It's time for my Friday link up with A Little Bit of Everything and Momfessionals.
On Fridays I share things that made me happy from the week - a photo, a song, a quote, a beauty product, a recipe, a pair of cute shoes, etc. If it's a product, sometimes it's something I actually own and sometimes something I just saw online that gave me a smile. Sometimes it's serious and sometimes it's silly. I suppose I believe that God is in the simple details of life and yes, I can even find Him in a tube of lipstick.
Good morning. May is trying to kill us as usual and this year is particularly insane. I've got three children graduating in the next five weeks. Joe will get his Masters, Kyle will graduate from the University of Tennessee and Drew will graduate from High School. Yes, I'm very proud, but also this seems like poor planning on our part. Like maybe we should have had more strategy sessions before having all these kids in this order. Maybe some white boards, blueprints - I don't know - a calendar?
Anyway, I'm trying really hard to focus on specific moments and take it day by day because I don't want this whole month to be a foggy blur. It's taking all my energy to try to keep my brain focused on the hope and excitement of this particular stage of life without my mom to call about every little thing or send every little picture. And what I know to be true, because this isn't my first rodeo with graduates, is that even if she was here, there would still be a measure of grief and loss that always walks right alongside the fun of these family milestones.
So in the spirit of looking for happy, here are some silly things that served to make me smile this week.
1. OPI Drip Dry
I very rarely paint my own nails because I always end up making a mess and never have the patience to let them dry. This week though, I needed a break from the gel polish, so I did my best. These nail polish drying drops really work pretty well to make your polish dry quickly. .
2. PrettyGarden Summer Dress
Because of all the graduations and the celebrations that will come along with them, I've had approximately 7 million packages delivered to the house with clothing options for all the things. I was looking for a dress to wear to Kyle's graduation at Tennessee. I thought I might try to do something orange-ish. This dress might be the winner. It is so comfortable. It could be dressed up or down and it comes in lots of colors including this orange shade that is somewhere in between Tennessee orange and Texas orange. It's the best option so far.
3. Unstable
I've been a fan of Rob Lowe since he played Sodapop in The Outsiders. As most women my age did, I had a poster of Billy Hicks from St. Elmo's Fire on my bedroom wall in 1985. His memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends was exceptionally well-written and so fun to read. I think he was genius in The West Wing and in Parks & Rec. Seems like he could take a break, as his career looks like it turned out okay. But I'm glad he didn't because I was so excited about his new show, Unstable. It costars his real-life son Johnny and it. is. hilarious. Highly recommend.
4. Daisy Jones and the Six
I know I am way late to this book. It had been recommended to me a zillion times, but I just never got to it. When the Amazon series came out, I decided I needed to read it first. I didn't really read it. I listened to it on Audible and I highly, highly recommend listening if you are one of the few people who hasn't read it yet. Each chapter is narrated by a different character, so it makes it really fun to listen to. I loved it.
5. The Last Senior Night
You know, maybe we didn't have the foresight to see GraduationFest 2023 coming, but frankly, it seems like I did my part. I mean, I went and birthed THREE of them. THREE. I even put a good long stretch in between the 2nd and the 3rd. I really gave it my best shot. I could have had a fourth and actually envisioned having four kids. But the third pregnancy with this one was a doozy. And I don't think my husband would have stuck with me through a fourth. I was a giant - and I do mean giant - pain in the rear end that whole nine months.
So I guess it couldn't be avoided - this final senior night. Joe's seems like a million years ago and while I was definitely emotional, I still had two other senior nights that were waiting for me. Kyle's meant the end of basketball for me, but the little one wasn't even in high school yet, so whatevs. FOUR MORE YEARS! There were a lot of seasons to come.
Now I feel like it's a rip off. Because none of the other senior nights prepare you for the last. It seems like a bad system. I love this kid. He's fun to watch. His teammates are fun to watch. Does the girl need to get a life? I do and I will. I already know that hanging out with grown up children is the most fun ever, so that'll be great. And I'll personally have a lot of life to live and plenty to accomplish on my own.
But this life I've lived so far making friends in the bleachers, grumbling under my breath about the umpires, screaming and hugging and celebrating every base hit, every perfect pitch and every run scored has been pretty darn close to perfect. And although I didn't know exactly what the future held when I ended up with three boys, I think I would have drawn it up exactly like this.
Y'all have a great weekend.
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