what I've learned from...my mother

In order to really talk, there needs to be tea and a comfy chair.

Christmas shopping should be done early and thoughtfully. Wrap the present beautifully so they know you care. Each piece should be wrapped in a separate box so they have more to open. 

A home cooked meal can cure any bad day. 

People never get too old for small presents for no reason, whether it be candy or new canvas. 

Fresh flowers should be in the house whenever possible, especially if they are cut from your own garden.

Cook with home grown herbs. 

Always have cheerful but restful music on in the house. 

Love people even when it hurts. You never know what they've been through.

Always make sure, when in a fight with someone, to look at yourself first before you accuse them. 

Take time to dance around the kitchen with the kids while cooking.

this blog post idea stolen from here

Haus Geborgenheit

I learned this German saying a few years ago, "house of refuge, house of strength, house of safety."

The little plaque I have that has these words written on it is usually the first piece of decoration up when I move. 

When my life is accelerating and I think about where I'll be in a year it's hard to find stability. I'll have moved three times at least by this time next year. 

So I find my small space of rest in this crazy time...

...my grandma's old chair and the hippie's chair on our balcony.

There is something about the outdoors and old familiar things I love.

And speaking of old an familiar...

 (I've had this stuck in my head since the boy snail sang it to me on the phone the other night)

As Time Goes By - Frank Sinatra

I’m lucky I know, but I wanna go home

I was on the phone with my mom yesterday and she started crying. My mom and I are really close, and she often cries in front of me, but I'm still trying to get used to it. It's hard, especially when there is nothing I can do.

My family is in a rough patch right now. We have several family members really sick and there is a lot of stress on everyone, especially my immediate family. But we're really tight knit. Things have been ok so far.

But yesterday, on the phone with my mom, I started to feel like I was falling apart. I've been eating my feelings (such a bad practice, let me tell you) and have put on so much weight. I'm stressed, just like everyone else, cause it's the end of the semester. I just want to be home and with my family. I want to be sitting on my back porch with my mom and dad and brothers where everything seems to stop for a little bit and I can just be at rest.

My house is my Haus Geborgenheit (house of rest, place of rest, house of security).

It has literally just been me getting to the end of the week in my head. One day at a time. I needed comfort, home comfort in it's best form.

Enter Marshall Guthrie.

Let me tell you about Marshall. He was my rock my senior year. I was going through a breakup, I was graduating, I was dealing with rejection from schools, I was trying to face leaving the network of people I had come to call my family. Marshall saw me through all of this. Crying and laughing together until graduation came and we had to say goodbye for a long while. He is completely and totally my brother in Christ in every sense of the word. He encourages me to be the best person I can possibly be. He listens when I'm crying. He doesn't judge when I make blunder after blunder. He teases me (just like a brother would). He's seen me at my worst and still loved me. What an amazing friend.

I was walking down the pavement this morning, frustrated about my last final and just wanting to be home. I was getting ready to call my mom and cry a little bit more when I heard, "NOBREGA!" yelled across the road.

I looked up to see Marshall standing across the street waving.

I hit the pavement. Literally. I fell down in a crumpled heap on the ground. Haha. I can't tell you how much I needed comfort at this second in my life. I needed home. Marshall is like my own little traveling lighthouse of home.

I can't even tell you how much of a Jesus thing this was. Seriously. He knew I needed home. A little glimmer to get me home. Thanks for being my glimmer Marshall!



Home - Michael Buble