Mother Love

Well, it’s been a while.

The past few weeks have been incredibly and insanely and overwhelmingly busy, and pulling up this little blog and scratching out some words was pretty low on the priority list. Way down there beneath try to keep my home somewhat cleaned, keeping food in the house and meals on the table, cleaning up after our new little puppy who still hasn’t totally nailed the go-potty-outside thing, preparing dinner for a hundred and fifty people for Ben’s work, and running the peach stand six days a week. I’m not complaining about any of these things (except maybe the puppy potty thing), but putting them all together in the space of a week was just a lot.

But things are settling down to a semblance of normal now, and I feel very grateful for that. Our peach business closed it’s doors about a week ago, and while I really did have such a super fun time working that little stand, I was ready for a break. And honestly, I’m tired of peaches. I guess eating something almost daily for two months will bring you to a point where you’ve suddenly just had enough. I still have a few lingering in my fridge, but now that it’s September, I just want apples and pumpkin and warm spices! We bought our first gallon of apple cider from the apple mill in town a few days ago, and it was so delicious and refreshing.

Ben and I took ourselves for a day out last Saturday to celebrate the end of our peach season, and just to take some much needed weekend rest time to relax and do something fun. We had lunch and did some shopping and caught this adorable movie at the quaintest old-school theater in the downtown Rochester where we were pretty much the only ones under fifty years old in the room. It was like the kind of place that you imagined all these older people actually came to back when they were youth to catch a Friday night movie, and now they were still coming to the same theater years later. Plus, the tickets were only six dollars, which was such a pleasant surprise.

The rest of this week was mostly doing catch-up on yard work and cleaning out the garage and spending time with friends on the deck on Labor Day and starting a new job at a local cafe/coffee shop and still trying to get my house back in order.

I’ve mentioned that we got a puppy a few weeks ago, and that has been an interesting challenge for sure. I really had no idea how high maintenance a puppy can be, and just assumed they wanted to behave perfectly all the time and make you happy and never whine and bark or pee in the house. She’s learning, but it feels like slow progress at times. She is funniest and cutest little thing, and we do enjoy having her around and laugh at her a lot. She doesn’t get an over-abundance of personal affection from me (besides a nice little pat on the head and a “good dog” every once in a while), but Ben provides her with all the love and play-time and belly rubs that she needs. I like dogs and I really like this little one…I just don’t loooooooove them, if you know what I mean.

So that’s a little nutshell of our past few weeks. It was good to pull up the blog again, and hopefully it won’t be quite as sporadic as it’s been lately.

Have a great weekend!

What about you: what have you been up to lately?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Hey there!

I don’t have a whole lot to say today…only a collection of random thoughts and happenings.

one // We’re nearing the end of our peach season, and while it has been an absolute blast, I am ready for a break. Working six days a week is starting to catch up with me, and I feel like my house needs a serious scrubbing down from all the accumulated dust and neglected corners. I have time for light cleaning, but not any big projects, so I’m looking forward to having a little more time to feel like things are clean again.

two // This week I had at least two different people who told me that I look like a teenager. And a common reaction to people finding out that I am married is “you don’t look old enough to be married.” Um, thank you? I’m actually pretty used to this, because people have always guessed me to be a lot younger than I am. I guess it’s my round baby face that throws everyone off, because hopefully it’s not my style or behavior that causes people to think I’m sixteen (nothing against sixteen year olds, of course…i’m just twenty-six not sixteen). I suppose once I’m thirty five or forty, I will really appreciate looking ten years younger. But now…not so much.

three // We got our new puppy this week, and we’re having a fun/interesting time integrating her into our little home. We had originally planned on getting a pup in May, but found out that the mama we had put a deposit on had a false pregnancy and wouldn’t actually be having any pups. We had to change our deposit to another litter, which wouldn’t be ready to be picked up until the end of August. We were bummed at first, but came to realize that it was actually a good thing we wouldn’t be getting our dog when we had wanted, since our peach venture kept us a lot busier than we expected. We call her Layla, and while I’m not the world’s biggest dog lover, I do love this little one.

four // I’ve been thinking a lot again lately about insecurities, and while it could probably warrant an entire blog post on it’s own, for today I will say this: I see so clearly how insecurity keeps me from being myself and keeps me from the full life that I want. No matter what kind of insecurity I deal with (and we’ve all got different kinds), it only serves to keep me in this little box where it’s at least somewhat safe and non risky. Insecurity is not my friend, and yet sometimes I hold onto it so tightly because it feels so normal, and in a strange way, almost safe.. The really frustrating thing about insecurity is that you can’t usually just turn it off, even when you fully know that it’s affecting you and causing you to feel or behave in ways that are not the best. The antidote to insecurity isn’t in changing anything about myself…it’s only about finding who I really am. And the only One to tell me that is the One that made me, and dear heart of mine, if you would only listen to that One so much more than you do. #learning

five // Since we’re nearing the end of fresh peaches (so sad!), I have a few things I want to do yet with them. I’ve canned a few and frozen a bunch, and I use them in smoothies almost every day. I want to freeze more, because running out mid-winter would not be ideal, plus attempt some peach jam, a peach-orange marmalade, and more peach butter. And I still have yet to make a peach pie, since I’m usually too lazy and just do a crisp or cobbler. I love those, but there is something to be appreciated about a real homemade peach pie. Maybe I can whip one out yet before our season ends!

six // I’ve been re-reading this lately, and am so freshly reminded that relationships (with anyone, not just spouses) take effort and intention. And if I try to coast along, it will only inevitably go down-hill (since you can’t coast up hill). I’m pretty bad at intentional relationship, because I can so easily get caught up in my little world and my to-do list and whatever, and sorta forget people. One of the most inspirational things I’ve learned from Ben is to stop and notice people, and to forget the list and the work and to listen and care about people. I love that about him, and it’s something I have tried to cultivate in my own life. #learningthistoo

What about you: what are some of the thoughts in your heart right now?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!