R&R in the Ozarks

We just returned home from visiting family in Missouri and it was hands down one of the best trips we have taken in a long time. It was the first trip in over a year that we weren't traveling due to a holiday or major event. We had no plans, no schedules, no agendas. The only thing on our to-do list was to relax and enjoy time with family. That's my kind of vacation.

Last Friday we spent all day at the lake. Todd was out on the boat fishing with my dad, while the girls floated on rafts in the water. I hadn't been swimming in a lake in at least five years, when we went with our friends to Center Hill Lake outside of Nashville. It was such a great day. The weather was mild for August and it was just a bit cloudy so that we weren't burning in the sun. One of those days where you literally kiss your cares goodbye. I need more of those.

The next day we shopped, ate lunch at a fun little coffee shop in our hometown, celebrated a cousin turning five, and ate the fish caught at the lake for dinner.

We spent the rest of the weekend on Todd's family's farm where we ate lots of fresh blueberries and veggies from the garden. We went on four-wheeler rides, country drives, and had a bonfire at the creek. We ate greasy pizza at the best dive restaurant you'll find (on another lake) and I even pulled out a book to read while Crosbi played with her grandparents. Seriously. I need more weekends like that. 

It's funny how you don't really appreciate where you're from until you move away. I'm so thankful to be from one of the most beautiful parts of the country. I feel even more blessed to share it with my little girl. She has the Ozarks in her DNA and I couldn't be more proud.

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Slowing Down Part 1

My copy of In Praise of Stillness arrived this week and though I'm just a few pages in, I can tell I'm really going to like it. The stats alone are mind blowing and just reminders of how important it is to slow down. While the numbers of people suffering from health issues due to stress is shocking, it's more eye opening how hard our social lives can be hit.

"Inevitably, a life of hurry can become superficial. When we rush, we skim the surface, and fail to make a connection with the world or other people. As Milan Kundera wrote in his 1996 novella Slowness, 'When things happen too fast, nobody can be certain about anything, about anything at all, not even about himself.' All the things that bind us together and make life worth living - community, family, friendship - thrive on the one thing we never have enough of: time."

 I wouldn't call my striving to slow down a project. I want it to become a way of life. I know I can't magically step into the 1950s (although that would be pretty incredible). I have realistic expectations - except canceling our cable - I haven't convinced Todd that he could go without ESPN. That might be a losing battle!

But we're off to a good start. This weekend we had plans to tackle a lot of yard work, but we never quite got around to it. We were both exhausted and knew it would be totally fine to get to it another weekend. Plus, two of the cutest little guys you will ever meet had other plans for my husband.

So instead of pulling weeds, Todd shared with the boys who live on our street his knowledge of his first love: football. I just love this picture! (click to enlarge)

We're heading back to Missouri for Memorial Day weekend. It will be a weekend full of taking it slow. Todd's parents just sold their home, so we'll be staying with my family. My sister graciously offered us her bedroom and I can't wait to wake up to my dad's homemade biscuits and gravy. We're really looking forward to our trip.

Have a great weekend!

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Taking It Slow

When life gets too busy, I get stressed. Really stressed. Just ask my husband. He can tell you about my many breakdowns that are brought on by the stress of busyness. Most of the time they're contained to our home, but I've been known to breakdown in the checkout lane of a grocery store. I can go full speed for a really long time, but once I hit the wall, I hit it hard and everyone around me feels the tremors.

I don't have any work trips on the horizon, so this summer I am going to be very intentional about taking it slow. I want to live out my daydreams of lazy summer days drinking lemonade on the front porch. For a little extra motivation in slowing down, I'm going to participate in a virtual book club with Anne Jackson. She is taking her readers through the book In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed.

Anne gives a great summary of what the book is about on her blog. I'm really looking forward to reading it. My copy should arrive on Tuesday, so I'm sure I'll be mentioning it several more times as I read through it.

Todd and I decided to get started on slowing down this weekend. Yesterday was just what we needed - a warm, sunny day that included a leisurely stroll around the Franklin Farmer's Market, a cozy lunch at Zoe's Kitchen followed by a long nap in the afternoon. For dinner Todd fired up the grill and made some amazing orange glazed shrimp with asparagus and I whipped up some incredibly refreshing watermelon margaritas.

We threw together some homemade guacamole too.

The benefits of slowing down are too numerous to count. Culture tells us that we need to be constantly on the go. Our bodies typically tell us otherwise.

As for me, I want to live a simpler, healthier, happier, slower life.

Can I get an amen?!

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Bye Bye Birdie

Today I took one foot out of the social media world.

I quit Twitter.

I had several reasons for leaving it behind, but honestly, it was just adding too much clutter in my life and I started out the year resolving to clean out the clutter. I needed to start walking in that direction.

Twitter was making me insecure about my words. I can’t count the number of times I’ve put something out there, immediately wanted to take it back, even manually deleted my comment. But it was still there. Still available for anyone to see. I’ve had moments where I’ve asked Todd to proofread my tweets. “Does this sound stupid? Is this funny? Should I say this or that?” It was getting old.

A couple of nights ago, I began thinking about what I wanted in my life and what I no longer needed. I realized I don’t need something that makes me constantly question my worth. Am I cool? No. I was semi-cool in high school and it was miserable. I’m too old to be “cool.”

I need to fill my life with things that build me up. No longer do I pack a good book in my bag when I’m running errands. Call my sister while getting my oil changed? Why? I’ll just see what everyone is up to on Twitter. Lame.

One of the reasons I decided to quit is because I realized that the people that found an interest in my life and chose to follow me were constantly getting a one-sided conversation from me that they were obviously not a part of. All of my @so-and-so’s had to be annoying to my co-workers, radio colleagues and family members who had no idea who I was talking to or what I was talking about. Sorry about that.

But, what really got me was the confirmation. Just hours after declaring to Todd that I was indeed quitting Twitter, I read this post from Anne Jackson. It was as if God himself said, “This isn’t just a crazy idea in your head. I want you to quit too. Follow Me.”

For the record, I don’t think Twitter is bad. I have some witty friends who put their humor out there, and I know somebody has had a brighter day when they have read my friends’ tweets. My husband is a pro on Twitter. Free hockey and football tickets? That’s saving us money! My pastor from back home is on Twitter. He says things that inspire and offer hope. It’s not bad. It’s just not for me.

There is so much noise in my life right now and I want to be still. I want to soak in the moments I have with my friends when I’m with them. If I want to know what my neighbor is doing, I want to invite her family over for dinner. Twitter makes us think we really know people. But we don’t. We know what they have edited for the world wide web, but we don’t know them. I want people to know me. The people that really know me will read this blog. Or they will sit across the table from me over coffee.

I’m taking my life back. I’m turning down the noise. I’m going to let God speak truth into my life and not ask Him to yell to get my attention. Will I feel out of the loop and at times left out? Probably. But I'm okay with that.

I quit Twitter. It feels so good.

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