Today my parents celebrate 35 years of marriage! My sister and I really wanted to do something for their 35th anniversary, but our plans kept getting thwarted. Finally, running on pure determination and excellent teamwork, we threw together a surprise anniversary party in about a week. It wasn’t as elaborate as it would have been if I’d had a month to plan, but I think it actually worked out better that way!
Debra came to Memphis on Friday night and helped me with last-minute preparations. Our parents didn’t know she was in town. I had told them I’d be picking them up for a surprise around noon, but Debra was the one who pulled up in their driveway! She blindfolded them and took a meandering drive back to my house, where a bunch of their friends were waiting. They were VERY surprised!
Debra brought her wedding veil for my mom to wear at the party, and I made a felt-rose boutonniere for my dad. (One circle of felt and a glue gun. Couldn’t be easier.)
Of course, we had cake and champagne! I felt too overwhelmed to bake a cake from scratch, so Debra brought a delicious Publix bakery cake from Nashville. If you see the “Lemon Infusion” cake at Publix, I highly recommend it. (We almost had a Cake Wreck, though – the bakery worker had to be reminded how to spell “Anniversary.”)
Since Kevin and Lance (my brother and brother-in-law) couldn’t be there, we printed out photos of their heads so they could appear to be participating. LOL!
The decorations were my favorite part (and also the most time-consuming). I smuggled some old photo albums out of my parents’ house, scanned an assortment of pictures, and reprinted them in black and white so they’d look uniform. Then we hung twine clotheslines around the living room and attached the pictures with clothespins. Everyone enjoyed looking at them! We also made a giant banner – actually, Debra did most of the work on that.
My dad’s friend volunteered to take a group picture, then snapped away like a paparazzo even though no one was ready. Things got pretty crazy, but we ended up with a couple of good shots.
All in all, the party was a success and my parents had a great time! I’m very thankful for their strong relationship. If not for their great example, I’m honestly not sure if I could keep believing in marriage. I don’t take it for granted.
3 Comments + Posted in: celebrate, family
Last weekend, I had a great long talk with a close friend, curled up on my couch with tasty beverages. We discussed many things, but kept coming back to our goals, decisions to be made, how we’re supposed to discover and live out our purpose. As usual, talking things out helped me solidify my thoughts on a few subjects. Here’s one:
As we grew up, and now, my generation was taught that success or failure in any venture is solely based on how badly you want it. We can be or do anything we set our minds to as long as we’re willing to do whatever it takes. While determination and a good attitude are key to success, I have a couple of problems with this philosophy.
♦ It tells us that if we don’t achieve something we want, it’s 100% our own fault. But even the most determined, sacrificing people can miss their dreams due to circumstances totally out of their control. Like Olympic athletes who sustain an injury at the last minute, or trip over a broken shoelace one lap into a race. And every great success has an element of what many would call luck, and I would call God or the Holy Spirit. The old friend from college who knows a person who’s hiring for your dream job. The chance meeting in a checkout line with the man you’ll eventually marry. The record producer who happens into the dive bar you’re playing on the last song of your set. The great painting or essay that seems to flow out through you from somewhere else. These are things we can’t force or control, and they often determine the outcome.
♦ It leads to idolatry. A hyper-focus on one goal isn’t healthy. Even if we could get whatever we wanted via willingness to do anything and give up everything, I don’t think we should. In fact, I’ve come to believe it takes more strength to set boundaries, to decide what you are and are not willing to do in pursuit of something. To be true to who you are and what you believe, and trust God to take care of the rest. Drawing a line can look like weakness, but it’s not. As I “step out” in my own life, I’m having to make these kinds of decisions, and knowing where my boundaries are is helpful. If I never achieve the things I’m hoping for, I know I’ll blame myself to some degree. But I believe that ultimately, I’ll have peace because I didn’t compromise what was important to me.
The problem my friend and I are left with is, how do you know when you’ve done enough? If you’ve put yourself out there and are doing what you can, and the things you want still aren’t happening, should you just accept it or is it your own fault for not trying harder? What do “enough” and “trying” even mean? It’s impossible. Maybe I should stop trying to figure it out, and rest for a while in God’s grace and love for me and sovereignty over my life. Despite my typical feelings, He’s not sighing and tapping His foot waiting for me to solve the mystery. He doesn’t expect me to navigate a trail with no map. He is the Shepherd and He’s leading me, His sheep, and as long as I listen to His voice, I’ll get where I need to be.
Thanks for listening to my disorganized thoughts. I’m going off on these random tangents more and more often, so maybe I should make it a thing. Soapbox Thursday?
5 Comments + Posted in: faith, imperfection, reflections
In keeping with the season, I’ve been cooking and baking for a lot of events. Here are links to some recent winning recipes! I keep forgetting to take photos of the finished products, so I haven’t posted about them individually.
Cornbread Muffins – I don’t have a cast-iron skillet, and it was harder than expected to find a cornbread recipe that didn’t require one. This version is adaptable to different pans, including my special cast-iron pan in the shape of little corn cobs!
Spinach Dip – This is the best cold spinach dip I’ve ever had. I literally threw away my other recipes after tasting it. It’s creamy, but with a little kick thanks to the cumin.
Spinach Artichoke Dip – An excellent hot spinach dip option! I found this one on Pinterest (and am now subscribed to Brown Eyed Baker. Could be dangerous). You can mix up this dip the night before and then heat just before serving. Since I regularly go to events straight from work, I appreciate recipes like that.
Spiced Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting – My mom paid me to make this for a Christmas party at her workplace. Unfortunately, everyone was on a diet (at Christmas?), so a lot was left over, but then I got to try some and it was delicious. You can’t go wrong with Smitten Kitchen.
Enjoy!
Last weekend, my parents and I met my brother (and of course, my sister and brother-in-law, who live there) in Nashville. We aren’t all together very often anymore, so family time is more special than it used to be! The reason for our trip was the children’s Christmas program at Debra and Lance’s church (Lance is the children’s pastor), but we also continued our Nashville Christmas tradition of going to Opryland Hotel to see the lights. Last year, the hotel had just reopened after the historic floods, and we kept exclaiming “I saw a picture of this spot underwater!” This year’s visit was a little lighter on awe, but still great. :)
 |
| My mom and Kevin at the poinsettia tree. |
 |
| Posing with my sock monkey scarf with attached mittens! |
 |
| Debra and Pops have a rest and a snack. |
 |
| In the Cascades |
Next year I think we’ll go later and hang around longer. The people-watching is great. Last year we witnessed a proposal! I think Opryland at Christmas would be an amazing place to get engaged.