Ya’ll. Boy am I ever bogged down with the news. And bogged down with Facebook folks discussing politics and wielding the phrase “I’ll pray for you” like a big stick. I could write a whole post on it. I could write a whole post on how much I feel dismayed and discouraged by the Republican party masquerading as the voice of Christianity (and if it’s true Christianity then I gotta pick another name for myself). I could write that post, but I’m not going to.

I’m going to write a post about good stuff. Happy things. And not because I’ve got my head stuck in the ground, but because I can’t live there all the time. I can’t live in panic/horror/news-watching mode. I have to live in other joyful places too, where the good stuff is. Like this path I walked down the other day. I got to be alive, and walk through it, and literally smell the roses. It’s good to be alive. These good things help me remember that.

We took a trip to Vermont. I have no words for that state. It reminds me of the Ozarks, minus hot weather and mosquitoes. It reminds me of Colorado with its residents marching to the beat of the their own drums. Lilac bushes taller than my head, babbling brooks, clear lakes, old farm houses, and the best thing of all… CHEESE. It’s basically the mother-ship.

 

I found a recipe on Pinterest for Mediterranean lemon chicken and while the picture looked phenomenal I still raised my eyebrow in a “fool me twice shame on me” thought process because you guys, Pinterest recipes have done me all kinds of wrong in the past. But I give this recipe two thumbs up, especially for summertime dinners.

This is a tree in our neighborhood. It has eyes. Like, it actually feels like she’s winking at me as I walk past. I don’t know about you, but I love a good eye-tree.

This rug. I bought it. It has purple in it. So many stories here. I’ll stick with three.

One, if you haven’t heard of USA Rugs all I can say is GET on it.

Two, I have loved every shade of purple since I was a little girl, and half my closet is purple, and my birth stone is amethyst, and suddenly it does not make any sense that I’ve never decorated with it. I’m not planning to go full-on Purple Rain or anything, but this color is life.

Three, my love of decorating is returning. I spent so many years obsessing about decor and painting things and buying things and then one day I realized I was using my love of decorating to hide from my sadness. Decorating had gone from being a fulfilling hobby to a reason to live, and I realized I wanted to try life without that crutch. Don’t get me wrong, I still work on my house, but not in the same way. I feel the feelings instead of redecorating a room. But slowly and surely my love has returned in non-crutch mode. I love a pretty house, but at the end of the day I also expect my living room to be a place where I can sack out when I have the flu. A pretty room that can host a flu epidemic: stuff of dreams.

Lastly, this. Just everything about it. I was walking along and then there it was, some cheerful chalk art nowhere near a playground. Midway between school drop off and grocery errands there it was, happy little ground art. It’s good stuff like this. Chalk art, and trees with eyes, and a purple rug that makes your inner child stand up and cheer. This is the stuff that can easily be overlooked, and get lost in the churning tide of bad politics and scary times.

But don’t let it. Take a picture of it. Make a journal. Do whatever you have to do to keep your head above water and remember all the good stuff.

Maybe you’re able to do that with a happy spirit.

Maybe you’re only able to do it through persistent defiance.

Either way, do it anyway.