Mid-Morning on a Tuesday

A country bouquet of fresh-picked flowers.

My dear friends, Erica and Sheryl came to visit this past Sunday. I decided back in early May to invite them for brunch, and we settled on June 2. Erica brought her boys, Van and Drew. My mom, sister, and stepdad stopped by to meet them and shared the meal with us. I had great fun preparing the menu of breakfast casserole, mixed green salad, fresh berries, muffins, mimosas, and coffee. The night before I picked a bucket full of fresh flowers from LaMama’s* yard and made two beautiful country bouquets. One for the table and one for the porch. I loved every minute of preparing for their visit and the actual visit.

I’m so glad I invited them to share my life now rather than waiting for some future moment when things here might be closer to the picture in my head - and so grateful that they made the trip. I have a tendency to wait until things are perfect before I will open up and share my home and my life. The problem with that is that things are never perfect, so you never get around to letting people in; you just keep striving for some unattainable ideal. In my younger years I was a total perfectionist. In my professional life I held myself, and those around me to the highest standard. Bosses loved me because I never let them down, but the people who worked for me had a different view, I’m sure. I don’t miss those days and my relentless, exhausting pursuit of perfection. My decision, at age 40, to walk away from my first career with all its trappings is one of the best decisions I ever made. Had I stayed the course and continued my career in information technology I’m sure I would be wealthier. But that’s about it. I wouldn’t have this cabin or my precious Melvin. I probably would not have made time for CrossFit so I would be less healthy. I would not have met all the fabulous people that CrossFit and dog-ownership have brought into my life. And I would most certainly not be sitting in a rocker on the front porch, mid-morning on a Tuesday, drinking coffee and writing. Now THAT is perfection.

*LaMama is Mama and stepdad, Lamar.


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