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It Truly Is

I’m really happy today. I am so happy that I’m actually kind of giddy. We finally got most of our things put away, that were all over our house due to a renovation, and it feels so cleansing and clearing. My younger sons picked up our eldest son at the airport last night, after midnight. I got up at 2:30 a.m. and I peeked in the doors of all of my babies. I haven’t done that in a long while. They were all four sound asleep in their beds. Then I went back to my bed and had some of the best sleep that I have slept in a long time. There is probably not a more nurturing, comforting feeling in a mama’s heart, than all of her children sleeping peacefully under one roof. We have a big day of activities planned to celebrate my youngest son’s high school graduation. There will be a lot of laughing and joking. I will be a brunt of a lot of those jokes and I will love it. Life is good.

“One thing I had learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun.” – Jane Goodall

It is, Jane. It truly is.

Ehh, It’s Friday

funny friday quotes for work

Happy Friday, friends and readers!!! This one felt “long in coming” didn’t it?!? New readers, I love Fridays. We don’t go into deep subjects on Fridays here at Adulting – Second Half. On Fridays, I discuss three favorite things/songs/websites/ideas, etc. and I highly encourage you to share your favorites (anything goes!) in the Comments section. Please check out previous Friday posts for more favorites. Here are today’s favorites and they are all random and in no specific category:

Sconza Chocolates Lemoncello Chocolate Almonds – My family first had these “euphoria for your mouth” almonds in California last summer. I was absolutely delighted when Costco started carrying them, although I have the feeling that they were a limited special purchase. Get these yellow nuggets of gastro gold, however you can. Find a way. I would beg, borrow and steal for this candy. And you know, on a happy note, almonds are a super food . . . .

Next, by now, you regular readers know how much I love Think Smarter on Twitter. I attribute 60-70 percent of my “smarts” to this feed. Below is my favorite post yet. They posted it just a few days ago. I LOVE when a few words can encapsulate a feeling, or an experience, or a nuance that we all can relate to:

(It’s not just “human” that this applies to – our dogs have idiosyncrasies that evoke the same smile in my heart)

Final favorite this Friday –

Frontgate Ultralight Slimline 4-Step Ladder – I may have shared this one already, this is how much I love it. It bears repeating. This is not your average step ladder. Granted, it is not inexpensive but it is worth every penny. It is as sturdy as they come, and the best part is that it folds up so skinny that we keep ours in between our washer and our dryer. This ladder is so skinny, that if it were your friend, you’d secretly hate her. It is light and easy to carry from room to room, too, so you really only need one of them and it comes in all sorts of color choices.

And a final thought for this Friday as you head out to festivities for the night:

“At every party there are two kinds of people – those who want to go home and those who don’t. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other.”– Ann Landers

Horizons

“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what a ship is built for . . . .”

Tonight, my youngest son graduates from high school. This is the third time that we will experience this event. In some ways, having been through it before, makes it easier. We know what to expect. In some ways, having been through it before, makes it harder. We know what to expect.

When I had my first child, I experienced a depth of feelings that I didn’t know existed. Like many women, when I got pregnant subsequent times after that, I got nervous. I got doubtful. I questioned why we chose to “rock the boat.” When I got pregnant with our second son, I read something that now makes all of the sense in the world to me: “Your first child teaches you about the depth of your love, your subsequent children teach you about the breadth of your love.” Like most children, my four children have always tried to “trip me up” and they have tried to figure out whom I love best. I’ve always reminded them that they are all smart and they are all good at math. You can’t divide or measure “infinite.” It is an impossible task. Infinite love is so overwhelming, vulnerable, awe-inspiring, miraculous, solid and most decidedly, immeasurable.

We’re having another ship leave the shipyard in the next couple of months. His first journey to college won’t be so far away. But journeys beget journeys and tonight signals to me that the anchor is pulled up. He will come back to our little safe harbor from time to time, to fuel up and to share stories of journeys that I won’t be a part of, but I will thrill in, vicariously. He is ready for the journeys. He is a solid ship. The horizon awaits . . . . .

Always.

I like to check out Think Smarter on Twitter. It is one of my favorite daily reads. The other day there was a post that ended with this statement:

“You can’t mess anything up that’s meant to be.”

I haven’t given it enough thought to decide whether I think that this is true or not, but it sure is a comforting thought, isn’t it? It sure gives you the reassurance to live your life with full abandon, doesn’t it?

Image result for quotes about what's meant to be will happen

That’s My Story

I think that my stuff has reproductive capabilities – especially my shoes, clothes, handbags and accessories. And I think that my stuff is particularly horny and rabbit-like. Our new closet shelving gets installed in the next couple of days, but in the meantime, my stuff is spread all over the house creating a thickening, sickening, stifling layer on every surface that we own. It feels like we are being overtaken by The Blob.

