A Proper Grace
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My dad did it once and said bump this crazy shit. He didn’t remarry until both of his daughters were married. When he did re-marry, he remained happily married until he became a widower.
My mother married, divorced, remarried, divorced, remarried, divorced, and almost remarried again. Luckily, this last one showed his true colors before they had a chance to go to the court house and finalize everything.
Birth of Spring
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Like my mom, my grandfather was extremely difficult to live with: Or rather, Like father like daughter.
So, my Nanna being the #feminist she is, finally got tired of the #drunknights, trips to the #ER, and the constant necessity of explaining away weird #bruises to her #family and #co-workers. Soon after, my grandpa Jimmy met and #married my Grandma Reda.
Their #marriage lasted 43 years because she is a firm believer in marriage, disdains divorce, and has a lock on that #southern #grace like a boss.
I know that most people of the #Boomer and #Great generations generally don’t see how any good can ever come out of a divorce. The fact that divorce plays an integral part in our society should not be overlooked: Good or bad.
Age and Time
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In my case, Grandma Reda turned out to be my saving Grace.
I have found myself referring back to her #words in times of #crisis and #need many times in my #life. Luckily, she’s still living (as of this post) so I also have the luxury of calling her whenever I want to. There are moments when her voice rings in my head louder than all flights of #anger, #frustration, #anxiety, #fear, #pain, #joy, or #happiness. I hear her voice often because she’s had, and continues to have, a large impact on my life.
For all of her #wisdom and #grace, it is this last one that I agree with the most.
Some things ain’t worth your soul sis.
On Sunday
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This rings so true with me that it’s always in my mind, because it’s simply a fact. When she said it to me as a child it was often around situations when I would lose my #temper, or when I didn’t feel like going to church. She’s a devout Southern Baptist so church attendance is required on Wednesday evenings, and Sunday mornings and evenings. In her house, Sunday dinner is always served in the middle.
Now, when I hear voice say these words to me, or when I hear myself saying them, they often refer to things like:
Bless this Beard
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I’ve even repeated these wise words to pass along as advice or reminders.
We Have The Lunch
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Some things in life are just more important than others. Buying crap we don’t need is one of those luxuries we have that’s really not worth the effort, money, and eventual soul suck.
My husband and I are #minimalists. We adopted the concept of #minimalism as a cohesive unit a few years ago. My breaking point was when I reached for a baking pan in our cabinet, and several other things came tumbling out while the primary target (the baking pan I was reaching for) remained stuck on the shelf.
The stuff that fell out was heavy and breakable. I was #bleeding.
Scott does this thing where he watches an episode of #Hoarders and will then be in the mood to clean. Usually, he focuses on just his stuff, and most often he ends up cleaning out one of his underwear, sock, or shirt drawers.
On this occasion, I’d just finished patching myself up from the kitchen cabinet avalanche, and we decided that stockpiling crap just ain’t worth our souls.
The Foot of the Rainbow
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So, we got some boxes together, filled the up, and drove them to the donation center. I got rid of half of my kitchen in one fell swoop. I haven’t looked back since. In fact, whenever I find myself reaching over one thing to get to another, the result is something like Scott watching Hoarders. I end up filling boxes or paper bags of stuff to get rid of.
Currently, I maintain 50 items or less in my seasonal closet. That number includes scarves, hats, belts, and shoes.
