Old Friends

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I saw my best friend from high school last night.  I’ve only seen her a couple of times in the long time since graduation.  We’ve been Facebook friends for a while, but you know, that’s not real life.  It is a way to keep up with the highlights, so it’s good for that, but the details are lost.

This girl was very dear to me.  She had a heart of gold, even in high school.  She was fun and she was loyal – something that was very rare back then. I had been seeing in her posts lately that she was struggling with a few things so I crossed the digital barrier and sent her a text message telling her that I was still here for her.

She lives a very different life than I do.  I feel like I’ve been a wife and a mother for forever, while she’s been more single glamour girl on the social scene. Sometimes, though, you just feel a need to re-connect to your roots. Re-connect to the people who knew you before life changed you, when you were young, naive and silly and had your whole life to look forward to. I think she was feeling that.  She needed a home base, and for her, that was me – because it was me back then. But, here’s the thing, I needed her too.  She thought that I was there for her, and I was.  It was only later that I realized just how much seeing her and being around her special energy had helped me.

When I decided to quit my career to stay home with the kiddos, I went through a HUGE adjustment period.  I wondered a lot whether I was making the right decision because I literally did not know what to do with myself.  Eventually I found my way and the days evened out.  However, I have found that as a stay home mom, I have a tendency to devote SO much time to my family and home, that I shut other people out. I don’t make time for lunch dates with my friends and I go for long periods of time not even talking to theme on the phone.  I half-jokingly tell my husband that I am becoming a reclusive shut-in and I wonder if other stay home moms do the same things or feel the same way.

Am I the only one who cuts myself off from the world because I am too busy with my home and family?

My friend has  two toddlers now and she’s trying to slow her life down for them. It’s an adjustment that is necessary, but one that has been hard for her. I can help her with that, but in helping her to slow down for the babies, she’s helping me come out of the cocoon that I have made for myself within the safety of my home and family and to remember the girl that I used to be before I was someone’s wife and two someone else’s mom.

It will make me a better wife and a better mother to remember who I am. It’s so easy to get completely wrapped up in the own goings on of your family that you forget the people outside the circle – the people who enrich your life and make it even better.

So, I’ve decided the open my circle a little. I’m sure I’ll be a much better and happier person for doing it.

Fall Project {White Washed Pumpkins}

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Happy Fall, Y’all! I went to Wal-Mart yesterday for a drawer organizer and $75.00 later, I left with a whole lot more.  Don’t ya hate that? Well, one of the things that I couldn’t pass up was a package of five mini pumpkins. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with my fall decor this year {yes, I know, I seem to be WAY behind everyone else, but you know, soccer ‘n all that} and when I saw these pumpkins I had an idea – white washed pumpkins!

I know everyone has seen the painted pumpkins all over the internet. While they are super cute, they’re not really the look I’m going for. I want to go a little more rustic this year.  I LOVE how they turned out & they were super easy.

I used gloss white acrylic paint & a sponge paintbrush. It would probably work with a non-gloss paint too, but I wanted to keep the shiny finish that pumpkins naturally have. I used two coats to get this look.  I love how you can still see the orange under the white.  Make sure that you allow the first coat to dry completely before doing a second coat.  If you don’t, the paint will just slide right off. I used a Q-tip to paint right up to the stem & finished it off with a cute little jute twine bow.

They’ll be going on the mantel that I hope to have done this week.  Thankfully, we won’t be traveling all over this state & the next this weekend for soccer & I’ll be taking advantage of that to get my house in order for fall.