Lettin' it all hang out

I've got nothing of import to share these days so I thought an update and dose of mundane stuff might be fun.

First, my kids have convinced me there's nothing really all that wrong with my forehead and that I shouldn't wear bangs or a hat every waking moment of my life. Besides that, I've determined to own my wrinkles. I've earned them after all, and wouldn't trade the wisdom that's come with them for the world. So, I'm letting my forehead out of the closet. And here's a picture. Oh yeah. I wear glasses too, except on Sundays and when I want to look pretty.

I don't think I've mentioned it here but since it's public knowledge (in the most legal sense of the word, and the most literal - it's been published in the local paper) I can state here that I'm serving on my county's Grand Jury this year. It is taking up a lot of my time, and, with my cleaning business flourishing as it is, I'm left with precious little time for things like, well, things. My writing here will likely be sparser than ever. Grand Jury proceedings are highly confidential, so no matter how interesting it might turn out to be I cannot discuss it. Our findings and recommendations will be made public at the end of our term in our published Final Report and no further comment by any of us is permitted beyond that - ever.

So, what's left? As I said, my business is flourishing. If such a thing was possible, with the number of referrals I've had to turn down I could be working 24/7. But such a thing is not possible or wise. My work is strenuous and I also have a home and family of my own to consider. My husband is very fond of me and likes to spend as much time with me as he can. I try to accommodate him. He also is an intellectual and likes me to read a lot - not that he gets any argument from me! I love to read and find just about everything interesting - except financial stuff - yack! I can understand it, but I don't like it one bit.
I'm also not a poetry fan - a fact my husband is doing everything in his power to change. And he's made some progress. I actually wrote a poem on my blog the other day, the first one of my life. I can't say it's any good, but it's definitely mine.

So along with my random musings I've included some pictures of my random life. Lately I've posted nice pictures of the re-decorating we've been doing. What I've left out of those pictures are the corners of my home where I actually live - where I sit down and think, and talk, and write. Those places are not so tidy or orderly. They represent all my incomplete thoughts, the things I'm struggling to understand and make sense of piled right alongside some of my very favorite things. In that sense these corners are an apt microcosm of my soul. (In case you're wondering where the Bible fits in - I've been judgmental enough in my own Christian life to know there will be someone asking themselves that question - there's a MacArthur Study Bible on top of my desk, a Hebrew/English Tanakh behind where I'm standing in the picture above, and my big fat ESV Study Bible is on the coffee table where both Paul and I can get to it.) Some of these books have been read cover to cover, underlined and dog-eared. Others I'm only part-way through. A few I've stalled on and may have to start over from the beginning if too much more time elapses. Some I've been meaning to read for a really long time and am afraid that if I put them back on the shelf I'll forget them forever. A couple, like Black Beauty for instance, just need to be put away. (Gina borrowed that book and I have no intention of torturing my soul with it.)

We live in an adorable house, which I'm fond of posting pictures of. But what I don't advertise much is that we live in a questionable neighborhood and get a lot of questionable foot and vehicle traffic. The binoculars on the nightstand in that last picture are so we can tell if we need to call the cops or not. We've learned over the last few years to limit that to clear evidence of drug dealing, to camping, to physical abuse, to terrorist threats, to vandalism, and to unconsciousness. As it is we call the cops at least once a month. The flashlight is for power outages which for various reason we experience several times a year. No matter where I keep a flashlight, I've never been able to remember where I keep a flashlight. So it will likely sit there unused during the next outage. And so, as my mind wanders off I'll end my ramblings here, hoping someday soon I'll happen upon something worthwhile to share with my friends.

Comments

LouAnneL said…
It's so hard to comment someone who has such a gift with words. Here you simply dialoged about your life in general and I couldn't stop reading. To have such a gift! At any rate, thanks for "letting it all hang out." I enjoyed the peak into your small corner of the universe. You've actually made me wish I enjoyed reading more.
Laurie M. said…
LouAnne, you've made my day! Thanks.
Karin said…
Seems like everyone of us has an area or part/s of our body of which we are insecure! Glad I'm not alone. Good for you for appreciating every last little wrinkle as something you have earned!

Much wisdom for the Grand Jury duty!
Debbie Petras said…
Laurie, I'm glad you shared some random things about your life. It's funny what you said about your bangs. I've had bangs forever but my husband often pulls them back and says my forehead is fine. I think the bangs hide much and I have a high forehead. I think yours looks fine pulled back.

Blessings and love,
Debbie
Laurie M. said…
Debbie, that's what I always said about my forehead. I've worn bangs ever since I was three or four. I think the reason I think my forehead is huge when I see it is that I'm just not used to seeing it. Whenever I see a picture of my forehead I think, "Oh my gosh! LOOK AT THAT FOREHEAD!" I used to be the same about my ears. I got over that at about age 30. It took another 16 years to make peace with my forehead (and now it's the most wrinkly part!). I must have a very expressive forehead!

Your hubby's probably right, and you probably are just not used to your forehead so it's taken on immense proportions in your imagination.
WhiteStone said…
Your kids are right...you are lovely. Bangs or no bangs. Hat or no hat. Glasses or no glasses.

