This is such a beautiful meditation on this time we're in. Your rich description of the weekend makes me feel almost as if I, too, got to step away for a respite. I appreciate both the words of your yoga instructor and your interpretation of them. In more than one personal situation over the past year, I have found that easing my grip has done so much more than holding on with all I've got. And it feels better, too.
Learning to relinquish control, or at least to not invest so much of myself in it, is a lifelong endeavor for me. I come by the resistance honestly (::looking at you, mom::), but I'm proud of the progress I've made.
Your comment is so kind, Rita. A real day-maker! Thank you.
The walk down memory lane reminded me of the 4x’s a year the Marable Clan gathered as we grew up and the many road trips we made together South to the Homestead.
Most all absent adventures although we are all Blessed to still be alive in our separate spaces.
So grateful to know my stories help move energy around and through, Kelley. Lately, tears are almost always close to the surface for me. 💗 Thanks for stopping by.
What a beautiful place and a great photo of you both. I agree about the specialness of being with family or old friends. We just had a week with East Coast relatives and it was so refreshing. Hold on to those memories!
Blue glue -- gah! That's excellent! I'll look for the missing underwear on Bentley Quinn's page. Thanks for the hot tip, and, as always, for spending time here.
Knowing all family members, or at least ialmost all of your family members, I smile along with you at the joy that you must have experienced.... life seems to be more like walking through the horror houses that were everywhere just a few days ago on Halloween.... There are monsters jumping isfrom every angle.. frightening us... threatening us.. and hoping that we will respond with great fear.... Thank God for mountain top experiences and a few awkward moments and spontaneous jokes and even taco salads.... Your writing is like the chapters of a book.... If it's a good book, and your stories always are..... I can't wait to get to the next chapter.... Your mother was right.... Staying close in heart, mind, and spirit is vital...
I,too, just returned from a family reunion with all the noise and activity of loved ones, ages 2 to 73. A respite from despair. Returning now renewed with energy to community creativity and solitary ventures buoyed by the voices raised across our country. We have had enough!
I might have made it beyond buoyed, Susan. I think I was actually aloft for a good part of the day. 🦋 Certainly the energy felt lighter, and my! -- how we all needed that.
I"m delighted to hear we are living somewhat parallel lives. My gathering wasn't a reunion in the modern sense. There was no expectation of seeing anyone other than the family of origin. I was probably happier in a small group this go 'round. I don't have many extra "social spoons" these days.
Good to see you. Thanks for spending some time with me today.
How special, Elizabeth. As we say in some parts, you have a way. And I can’t imagine someone would forget their underwear, though based earlier comments it seems more common and even forgivable than I would have imagined.
I guess forgetting underwear is better than forgetting an entire suitcase. Just in case you ever find yourself in such a predicament, word on the street is that there's no guarantee of undies at Dollar Generals.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. An oasis in the midst of American chaos. Our get-togethers are small and heartfelt too. Restores the soul. Binds family together. Sending hugs from afar. Take care dear Elizabeth.
I listened to your reading this time. It evoked in me the feeling that I was hearing a cherished letter read out loud.
Someone ought to take the time to list out examples of how your narrative surprises and delights. ...sugar, bacon and dust....... beans speckled like wild ponies .....tape and tears...... It takes my breath away sometimes, they are so apt, so perfectly unexpected.
You can't have known how many minutes I spent considering (without resolution) whether the audio version is of value here. If Substack provides anything quantifiable in that regard, I've not found it. So thank you for affirming that. But gosh - thank you for all of it. This is the kind of comment I need to tape to one of my mirrors!
I love that you all have this tradition and "make it happen." Love the diner and general store descriptions and the sense of place you've created. (Ahhh.... grits.)
"The place smells of sugar, and bacon, and dust." -- great line
I appreciate the sense of telescoping you've captured.... moving all the way in to where there is just the space and the family and the ease and the shared history and then the slow pulling back into reality, step by step, with signs and graffiti all coming back into focus.
I guess it wasn't a tradition until this round, Amy. 🙃 When we got together last summer, it had been three years since we'd all been in the same place at the same time! But we do seem committed now and are already talking about the next one. That feels good.
It's reassuring to know you felt and appreciated the zooming in and back out again. Truly a mirror of how the time away felt. Like we got to shift into macro-mode for a short while and ignore all the stuff going on around the edges. Thank you for noting how that landed for you.
“. . . the spaces between everything else are where the magic truly thrives.” Yes, truly.
My business cards have alternating messages on the back: One is: "Do less. Live more. Know that you are loved.” The other is: “What’s between is what’s real.” The universe gets to decide which message I hand out each time. I see faces light up when people read either message.
When the universe speaks, the language is always love.
What an ingenious idea, Fran, the alternating biz card messages. I swear, I'm going to suggest my organization allow us to personalize our business cards with something uplifting like this. Always love.
YES!
☺️ Feels good to hear that. Thanks, Jill.
This is such a beautiful meditation on this time we're in. Your rich description of the weekend makes me feel almost as if I, too, got to step away for a respite. I appreciate both the words of your yoga instructor and your interpretation of them. In more than one personal situation over the past year, I have found that easing my grip has done so much more than holding on with all I've got. And it feels better, too.
Learning to relinquish control, or at least to not invest so much of myself in it, is a lifelong endeavor for me. I come by the resistance honestly (::looking at you, mom::), but I'm proud of the progress I've made.
Your comment is so kind, Rita. A real day-maker! Thank you.
Gratitude Elizabeth!
The walk down memory lane reminded me of the 4x’s a year the Marable Clan gathered as we grew up and the many road trips we made together South to the Homestead.
Most all absent adventures although we are all Blessed to still be alive in our separate spaces.
