The other day I was thinking about life. My thoughts were drawn to just how regular and mundane daily life can be for me {and probably for most people}. I don’t have a fancy life nor does my life look at like a Pinterest pin. Truth be told I’m just sorta ordinary. My ordinary typically includes…an early morning workout followed by Shakeology.
Off to work where I try to keep the ball rolling in terms of office supplies, lunches, copy machines, travel arrangements, paying invoices, monitoring calendars while smiling pretty and bantering with whoever lobs the joke my way.
As I continued to think about life, my thoughts then traveled down the path of my daughter’s third grade teacher. Random, I know but bear with me. My mom always refereed to her as a “meat and potatoes” teacher. She wasn’t fancy but she provided the bones with which Lindsay would have a great stepping off point in her learning. That teacher has always held a special place in my heart because she was down to earth and she taught so well.
Well, back to the ultimate Pinterest pin life. It’s so easy to get caught up in a comparison game through blogging. It’s easy to compare your ordinary life to the beautiful ones. I’ve done this so often and I know firsthand that “comparison is the thief of joy”. I know as women it is SUPER easy to get caught on that roller coaster. I also think as I age I am less apt to compare myself to others but it still happens.
And if I only remember this:
Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. ~ Nehemiah 8:10
My joy is not from a perfect life but my life in Him.
No, I don’t live an exciting life. I’m not shopaholic with a new outfit for every Monday morning to post on this little blog {only some Monday mornings}. BIG smile when that actually happens though! I don’t drive a fancy car or live in a big house. Actually, right now I’m living in a 1 bed/1 bath 842 sq. ft. town home. BUT we are in the middle of trying to build a house…thankfully! I’m not a world traveler and probably never will be because I’m just not a good traveler at all. I’m a 40-hour a week girl with some dear friends. I’m a homebody but if the hubby is driving I’ll go anywhere with him. Not exciting…just meat and potatoes but I’m okay with that and quite happy actually. I’ll always be a basic down to earth small town girl from the Mid-West. I love my hometown!
I thought I would share a few pictures of my recent ordinary everyday life from last week.
A co-worker told me about Hurts Donuts. We went, we ate, we conquered the donuts. Then we went back for a cinnamon roll (on a different day, of course). A massive cinnamon roll which didn’t not get finished until the next day.
Oh, no! Forgot to snap a pic before I started eating. Saturday breakfast at our favorite cafe and sharing pancakes with my hubby.
After breakfast on Saturday we drove around looking at houses and trying to make some decisions.
Although I have had dreams of being a minimalist and saving the world from over consumption I am over that dream. Living in 842 sq. ft. has cured me. I mean when you’re a homebody you just need a little more room so you don’t go crazy. For example, right now from where I’m sitting, beating this laptop to death I have about five steps to get to the bathroom. How in the world is a girl going to get 10,000 steps a day like that?! LOL Anyway, in my quest to be minimalist I (we) let go of our dresser while downsizing. We were keeping various clothing items in bins. That bin idea was about to bring about the death of someone or maybe a divorce and since neither of those were good options we headed to IKEA and picked up this dresser.
I love it! My hubby loves it! He should because he grew especially fond of it after five hours of putting it together and taking it apart to get the final product. He conquered. We are happy to again have a dresser. Life is beautiful!
So all joking aside there was sadness this week too. On Friday, I received a text from my mom that her brother’s wife had died. We knew she wasn’t good but she also wasn’t expected to go that soon. The last time I saw Aunt Adoline was in November 2015. We flew my daughter to Texas for a visit. My parents were in Branson with friends so we drove there so we could all spend time together. Thankfully, my aunt and uncle were there with another group of tourists and we all met up.
L to R ~ Dad / Mom / Uncle Dale / A Classmate / Aunt Adoline
These are my people being crazy as we were waiting for a show
My daughter Lindsay / Dad / Mom / Dale / Me
Life is precious. Perfect or {un}perfect it is a gift to be unwrapped, explored and lived. Our days are numbered and we never know how long we have. We never know what each day holds.
Love your life, friends! Whether it is big and bold or small and simple it’s yours to live. You only get one!
Have a beautiful day and wonderful life!
Carrie ~ xoxo
Where I’m linking up.