But you might be surprised that just moments ago I looked in the mirror and was happy to be wearing glasses again...right now they're about the only thing that adds pizazz to my chemo-bare head/face. Even with brows penciled in and eyeliner and a bit of shadow, the glasses help immensely. Isn't life strange. *smile*
Laurie M. said…
I bet they look great, Judy. I really want to get some pizzazzy new glasses. I actually really need them. I'm blind as the proverbial bat without them and my prescription is way beyond expired!

Hope you'll be looking forward to hair again soon. How much longer on your treatments?
Kerri said…
One of my daughters was very disappointed when we took her to the eye doctor and he said she didn't need glasses. She was so hoping to have an excuse to wear those cute horned rimmed ones-pink w/rhinestones. :)

And why are the cute old houses usually in crummy neighborhoods? Our first house was right down from the project (Villa in Portland, we like to dress things up here. :) But it had a fireplace and built ins and a neat sun wood cut thingy over the door, and we could tell from the garden that someone had loved it once.

I'm jealous of your book stack.
Laurie M. said…
Kerri,
I think at least one of the reasons for the cute house/bad neighborhood has to do with that period of rapid population growth we call the baby boom. As they were booming so was the post-war economy and construction of tract homes. By the time I came along old did not equal charming, as it does now. It just meant old. By the time of my childhood in the 70's almost every hardwood floor had been covered in carpet. Newer and modern meant better. I actually grew up eating "Oleo" and never ate real butter in a home of my own until adulthood. Almost every veggie I ever ate came from a can. Fresh and natural was not cool. Modern and man-made was cool. TV dinners were cool. TV trays were a fixture in every household.

It wasn't until the 90's or so when I noticed the trend of salvaging old "charm and character" homes. By then, though, a lot of the neighborhoods they were found in had long since fallen out of fashion and into neglect. My own neighborhood was never a really great one, but during the 70's and 80's the space between the turn of the century homes began to be filled in with apartments and other rental and income properties, dooming the whole neighborhood to a less than glorious future. And this Great Recession has only made it worse.

Aren't you glad you asked?!

BTW, I love cute glasses too but they've lost their novelty over the four decades I've been wearing them. I'm due for an update. Look for something a little funkier this go-round
Kerri said…
Yes, it's actually a pet peeve of mine too, the old houses I mean. I could claim the same childhood as you described-how well I remember the gold and brown TV trays!

I don't know what city you live in but Portland, at least, is going through a revival of restoring old houses. But still, you can drive trough neighborhoods of grand old foursquare houses that are divided into apartments and all run down. I wish I could take them all and love them back to beauty!
Laurie M. said…
Oh, Kerri, I feel the same way about those old houses.

A whole block of beautiful old Victorians here in Chico were renovated over a decade ago - and turned into Fraterniy and Sorority houses. On the one hand I was glad to see them painted and not boarded up any more - but then to see them full of drunk college kids broke my heart. Can you imagine what the families who first lived in them would have thought if they knew this would happen to the place they raised their children? Whenever I see those old mansions, those and the hundreds of others in this town that have been converted to office space I feel so sad. They seem like nice pretty girls who've been forced to walk the streets for a living. Yes, I know they are just buildings, but my heart wants to see children playing in their yards....I think you know just what I mean.
heather said…
Thank you for stopping by my blog and visiting! I am honored. :) I have been enjoying your blog as well, and have read a few posts. I really agree with your post about submission. It's been a hard thing for me to stop "living by the book" (not the Bible, but Christian living books) and seeking the Spirit of God in regards to my marriage.

I appreciated your post about Alice too. :)

And you are a very a attractive lady, we all have aspects we don't like about ourselves. I don't like my voice, or my lips. And I wear glasses all the time because I am too lazy to put in contacts, and I don't want to spend the money on contacts. ;-)
jessica Watson said…
Laurie,
I served on a jury this summer for the first time and it was fascinating. Too bad you won't be able to share your experience with us, as I'm sure you'll learn a lot and have something to share.
Laurie M. said…
Jess,
There are no doubt lessons I've learned already which I may be able to write about - general life lessons that don't refer to any of our official business - but I'll have to sort those things out over time. I know my time as a trial juror three years ago was a fascinating process.
Hillary said…
Thank you for this lovely glimpse of you and your life! I've been meaning to send you a message on facebook about a comment you left that I didn't see for several days...I will do that soon. Have a lovely weekend, and congratulations on the success of your business! :-)
Kent Island Red said…
Hi Laurie,
Oh my goodness! A woman after my own heart! When I read this I thought "That's incredible! Could I possibly be as brave and show my forehead too?" I haven't done this in probably 10 years or more! How silly we are, right? In any event, I stumbled on your blog and I'm loving every minute of it. The other comments are 100% correct; you have a wonderful writing style and it just flows. I just started getting into this "blogging thing" and it's SO much fun, isn't it? Please check out my blog when/if you get a chance. www.oneanimalaway.blogspot.com
Take care, Kathy

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