Yesterday was. Well. One of those days. It was supposed to be lovely. I was supposed to meet a friend from San Diego, who is up for vacation, for lunch. Both of us had assumptions and misunderstandings and one thing led to another and we found ourselves at the same restaurant...but two different locations. At opposite ends of the Salt Lake Valley. After lunch, once I got to the city SHE ate in, I texted and she was still around, so we did get to see one another at Target, while our kids got bored and antsy. After, I realized the cupcakes I bought earlier in the day had melted (not really just the frosting, but the actual cake, as well...huh) and that was $alotofmoney down the drain. Add in hot, tired, unable to run all my errands thanks to a hot+tired nearly five year old and crazy traffic, we ran through Sonic and went home. However, during the day, I listened to the radio. Something I never do. And came upon some loveliness. So, here. Three songs I heard yesterday on the radio and the memories attached.
1. Let's Go All The Way - Sly Fox
I probably shouldn't like this song so much, but, well...I do anyway. It reminds me of a junior high student council trip. I probably didn't even really understand the song, then, totally, but I remember listening to it on the way down to whatever water park we were going to. I was in love with the student council president (that's right...linking to the crazy...), at the time, so spending time with him was just.the.best. Everyone was in love with his best friend, but Mr. President? Oh, yeah. So that trip is a flurry of the popular girls in bikinis and flirting and me thinking because Mr. Pres was paying a modicum of attention to me, he CLEARLY liked me and not his hot cheerleader girlfriend who was also on the trip (forget logic...logic has nothing on the 14 year old girl's mind!).
2. Heart and Soul - T'Pau
This song will forever remind me of my sister. I have no specific memory attached, but it was on a few of the mixed tapes she would send me from college and I always associated being grown up with this song. Which is funny, but there you go. I still love it. It's almost ALWAYS on my iPod. Always.
3. You Take Me Up - Thompson Twins
I MAY have turned the radio up REALLY loudly when this came on because I have not heard it in YEARS. Man. I had forgotten how much I loved this song! It reminds me of youth dances. It reminds me of youth and the happiness of the 80s and just a really happy time of life. This is a perfect song for summer, for me. I suggest you turn it up really loud and dance. And then buy it, put it on your ipod and listen to it every day. Because it is perfect. PERFECT. So says I.
I started out the year with very clear expectations for my word. I put a number of minimalist blogs in my reader and started researching this concept as a way of life. I purged and I purged and I got rid of a good amount of stuff that we neither needed or loved. I changed the way I thought of gifts. I changed the way I viewed consuming. Very clear path.
But I'm noticing something at this half way mark. I have no desire to strip my life THAT simple. I read (and admire!) people who can fit their possessions into one car. Who travel and move their families all over the world. Who work very minimally in order to support such travel. Modern day nomads. And I admire. And, in honesty, a little part of me wishes I was more like that. But when it comes right down to it, that simplicity isn't what I'm searching for after all.
I'm enjoying my stripped down home. But only because I've been able to fill it with things I love completely (see: my room redo). I've enjoyed saying no to a lot of things. But only because I've been saying yes to much more and more enjoyable things. I'm enjoying my eclectic home because the things in it make me happy. Provide comfort and stability. Provide a life for all three of us. I know it's not the things that are most important, but they can definitely enhance this experience. The things we have left aren't a distraction, but an enhancement. And I think that is how it should be.
So mine, so far, hasn't been an exercise in the getting rid of as much as the replacing. I don't have the unnecessary clutter, but I don't feel guilty when I purchase something new. I look around and my home is calm and peaceful and a true haven. And while I know I have a little way to go, yet, to reach the point I'm aiming for, right now I'm happy with where it is. We may not be uprooting every other year to some faraway land, but we have a solid home base that welcomes us back from our travels. Maybe this is the marriage between last year and this year: my moderation in simplicity.
A surprising turn on of the word, interestingly enough. But one I'm enjoying. And looking forward to seeing where else it takes me.
