me) tasks: Folding fitted sheets. Sure, there are YouTube videos dedicated this. I just do not care. I’ve rolled them. I’ve shoved them in drawers. Currently, I roll them up and insert them into a pillow case and store them in a trunk until their next use is required. You can show me how to do this…
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london. the city & my daughter.
London has been a homebody since she a wee thing. She wrote an essay about it for English recently – her love of home. (And she called our home “endearingly chaotic” and I love that.) Aside from being with her friends, the place she most likes to be is at home. She’s a creature of habit and she likes coming back from a vacation pretty much more than going on vacation. I love home too. Its comfortable and warm and cozy and I’m always happy to be here. But, unlike London, I also adore a good road trip. I’m never not thinking of the next adventure – big or small.…
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Five Finds Friday (teen drivers. the first egg.)
This week kind of felt like a million years long because we did ALL of the subjects for school and worked hard to get up on time and to be regular contributing members of society. It’s hard, y’all. funny Two parenting tasks that rank high on my list of Least Favorite Parenting Tasks are potty training children and teaching teens to drive. Fortunately, I’m all wrapped up with one of those but still right in the middle for the other one. This week Bergen got behind the wheel. He buckled up. Adjusted his mirrors. Then asked, “The brake is the big one, right?” Jesus, take the wheel. fashionable This week,…
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five finds friday (why I’m sticking around for fridays and shows that make me laugh)
You know what’s discouraging? When you type a whole post and then your son unplugs the internet connection and your computer doesn’t save what you typed. That’s a bummer. Also, it’s a bummer when you are so old or distracted or tired or distracted or distracted that you honestly can’t recall the words you typed mere minutes earlier. I think I said something about how I really don’t know how much time in this new year I can commit to writing in this sweet space because I really do want to finish that book. And how Ruth, my writing coach, said that it will be hard and that I will…
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Bergen Hawkeye, HomeLife, Keiglets, London Eli Scout, Mosely Ella Claiborne, Otto Fox Wilder, Piper Finn Willow
teens. parenting them.
I feel like I haven’t talked about too many hard things over here lately. I think it’s because – they’re all hard things. This year has been full of hard things. And yet. We’re all okay. At my house. In this moment. We’re okay. Nothing is currently on fire. You know what I mean? Everything feels hard. And nothing is really that hard. That’s how cliche extreme my brain feels lately. The teen years are vastly different than the toddler years. (I mean, sort of. They’re both years where some kid is always hungry. And where some kid always needs you. But just – differently, you know. Teens are messy…
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This Week. Feeling ALL the Pressures.
On December 23rd I closed my computer. I set it inside a cabinet and I left it there. That was the best. Five days later, I wish I could never see it again. That’s how I am feeling right now. At the same time, I put up my calendar and my lists and my little notebook where I write down every single thing I need to do or I need to think about. Today I am dragging those things out reluctantly and I am rebelling and raging against these priorities and tasks and roles in my life. I’m having the mental equivalent of a two year old’s tantrum – all…
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five finds friday (mustaches & embroidery)
If I repeat myself over here week to week, I’m going to ask you all to forgive me. Maybe it’s old age, adult ADHD or too many distractions, but my memory is just not too impressive of late. Plus, I’m writing this while also “watching” Home Alone 2 with the kids and occasionally I have to watch the nonsense on the screen. (How terrible are those parents? How skilled is Kevin? How lame are those criminals?) This week we officially started Christmas Break and it seems like, as the homeschool years progress, I’m even more excited to see break than my kids are. (Or at least as equally excited.) funny…
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In Praise of Small Homes
Would I like a six bedroom house? Definitely. Would I have a stellar good time decorating and rearranging those extra bedrooms? Absolutely. Based on what I know thus far in my life and what I suspect will happen in the future, will I be living in a six bedroom house? Probably not. For most of my adult life I have been a renter of homes. (And the lessons I have learned from renting are many.) Three years ago I was able to purchase my first home. It was a little middle age miracle and I’m still not tired of the magic of owning my own place. It’s not perfect –…
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five finds friday (what do you wear with leggings?)
You should know that this post has been powered by the mass consumption of my friend Jo’s homemade caramels. This week has felt about nineteen days long. Let’s try to do this thing ….. funny Both Bergen and Mosely had appointments at the eye doctor this week. (I like ours – he’s a really nice guy.) Standing in the lobby, waiting to check out, I noticed one of the posters by the glasses promoting some particular brand. I had to sneak to take this photo because – well, it looked like a weird thing for me to be doing – but seriously guys. Why is this man apparently only wearing…
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these days ….
Every single day someone at our house says something about how none of us can believe that it is December. The year that crawled by also flew by. I can never explain it. Amid ALL THE THINGS, I am finding it nearly impossible to write over here. I’m also not making any more progress on my book. I was afraid of losing momentum when my class finished. And my fears were accurate. It’s time to put it on a calendar and set aside time. But I’m always so tired. And so busy. And so full of excuses. I saw a sweet friend post the other day about being exhausted after…
