Sign of the Times Saturday

Spotted this on a bulletin board in Yellow Springs and thought it was pretty clever.

Want to link up? Let me know if you’d like to add your clever/funny sign next Saturday!

love, elizabeth

Freedom to Fail

Last night I was reading this post from Ashley over at A Recipe for Sanity. Ashley is such a kind, thoughtful, deep-well of a person and I always love reading what’s going on in her life. When she talked about feeling overwhelmed and praying honest prayers, I was reminded of the peace that comes from having an honest conversation with God.

I tend to be a perfectionist and so when it comes to the many things that take up my time, I get into this mindset: If I can’t do it perfectly, I can’t do anything, at all. I become paralyzed with my need to BE PERFECT. The problem is, and I know you’re shocked, I will never be perfect.

Last Sunday, one of the youth directors at our church spoke about living in God’s grace. It gives us room to live, “freedom to fail,” she said.

 

Source: motherlanddesign.blogspot.com via Kyle on Pinterest

 

I get pretty caught up with my desire to do things perfectly. And I am pretty unkind to myself when I don’t measure up. I have to ask myself, does this really matter? Does it matter if I get perfect grades or have a spotless home or impress every person I meet? Do I always have to know the answer? Does everyone have to like me? Can I make a mistake? Can I make a bad decision and just choose to learn from it? Will the world really end if I don’t “get it right?”

So this month, with grad school starting again and classes and work and all the pressures that come with that, I am choosing to remember I have been given the freedom to fail, to not measure up, to fall down and get up again.

 

Source: louboosandshoes.blogspot.com via Kyle on Pinterest

 

What about you? Is it difficult for you to give yourself permission to be less than perfect? Do you have a story about feeling freedom to fail?

love, elizabeth

Office Re-Do

Well, all I have to say is, FINALLY. To be honest, I have been in a major blogger’s funk for the last few days. Or maybe just a general funk. I feel like I’ve been stuck in the middle of my office for centuries. But at last, it is DONE. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of things to change later but I’m excited to have a clean, neat space to study and work in for the fall!

I can’t even begin to describe to you the blood, sweat, tears, and threats of banishment to the couch that went into hanging these shelves. If there was any project that has ever PROVED how not perfect our communication skills are, well…this was it. I think, mostly, Kyle has learned how impatient and demanding I am (ie. ‘those shelves are NOT straight…is the level not working?’) and I have learned…how impatient and demanding I am. But our marriage survived the hanging of these shelves and that might be called a small miracle. Thank you, Kyle, for loving me enough to hang them. Again. And again. And again. (Oh, yeah…and those two pictures are my awesome CAPow! prints from the giveaway over at Story of My Life…and I love them like they’re my children.)

My accidental collection of antique thimbles.

My accidental collection of buttons.

Just have to point out that the Dominique Appia print, Between the Gasps of Memory, hanging over my desk was given to me by Sarah in the 9th grade and it’s still my favorite.

Re-purposing is one of my favorite decorating tools. The envelope organizer is actually an old shoe polish box. You can see the slots where the shoe was hung to shine.

I found this sweet old guy languishing in a thrift store a couple weeks ago for $8.98. Someone left their DVR remote in his cushions but he’s still in great shape.This was supposed to be my recliner but Madigan has claimed it. She really likes to eat her breakfast here or sit and judge me for my lack of motivation. Either one.

Kyle and I have a big map of the United States on the wall and we’ve been trying to keep track of all the places we’ve visited together.

Some of my favorite bulletin board artwork.

And this is my favorite picture of Kyle of all time. I took it in Steamboat Springs in the summer of 2005. The summer we fell in love. Can you see it in his eyes? I can.

 

So…I feel like I’ve been not-blogging for forever (or two days, whatever). What have I missed? What are YOU doing this week?

love, elizabeth

Fresh Air

Source: dieyoungstaypretty88.wordpress.com via Kyle on Pinterest

 

Happy Labor Day Monday. Hope you’re all celebrating by doing some not-so-laborious things. Woke up this morning to find out that Ohio had suddenly realized it’s in September now for REAL. Madigan dragged me outside for a walk and I was greeted by some of the coolest, freshest smelling air. The wind was blowing just a little and the leaves were crunchy and the world smelled like rain and I thought, “Fall has arrived.” I’m sure it’ll get hot again and ruin it for me but until then, I’ve turned off the air-conditioning (which has given me the most outrageous electric bill all summer) and opened all the windows. Time for some fresh air.

