Sometimes the Way Up is Down

Today’s Inspirations:

• Country Fried Steak for New Year’s Breakfast

• Fake Baking a Cake for a Friend

• Really Fun Interactions with Friends on New Year’s Day

• A Movie That Broke My Heart

• Quote by Madeline L’Engle

A Quick Little Poll

Country Fried Steak for New Year’s Breakfast

Our New Year started out with something sumptuous and ridiculously delicious for breakfast. I’m not always the best cook. Even when following a recipe, I can make a disaster of it - but my hubby jumped in to save me after I gave myself a teensy-weensy oil burn on my arm. He finished up the frying part and made the scrambled eggs. I was only responsible for the gravy after that. It turned out amazing and completely fueled a super productive day.

When you live on property, there’s always so much to be done. There isn’t just a project or two. There are lists of projects in every direction. Hubby and our last teenager at home - age 16 - were at it all day stacking firewood and setting up a burn pile. I know. We’re so country. Which reminds me…

Fake Baking a Cake for a Friend

It has long been a habit - I think it was inspired by author Patti Digh in her more playful moments - to Fake Bake a Cake for a friend’s birthday. Patti will go so far as to share a magical tree house photo she’ll credit her husband for building in an afternoon for her. I’ve tried to send cakes that reflect the person’s personality. Although, this one for a friend from my Harry & David days was inspired more by what we were working on today than her own interests. I just hope she liked the effort. I will share on social media, or in an email to the team at work. The camaraderie around special events and occasions will never get old for me. A well-dressed table or picnic arrangement makes me swoon.

Really Fun Interactions with Friends on New Year’s Day

Where would we be without our friends? The longest study ever conducted on human happiness is the Harvard Study of Adult Development, and Research reveals the #1 Key to Living Longer and Happier - is our relationships! This is shown in multiple articles on the internet. The one I’m sharing is from an August 2023 article in Forbes Magazine.

Today, I got to speak to an artist friend who has a piece I had in my home for a short time when I was younger. I was going to pay for the art in installments, and eventually had to let it go back to the artist because I was young and broke and couldn’t make the payments. We recently reconnected on LinkedIn, and he still has the piece in his studio. I cannot tell you how much joy it would give me to once again have his brilliant art in my home. We’re working out the details. That will be a dream come true - and a long story for another time.

I got to speak with moms in an international online parenting group where I’m a member. There is a little side group of moms who are some of the older moms of the group - with grown kids and older teenagers. We get to be there for the younger moms in the trenches. We also have had our days, and weeks, and months in the trenches even recently - and their support has been invaluable to me especially in the last two years. I got to be cheered and encouraged by a former employer from, good gracious, practically a decade ago. And I have a coffee date with a girlfriend tomorrow. Just little sparks of conversation throughout the day that made me feel connected and loved in such a robust way.

A Movie That Broke My Heart

(Language alert in trailer) It has been a while since I sobbed so hard during a movie. I mean, not pretty, dainty tears, but a hot mess and a box of Kleenex later type of crying. It was so raw and emotional. There were so many broken, beautiful characters. The struggle to get sober was shown in heartwrenching detail along with the wreckage along the way.

As spent as I feel from watching this movie, I feel blessed to have seen it. I connected with it in a visceral way. It was painful to see the characters struggling, and yet I felt rejuvenated when there was a moment of awareness or an emotional or relationship breakthrough. I definitely recommend it. Just be prepared and have your hankies handy!

And it reminded me of the beauty of brokenness. This is not a place any of us want to stay for very long. But acknowledging the hurt, the pain, the broken places, and fighting with everything in us to get to the other side is something that brings out the hero in us. Starting the year out in job search mode is scary. But I am choosing consciously every day to see this as a gift and a treasure, to appreciate every interview and introduction to a new company that just might be the right fit.

The photo I chose for the top of this post is lovely in its dark descent. I guess I want to see downward spirals this way - not as terrifying or disastrous - but with gorgeous hanging lamps lighting the way all the way down. Let there be some effervescent quality to the downtime that helps us on the upward journey.