Sunday, January 11, 2015

different awesome

We've been falling in love with our house in pieces. Soaking up the details of it all. Remembering to pay attention to all the little things that make it special.

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I love the shapes everywhere and the shadows they create with the light.

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Greyson LOVES that we have our very own mail box. It's his own personal toy.

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I love the palm trees that make me feel like I'm on vacation, even on Mondays.

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Parker loves the fact that he can go out our back door whenever his little heart desires. WHERE IS PARKER?! We would exclaim, and sigh in relief as we saw his little blond head bobbing around in the back yard.  Until today when Michael finally installed a second hidden lock so he can't leave alldaylong anymore. Shew.

I was washing the dinner dishes this evening, appreciating the fact that the hot water gets so dang hot. Like crazy hot. That's how I like to do dishes- scalding to instantly melt the stuff off. That's how I like to take a bath too- you know- when you get out and your skin is electric red. Our old house had some kind of safety thermostat set up so the water never really got painfully hot.

I was just taking a moment to appreciate this change. I frequently think- Oh no, God, I can't do this. WHAT!? God- you have got to be joking, I can't handle that. I SO OFTEN forget to take a moment on the flip to say, GOD! You are BRILLIANT. It's just perfect. THANK YOU!!! 

Let's both take a moment and think about something awesome in our life.


I remember walking through this home before we decided to buy it. I scanned the kitchen and adjoining areas and quickly noticed there was no pantry. WHAT?! No pantry? It would be one thing if I had never had a pantry before- but the pantry at our previous home is as big as some apartments in New York. (only slightly exaggerating). I actually let this thought take up residence in my noggin over the past month of preparing to move. I was mourning our pantry like it was a person. Yes, it IS a great house, I would think- but there is no pantry. (Unhappy emoji face).  I was once again so busy noticing different bad that I didn't get the opportunity to fully appreciate different awesome.

Why do we do that? Notice the bad, think about the bad, focus on the bad? I think it actually goes back to caveman times or whatever that era is called. It's all part of evolution- We had to recognize different in order to simply stay alive. We had to constantly monitor our environment and see if there was anything different- anything that stood out. Anything that might interfere with our safety. If you focused on different in a good way- Oh wow, look at that sunset TOO LATE- YOU WERE JUST EATEN BY AN ANKYLOSAURUS. So often times unexpected and different was dangerous and bad. So here we are hardwired to stay alive all while recognizing different. We all notice different. A person in a wheel chair. A little person. A person with Down syndrome or autism. We notice the square peg, the green in a sea of blue.

And oftentimes we notice bad different. Loss different. Isolated different. And forget to remember that there is also plain old different-different,  height different, color different, mind different, religion different, race different, intellectual different, income different, water-temperature different.

And different isn't always bad. Not even CLOSE. It's beautiful. Different makes a rainbow. Different gives way to choice. Different breeds options. I'm sure it would have been so much easier for God to just take a cookie cutter and make us all the same, but he took the time to create each one of us by design. Each a custom creation.

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Sometimes the same is good too though. Grey and I going down the slide today, exploring a new playground.

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I sit here with these words and with you amazed at the meaning of life. The full circle of stories that bring us back around to who we were always meant to be. I wonder if you can feel my heart and my gratitude for my two little amazing boys who taught me to embrace the beauty of different. 

Go get your Monday friend. It's got nothing on us.

XOXO,

Chrissy

6 comments:

  1. You write beautifully and you say powerful things. I appreciate it.

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  2. Thank you! I really needed to hear these words this morning!!!

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  3. Spot on, as always. Just what I needed to hear this morning. Notice the good. Notice the good. Notice the good.

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  4. Thank you Chrissy - wishing you a good Monday too. <3

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  5. Thank you for ANKYLOSAURUS! You could have gone with T-rex or Brontosaurus (which, as I'm sure you know is now the Apatosaurus), it takes a special gift to whip out the ankylosaurus. I wish I had a nickel for every time we have watched Jurassic Park over these past snowy Midwestern weeks.
    Thanks, friend, for sharing you <3
    Love & happiness to you, sweet Momma xoxoxo Miracle

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  6. Inspiring and challenging! I think you should gather your blog writings into a book. I would like to refer to your writings with a book in my hands so I can go there again and again!

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