I know I already said this, but I am ALMOST done re-doing my office and will be posting pictures, hopefully by tomorrow morning. Can’t wait to show you!

What about you? What’s taking up your Labor Day?

love, elizabeth

Sign of the Times Saturday: under the bridge

Is it Saturday again already?? Want to link up? Go HERE to add your funny sign post.

Saw this sign at Glen Helen a couple weekends ago. Adorable. Or maybe scary.

love, elizabeth

Please Don’t Let Me Go SPLAT

Source: pennydreadfulvintage.blogspot.com via Kyle on Pinterest

As my first year in the PhD program looms, I can feel my anxiety building. It’s like someone has

planted a bomb in my heart and it’s just sitting there in my chest, squeezing and ticking away. I’ve

been having some actual panic attacks lately (something I haven’t had in a long time). If you’ve never

experienced a panic attack, it feels like your chest is getting tighter and tighter, like all the air has gone

out of the room. And this is why Kyle is my hero, for sitting through these with me, for holding my

hand, for breathing with me, for helping me to focus long enough to get out of the loop.

If life is like

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

walking a tightrope in a circus,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the crowd below just waiting for me to fall, then being married

to Kyle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

is like the safety net below me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s the difference between falling and going SPLAT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and falling

and being caught.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After almost seven years together,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thank you, Kyle, for still catching me, for not

letting me go SPLAT.

Source: None via Kyle on Pinterest

What about you? What has your relationship done or been for YOU?
love, elizabeth
PS: Check back soon for pictures from my office makeover! I’m pretty stoked.

Inspiration of the Month: Wayne Gilbert

Well, it’s September and I’m pleased as punch to present another inspiration of the month. And in honor of everyone going back to school, I thought I’d feature one of my all time favorite teachers. Meet Wayne.

Wayne was my very first college professor. I took English 101, Introduction to Literature, and two creative writing courses with him in my freshman year. I’ve told him this before and I’ll say it again, he has a way of approaching the students’ heart and work, as if they were equally important. Wayne taught me to look at the whole person, to treat myself and my journey (and the journey of others) with kindness, and to look at writing as a way to crawl inside the soul and shout with joy. Some of my best memories in a college classroom…Wayne jumping up and down, waving his hands, over the moon that he might actually get us to really, truly HEAR a poem. I could write and write about the ways that those first classes with Wayne shaped my views of education but I’ll simply say I would absolutely not be where I am today without him.

 

I also owe him a huge debt for all of the poetry I read/heard in his classes. Wayne is a working poet and has graciously agreed to let me feature one of his poems here.

 

mourning-jazz for my mom

(alice may gilbert, 1929-2010;

“what are human beings that you are mindful of them. . .” Psalm 8:4a)

when we were re-united the last time

my mother was young her head full of mirthful hair

i hear her laughing now behind the door

on my side it’s raining

the cold wind has followed me home

the price of my usual luggage was too high to carry on

the ice has split herself open

my head is full of icelandic ash clouds

i’m waiting

to be

magma borne gaseous plumes

envelopes of post-eruptive matter

job’s god screaming at the inert world his new word order

solar fistulas flying out of the universe

older than the first droplets of sacred water

imprisoned miles inside arctic ice

mother says

the dark for her is sweet now lazy now as chocolate streams in thick milk shakes

she says her body is    light

i’ve walked here without a cane

waiting            waiting i’m

medicinal herbs in a swallowed capsule

the chemical in the head of a match to be scratched

her last exhalation spilled into my brother’s cupped hands

i press my palms against the cold wood

mirth bleeds through the heavy slab into my withered hands

runic syllables bubble up gurgle scat on my tongue

the wind offers a reedy chord

the rain picks up the rhythm

we stand on the dark porch-stage

making     m   u   s   i   c       all night long

 

You can find Wayne’s book, Magma-Mystic, by visiting HERE. He is also available for readings and workshops, especially in the Rocky Mountain area. You can email him at magmapoet@comcast.net. He writes and performs in Colorado, most often under the name Magmapoet with a group of improvisational jazz musicians. Be sure to check out his work! I’ll be posting a link to his new website on my sidebar soon.

What about you? What teachers have made an impact in YOUR life?

love, elizabeth

PS: Incidentally, Wayne’s the first dude inspiration I’ve featured on Love is the Adventure so he should feel preeeeeeetttttttty special. Ha.