A week of life Lessons...A Letter from a Nutty Aunt

My sister birthed a beautiful baby girl last week.  I am aching to smell her, enclose her tiny toes within my palm, and insert my finger into her curling fist. Sadly, 750 miles is a long way to reach.  Until I can see her in person, I thought I could start fulfilling my role in her life by loading her up with all sorts of useless advice. 

 Last week was a busy week.  Not the good sort of busy when you are actually accomplishing something, rather the kind of busy where you feel as if you are running to stand still.  I am working on redefining and embracing accomplishment as something less tangible.  Unwrapping our experiences, bad or good, to discover the nuggets of life lesson is an accomplishment in itself.  

  

Corey went on a solo trip to Idaho last week and spent some 'bro' time with his brother and a good friend who previously lived in Spokane. He was also able to ski a few days at Grand Targhee. I missed him.  

LIFE LESSON #1

People in your life will be coming and going frequently.  It is best to relish and enrich the time that you have with them. Don't struggle against the sadness that you feel being away from them.   This is all part of love.

 An overachieving thief didn't just steal our mail, but our entire mailbox. Although we are uncertain if this was a nefarious attempt at identity theft or a rambunctious prank played by bored teen-agers, it still leaves us feeling a little queasy.  We have had numerous things stolen from us, some even attempted by physical force.  I haven't become numb by these experiences and I still let them temporarily puncture my high hopes for society. 

 

LIFE LESSON #2

 Those things in your life that are of most value cannot be stolen.   

 Ansel dropped a heavy weight on his foot (No, we don't allow him to play with our free weights and I don't think he will be going near them anytime soon). This resulted in an uncharacteristically long interval of crying, swelling, and an attractive eggplant purple hue to his metatarsus area. He wouldn't walk on it the first day and I carried him from room to room.  It was a nice reprieve from his newly discovered independence.  X-rays revealed no broken bones, although he is still hobbling around the house in a strangely adorable fashion.   All the pain and suffering caused by the injury didn't even come close to the amount of satisfaction it gave Ansel to visit Corey at work to discuss the results of his X-ray. 

LIFE LESSON #3

You will most certainly, in the course of your existence, have some heavy weight dropped on you more than once. Most likely,  it will be your heart that will suffer the damage. Remember that most of us are veterans of this kind of wound and we will be prepared to succor with our First Aid kits containing open arms, Kleenex, and a pan of brownies.  It is okay to ask to be carried every so often. 

I had the flu for a few days and was bit by a spider while sleeping on Saturday night.  This is my second spider bite in bed in a year.  Being sick and bitten reminds me how great it is to feel normal and unbitten.  

LIFE LESSON #4 

I'm still working on unwrapping this one.  For now, lets just say: We waste precious time being afraid of things that are harmless. Don't be afraid of spiders.  Their bites don't hurt at all.  

BEFORE

 This muted minty green color (photograph does not adequately portray the grotesque nature of this green) of our bedroom was inspired by a bridesmaid dress worn in the mid 1980's. Our builder did a fabulous job in so many ways........BUT......he forced us to commit to the colors of our house based on a 1 inch by 2 inch sample. In fact, when it was first painted, I couldn't even look at it without wanting to puke. I feel strongly about having my bedroom be a non-vomit inducing environment. It was just so NOT what I had envisioned.  We finally repainted it this week...it being my {OK, mostly Corey's} one tangible accomplishment.

AFTER

LIFE LESSON #5  

You will undoubtedly make some great and not so great decisions in your lifetime. We all do.  Don't be too hard on yourself and remember that the freedom to make simple and more complex decisions is a gift and privilege too often taken for granted.  

I have had the mid-winter blahs. It has been cold and dreary and the bits and piles of snow still remaining are dirty and crusty.  It is an exhausting battle trying to keep these blahs from lulling me into a state on non-inertia. Today was freezing, but at least the sky was blue. While preparing lunch, we looked out our window and noticed two beautiful bald eagles circling right above the treetops in our yard.   

LIFE LESSON #6

There is so much beauty in the world.  Sometimes it is right in your own back yard.  Other times you have to do a little more searching to find it.  But it is always there.  

Welcome to the world Simmone Haven!  I look forward to meeting you.