The October Issue
Build a Dress
The Making Of
50 Years
She’s too young. It’s too soon. Her family is weird. There are a lot reasons J’s family could have rejected me when I became a part of their family 11 years ago, but they didn’t. Maybe they could relate to our situation, because when J’s parents got married they were young too and against all odds chose to jump in with both feet and yet here they are 50 years later celebrating their golden anniversary. In 50 years they’ve lived in 4 states, had 7 children, 10 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren and some of those number are still growing.
This past weekend we all gathered to celebrate their love and it was a very special time that I was honored to be a part of. They’ve taught me a lot about what commitment means and I wish them the best in all the years ahead.
We’re Still Breathing
All Grown Up
Reaunion Threads
May I Have Your Attention Please
In our instant, high tech society we are blessed to have so many advancements to help us do everything quicker or without much effort. My challenge though, is to try doing things the slower way every once in a while and resist the temptation to multitask while doing it. It took 2 ½ hours to watch “The Help” at the theater, but for me there was so much more depth by reading the book which took about 10 times the amount of time. Similarly I can get delicious lemonade from the drive thru at Chic Fila, but sometimes J and I like to make it from fresh squeezed lemons. It means I get to use this gorgeous juicer that my sister in law made just for me. I also love the opportunity to get to use this cute little bag that my mom quickly sewed together from scraps of fabric that I had on hand.
She made it for me when I expressed the desire to have something to keep my clothes pins on me while I hang clothes on the line. Most of the time I throw the clothes in the dryer, and believe me I am thankful for a working washer and dryer, but every once in a while I like to get outside and allow our linens a chance to get fresh air and sunlight.The smell of line dried clothing is something I’ve never been able to duplicate from a bottle.
I don’t do these things all the time and I know they are not the most efficient, but they are just little ways for me to slow down, decompress, and find some space from the constant barrage of messages flying at me the rest of the day. For you maybe it’s something else like writing a hand written letter or journal, walking somewhere, or baking from scratch. Throughout this series I hope I have stressed enough that I think all of this change and progress with virtual connection is a good thing. I think that there is a such thing as too much screen time, but what that means might be different for each person. I can only hope that we don’t get so caught up in the digital world that we miss out on all the adventure, romance, pain, fulfillment, and depth that our multi dimensional lives have to offer. That it’s okay to be by yourself and to laugh out loud without anyone even knowing it.