Our piano, I believe, is still somewhere under the pile of shoes. We haven’t heard from it in a while. (honestly, we haven’t heard from our piano in a long while, since even before it was covered with shoes, but that’s for a whole different blog) Our dining room table is probably buckled under the weight of handbags and blouses. I don’t know. I haven’t seen it in about a month. I am truly shocked that a fire hasn’t started, because the stuff is piled so high, on top of the table, that the top layer is melted on to the chandelier.

I’m honestly not a hoarder. I give a lot to Goodwill and to the veterans. I have the tax receipts to prove it. I don’t get particularly sentimental about most of my things. I totally buy into the whole Marie Kondo (famous Japanese organization guru) idea that if something doesn’t “spark joy” in you anymore it is time to pass it on to someone who might find some sparkle of joy, by owning it. That’s why I think that my things are breeding and propagating. That is where all of the accumulation is coming from, I believe.

Now my husband would probably chime in here and say that if my theory is true, my things’ method of propagation is assisted by my shopping habits. He would say that their fertilization is highly assisted. I couldn’t argue that point, in good faith. So right now, I want to force myself to simmer in this feeling of suffocation and claustrophobia, in order to keep my future shopping habits in check.

We aren’t one of those families who has lived in the same house for 25 years. No, we have actually gone through 4-5 major moves and more than one major renovation. These have been good, solid cleansing opportunities that we have taken full advantage of, over the years. That is why I am truly shocked that we still have SO MUCH STUFF. That is why I believe that my stuff has reproductive capabilities. And that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Morning People

“The hardest part about mornings is encountering morning people.” – someecards

Apparently, New Mexico and New Hampshire have more self-reported “morning people” than any other states. Also, people over the age of 60 are much more likely to identify as “morning people” than younger people. There have been studies done that suggest that whether you are night owl or a morning person, might have a lot to do with your genes that are tied to circadian rhythms. Don’t ask me to go into detail with this explanation – I am not a morning person. And I don’t even come close to being a morning person on Monday mornings.

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A Phone Call

My friend told me the other day that my blog reminds her of a morning call with a friend. I love that! So today, I am going to write my blog with a phone call dialog:

Me: Hello! Good Morning!

You (my friends): Oh wow, you called me kind of early on a Sunday morning. But hey, how goes it?

Me: My daughter and I went to Costco yesterday, but before that, we went to PetSmart and bought a couple of little fish for my pond and then we realized we couldn’t keep them in the car safely. I didn’t want to find some boiled fish when we got back to the car, so we had to walk around Costco with a bag of fish.

You: You walked around Costco with a bag of fish? What did people say?

Me: It was actually pretty funny. You would think that only dogs, or maybe carrying around a baby kitten or a bunny, would get you some attention, but we got a fair amount of comments about the fish.

You: I bet you did.

Me: Yeah, we started calling them our “emotional support fish.” Can you imagine fish with little vests on?

You: They’d be more like lifejackets.

Me: Hahahaha! I told people that the fish had separation anxiety, so we couldn’t leave them at home.

You: Speaking of pets, how are the pups?

Me: Oh, they’re great! Today is their birthday. Our dogs have the same birthday. Do you believe it? Ralphie, our lab, is two today and Josie, the collie, is one. My daughter made sure that we put “birthday bandannas” on them. They seemed pretty excited, but they’re excited every day. Dogs act like every day is their birthday. I want to be like that . . . .

You: Yeah, for sure. Are you psyched for the final episode of Game of Thrones??

Me: Is grass green? It’s going to be bittersweet though. GOT was always so much fun to look forward to and I haven’t found a series that I have liked nearly as much as I like it. I think all of the fuss about changing the ending, is more about people grieving that the show is actually over now.

You: Oh, so you like this last season? Do you think it is good?

Me: I feel kind of neutral about it. I don’t think it is the best season of GOT, but it isn’t terrible. I think with the long break, everyone’s anticipation was just on over-drive. Nothing could ever measure up to the expectations, I think.

You: So true.

Me: I have this sign in our powder room that says “happiness is a journey, not a destination”. I think everyone is just sad that the journey with GOT is over, you know? By trying to get a new ending, they are just trying to keep the journey going. Like my son is graduating from high school this week, and the graduation ceremony, and the celebrations and dinners and parties will all be fun, but the real story, the real adventure, the real meaning, was all of the years of his primary schooling. . . . all of those years of transformation from being a little boy, to becoming a capable young man. Do you know what I mean?

You: Absolutely! You know what? This conversation reminds me of your blog.

Me: Yeah, you’re right, there is something there, to write about it. It’s like we are always racing towards the finish line in everything we do. “I can’t wait for school to be over or to be done raising kids or to win some kind of award or medal”, but the finish line is sometimes a “mwah-mwah” because it is usually at that end moment, that you realize, you were actually really enjoying “the process” of whatever you were doing. You are not sure you are ready to let go of that journey just yet. It is usually at those final moments that a light bulb goes off and you think, it was never about the ending/finish line/gold medal, after all. It was really about everything that it took to get to the end. “Happiness is a journey, not a destination.”

