I was asked for an update on the house. This is a tempting question for me because I am trying to stay out of the circle of Fear-Worry-Anxiety (see post below). And when I think about the house it is easy to fall into the circle.
When one is abstaining from the circle of fear it is rather interesting what strange, happy thoughts might appear in the brain. For instance, I am mysteriously pleased, actually tickled about these two items that were not lost in the flood:
my fireplace
and my wedding dress.
I cannot even remotely explain why they are even on the same page of my brain. Perhaps it is a strategy of some sort. Do you ever try to distract your child from something painful with something to delight them? You know – they fall and scrape their knee, you see their lip quiver and you know they are giving in to the pain and succumbing to tears – so you quickly grab something, anything, out of your purse to distract them.
Maybe, God has seen my lip quiver as I observe what has become of my house. He knows at any moment I could give in to the pain and succumb. So, He has distracted me with something that gives me great delight.
Two cornerstones. Both full of memories and detail.
I love the detail on my fireplace. The same detail ran throughout the house. It is all that will be left of the old house. They wanted to take it out, too. I said, NO, and that tickles me because I got my way! Too many memories surround that fireplace, they can’t have those either.
The dress. What is it with the dress? My girls love that show Say Yes To The Dress. There is a fascination with the dress. It is the quintessential wedding token. I love the detail of my dress. So many memories about the day I said yes to the love of my life are wrapped up in that box.
So let’s laugh about the box for a moment. I did NOT get married in the 50’s, my mother did. Does that not look like a 50’s dress on the box? And I am not delusional enough about my dress to think that my girls will wear it “for generations to come”. Especially after they have drooled ad infinitum over the dresses at Kleinfelds.
But oh, do I want to say yes to my dress! I want to peel that cellophane away. I want set that dress free. I want to put it on. When no one is looking. But even if it fits, there is no way I could do all the buttons by myself.
I love them both – my fireplace and my wedding dress. So alike in many ways, both white, full of detail, full of memories.
I said YES to the fireplace.
Maybe, when no one is around I will say YES to the dress.
