Remodeling This Life

Many years ago, I sat with my mother on a day she was feeling deflated, uninspired, drained of motivation and energy. She said to a teenage version of myself that she needed her tank filled. All I knew to do in that moment was to give her a hug. Then we sat and talked about nothing and everything. She cried. I hugged her again. We ate peanut butter on saltines. I didn’t know it when the exchange started, but at the end of that day, I was more aware of myself and how filling someone else’s tank could also fill mine.

Today, I was that mother. The empty one. The one feeling low, uninspired, unaccomplished, unmotivated. I needed my tank filled. The only difference today from that day many years ago with my mother was that I didn’t have a mature child to turn to who could offer what I needed. I did have a 2 year old and a 5 year old though. And I thought maybe, that if I filled their tanks, mine would end up filled too.

A sunny day to play outside, some fresh Florida air, a swing set was all we needed.

Hubby had called before leaving work and asked if I needed anything on his way home. I said I just needed a hug when he got here. He showed up at the door with a potted rose bush and dessert. Simple things to feed the soul. Simple things that filled all of our tanks.

Sitting here at my keyboard with my coffee, my head is too full of the things I haven’t worked out yet enough to write down coherently. Some days, I feel like this

Like I’m climbing a tree, stepping my foot out onto a branch, not knowing if it will hold me and I’ll stand tall or break under me and I’ll go crashing to the ground.

So, I stand still, paralyzed, afraid to move, feeling safe right where I am, clinging to the sturdy trunk of the tree. But that sure makes tree climbing less fun.

While I sit here paralyzed, why don’t you all go visit some lovely places where there is no standing still going on.

• Library Of Love Craft Idea
• Simple Solutions For Everyday Issues
• Grateful For Beauty
• It’s Just Stuff
• Making Time For Yourself and Your Home

Happy Wednesday!!

In my post yesterday, a few of you noticed that a doggy appeared in one of my photos. So observant you are. Glad you noticed the dog and not all the fingerprints on the walls. Or, if you did notice those, thank you for not mentioning them in the comments the way you did about the dog.

Yes, we have a dog. Two dogs, in fact. Today, I will introduce you to our two furballs.

This is Maddy. Short for Madawaska, a river in Canada that hubby and I have spent many hours paddling canoes on during our days at summer camp where we met.

She is part Cocker Spaniel, part Golden Retriever. She looks like a shrunken Golden with floppy ears. We got Maddy 12 years ago and she will be 13 next month. We adopted her from the Humane Society in Boulder, CO when we lived there. She had been abused by her first owner and was a mean, skittish little girl when we brought her home. She hated men and was actually pretty scary when men came to our place to visit us. I remember her almost biting my dad’s hand the first time he visited. But once she warmed up to someone, it was over and she was as sweet as pie.

Maddy has been a loyal, wonderful dog for us for so many years. She’s so sweet and loving, and these days pretty lazy and deaf. Most days, we call her Doofus #1.

This here is Doofus #2. I think that means we have Doofi.

His real name is Harry Potter. Yes, really.

When we lived in Colorado, I was a nanny for a family with two small kids. The young girl was a foster pet parent through the Humane Society and was given two puppies to foster until they were old enough to be adopted. Two tiny little puppies entered my life and only one of them left. I was in love with Harry from the beginning. He got his name because he had a white blaze on his forehead and because the kids loved Harry Potter. When I adopted him, I decided to keep their name. They named his sister Hermione. Cute, no?

When Harry was just a few weeks old, I was holding the tiny coke can sized fur ball on my shoulder while wearing high heels. I’m tall to begin with and the poor tiny puppy fell from my shoulder the 6+ feet to the ground, breaking his pelvis on New Years Eve. Oops. I think had it not been for that, I may not have felt such a tug to adopt the little guy. Whatever it was, I wanted him and I got him, even though hubby was NOT pleased. One dog was plenty. Somedays, I think adopting him makes me Doofus #3.

Harry will be 12 this year. You can see they are both graying. They have been so wonderful for our family, so great through the introduction of 2 dog chasing, tail pulling, horsey riding kids. These dogs drive me crazy but I love them so much. Just like my kids.

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