Thanks for Chicken Scratch!
Blessed to still be alive, for sure, Kimberly. What a thing to remember! Thank you.
Got a little teary at this one, Elizabeth. Thank you as always for your way with the words and how they at times, hit the chord, beautifully.
So grateful to know my stories help move energy around and through, Kelley. Lately, tears are almost always close to the surface for me. 💗 Thanks for stopping by.
What a beautiful place and a great photo of you both. I agree about the specialness of being with family or old friends. We just had a week with East Coast relatives and it was so refreshing. Hold on to those memories!
It's worth the effort, right? Your East Coast trip looked wonderful, Teresa, and I appreciate you coming along, vicariously, for mine.
And so very relieved we aren’t flying this week!
Absolutely. And so very relieved our trips weren’t this week.
Last night’s elections gave me so much glue! Blue glue is looking to be around every corner…. I’m here for it ❤️
Blue glue -- gah! That's excellent! I'll look for the missing underwear on Bentley Quinn's page. Thanks for the hot tip, and, as always, for spending time here.
ps not sure if you read Kari Bentley Quinn’s SS, but forgotten underwear is a theme of late. 🩲
Knowing all family members, or at least ialmost all of your family members, I smile along with you at the joy that you must have experienced.... life seems to be more like walking through the horror houses that were everywhere just a few days ago on Halloween.... There are monsters jumping isfrom every angle.. frightening us... threatening us.. and hoping that we will respond with great fear.... Thank God for mountain top experiences and a few awkward moments and spontaneous jokes and even taco salads.... Your writing is like the chapters of a book.... If it's a good book, and your stories always are..... I can't wait to get to the next chapter.... Your mother was right.... Staying close in heart, mind, and spirit is vital...
Bless you, Barry. You've touched on it all here. The happiness and the pain, and that the only real way to get through it is together! Thank you.
I know you know my mother would love you more for saying she was right! 😁
I,too, just returned from a family reunion with all the noise and activity of loved ones, ages 2 to 73. A respite from despair. Returning now renewed with energy to community creativity and solitary ventures buoyed by the voices raised across our country. We have had enough!
I might have made it beyond buoyed, Susan. I think I was actually aloft for a good part of the day. 🦋 Certainly the energy felt lighter, and my! -- how we all needed that.
I"m delighted to hear we are living somewhat parallel lives. My gathering wasn't a reunion in the modern sense. There was no expectation of seeing anyone other than the family of origin. I was probably happier in a small group this go 'round. I don't have many extra "social spoons" these days.
Good to see you. Thanks for spending some time with me today.
How special, Elizabeth. As we say in some parts, you have a way. And I can’t imagine someone would forget their underwear, though based earlier comments it seems more common and even forgivable than I would have imagined.
Thanks, Rob. Much appreciated.
I guess forgetting underwear is better than forgetting an entire suitcase. Just in case you ever find yourself in such a predicament, word on the street is that there's no guarantee of undies at Dollar Generals.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. An oasis in the midst of American chaos. Our get-togethers are small and heartfelt too. Restores the soul. Binds family together. Sending hugs from afar. Take care dear Elizabeth.
Oasis: Now there's a word I need to remember more often! I'm all about small and intimate these days. It's about all I have bandwidth for.
Thanks for always adding a kind word here, Beth. I'm grateful.
I listened to your reading this time. It evoked in me the feeling that I was hearing a cherished letter read out loud.
Someone ought to take the time to list out examples of how your narrative surprises and delights. ...sugar, bacon and dust....... beans speckled like wild ponies .....tape and tears...... It takes my breath away sometimes, they are so apt, so perfectly unexpected.
I'm just another reader of Elizabeth's substack, but I just want to say this is such an awesome comment!
I couldn't agree more, Amy. ☺️
You can't have known how many minutes I spent considering (without resolution) whether the audio version is of value here. If Substack provides anything quantifiable in that regard, I've not found it. So thank you for affirming that. But gosh - thank you for all of it. This is the kind of comment I need to tape to one of my mirrors!
"You don’t have to hold onto the hard.” - I will be holding onto that. Thank you.
Thank you. It's a daily struggle to let myself let it go, and I'm honored to be working on it with you, Roe. Hope to see you soon!
I love that you all have this tradition and "make it happen." Love the diner and general store descriptions and the sense of place you've created. (Ahhh.... grits.)
"The place smells of sugar, and bacon, and dust." -- great line
I appreciate the sense of telescoping you've captured.... moving all the way in to where there is just the space and the family and the ease and the shared history and then the slow pulling back into reality, step by step, with signs and graffiti all coming back into focus.
I guess it wasn't a tradition until this round, Amy. 🙃 When we got together last summer, it had been three years since we'd all been in the same place at the same time! But we do seem committed now and are already talking about the next one. That feels good.
It's reassuring to know you felt and appreciated the zooming in and back out again. Truly a mirror of how the time away felt. Like we got to shift into macro-mode for a short while and ignore all the stuff going on around the edges. Thank you for noting how that landed for you.
Thinking how happy I'd be to see Rob and Karen -- and eat some grits!
I was having similar thoughts ahead of our weekend together, Karen! Thanks for reading.
“. . . the spaces between everything else are where the magic truly thrives.” Yes, truly.
My business cards have alternating messages on the back: One is: "Do less. Live more. Know that you are loved.” The other is: “What’s between is what’s real.” The universe gets to decide which message I hand out each time. I see faces light up when people read either message.
When the universe speaks, the language is always love.
What an ingenious idea, Fran, the alternating biz card messages. I swear, I'm going to suggest my organization allow us to personalize our business cards with something uplifting like this. Always love.