You: Okay, you’re getting deep. I gotta go. Go write your blog.

Me: Thank you. I love you! Bye for now.

Solid as a Rock

My husband is visiting his best friends from college this weekend. I met all of these guys, including my husband, when I was eighteen years old. This middle stage of life is full of so much change – our elders are becoming more fragile, our kids are gaining independence at warp speed, and the wrinkles on my face are unfortunately appearing at warp speed, too. Yet, certain things, the most important things, don’t change at all. In fact these things, that stand taller and become more obvious beacons than ever, are the steadying rocks, in this big, swirling sea of change. The things that don’t change are the feelings that we have for each other and the memories that we share.

My husband’s best friend is the salt-of-the-earth. Everyone who meets him, loves him. He loves kids, he loves his friends, he loves animals, and he loves his wife, and he loves his family. This man loves life. He has been a firefighter since we were in college. He fought the fires that raged on the Pentagon on 9/11. This man was the best man in our wedding, but before my husband and I got to that step in our relationship, I got more than one lecture from my husband’s best friend that I had better be kind and take care of his “meatball.” (my husband) When I first met my husband’s best friend’s extended family – a large, raucous, always laughing, always smiling, always joking, always having each others’ back, Irish family, I knew, in an instant, that I wanted to have a family just like theirs.

Last night, my husband texted me a picture of him, with his best friend and his best friend’s wife, all encircled in a big embrace. The picture screams, LOVE. And it warms my heart to no end, to know, that in this big, sometimes overwhelming stream of constant transition and change, the solid rocks remain steady. And they always will.

The 1 Percent

Ha! I’m a mother and I still LOVE Fridays!!! Happy “Favorite Things Friday”!!! New readers, we keep it on the surface here at Adulting- Second Half, on Fridays. On Fridays, I typically list at least three favorite anythings (books, websites, jewelry, food, make-up, etc. etc.) that make my life sing. I always encourage my readers to share your favorites in my Comments section. Please check out my previous Friday posts for more favorites.

So spring time is here! The birds and the bees are a-buzz! Here in Florida, the gators are really loud, around this time of year. In the evening and early mornings, around the ponds and the lakes, you can hear all sorts of love languages going on. In case you have spring fever, too, I have decided to list my favorite “sexy songs” this Friday. These songs are a great way to bring the weekend in, and rev things up. Now these aren’t my favorite romantic love songs. That’s a different list. This list is the “Sexy List” that the alligators in my backyard have been listening to and I suspect that we are going to be seeing a lot of baby gators popping up in the lake, this summer. Mmmm-hmmm. In no specific order, and read in my very best Barry White voice:

Turn Me On – Norah Jones

Sex on Fire – Kings of Leon

Sexual Healing – Marvin Gaye

Talking Body – Tove Lo

Shake You Down – Gregory Abbott

Hands to Myself – Selena Gomez

Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett

Afternoon Delight – Starland Vocal Band

Do That To Me One More Time – Captain & Tenille

Want to Want Me – Jason Derulo

So Far Away – Dire Straits

And as cheesy as they both are, these are my two personal favorites:

Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield

Like a Wrecking Ball – Eric Church

Now, go make your play list and have a great weekend!!! Be careful and you’re welcome.

The Greatest Gift

I have felt physically lousy most of the week. My whole body ached, from my feet to my teeth. I felt tired and sick to my stomach. So, of course, I went to the doctor. . . . . Dr. Google. From the symptom checker application, it seemed that I had a “fair chance” of having a psychosomatic illness, all of the way up to terminal cancer. It was a big range of possibilities.

I had an uncle whose every toast was “To Good Health.” I already knew what the toast would be before it came out of his mouth. In my younger years, I would think to myself, “Oh, brother, can you be a little more creative? What about your family? What about love and beauty and poetry?” Now, though, I have a true appreciation of that toast. Love and beauty and poetry, and even your family, are difficult things to appreciate when you feel like sh*t. Health is pretty important.

I feel A LOT better today. There was a “fair chance” that my body was fighting a short-lived virus, and it needed some time and rest, to fight it all off. Of course, that extra gut shot (a horrible tasting, ridiculously high priced, beet juice full of probiotics) and a little bit of estrogen cream rubbed on my thigh, probably made sure that most of my bases were covered. (My son who wants to be a doctor, I am sure, just rolled his eyes. I am good practice for what to expect from his worst future patients.)

Anyway, it feels great to feel great. Those days that you don’t feel so hot, really make you appreciate your health, all of the more. On the way home from dropping my daughter at school this morning, I turned the music up loud. I was listening to a “throwback station” (my new jam) and “Take Me On”, by A-ha was playing. It sounded so good. I even drove around my neighborhood to hear the whole song. It was like I was in a 1980s time capsule. Life is good.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. - Buddha