Lessons for Today :: simple thanksgiving

October 7, 2011 by

My mom and I went to Cheesecake Factory yesterday ~ a belated birthday lunch. It was spontaneous. And spectacular. Because it wasn’t my birthday (that was last month) and because we ate Pumpkin Cheesecake in the middle of the afternoon. Mmmm.

I love October. Fabulous coffee drinks. Autumny foods. Cool, blue skies. And time spent reflecting.

We sat and savored lunch. Drank far too much mango tea. And talked about Thanksgiving. Then about whether she wanted to put up her tree this Christmas or not.

After lunch, we cleaned out one of her bathroom cabinets. Gathered a couple bags of whatnot for Goodwill. And way at the back of the cabinet, I found an unopened bottle of Laura Ashley No. 1 … that classic 80′s perfume. It reminds me of when Emily (now 21) was a baby. Because we had these matching Laura Ashley dresses. Pink. Corduroy. Sateen ribbons.

(Questions to my late 80′s self: Why are your bangs so short? And did you roll them? Is that purple eye-shadow?  And lipstick? Did you put lipstick on your two year old daughter? The dresses seem pretty ample ~ did you think they were classics? Plan on wearing them several years in a row …?)

I am aghast. But back to the story.

I ripped into that perfectly sealed Laura Ashley No. 1 just so I could smell it one more time. To re-live the matching pink corduroy jumper days. Of course, that was before I found out we could have Ebayed the unsealed perfume for $395.00!!! Bonk, bonk, bonk (that’s me hitting myself on the head).

Ah, well, live and learn.

I spent my mother’s potential eBay fortune grabbing for the goodness of yesterday’s mother/daughter memory.

But I know my mom doesn’t mind. Because we spent the day creating a new mother/daughter memory. (Love you, Mom!)

And I’ll have a new memory with Emily when I visit her at Baylor this Sunday for the Pi Beta Phi Mom’s Day Luncheon. (Right …? Emily …? :)

Lessons for today:

  1. Eat pumpkin cheesecake in the middle of the day with your mom for no particular reason.
  2. Do not to rip into pristine packages of perfume from the 80′s without checking eBay.
  3. Think twice about posting horrific pictures of yourself online ~ unless it makes somebody smile.
  4. Spend time, time, time with the people you love.
  5. Take love offerings/ loads of goodies / gifts to your daughter at Baylor in case she’s upset about baby pictures posted on your blog.
  6. Now, go love your life!!
  7. The end.

find out about :: 31 days of simple thanksgiving

And hey, if you’d like to keep in touch, read up about the ‘Good News’ Newsletter every Friday.

 

Related Posts

  1. Madeleine+the+cat Life Lessons from a Cat
  2. IMG_1755_ronne_pear Laughter in the Kitchen :: simple thanksgiving
  3. images Driving Lessons from My Teenager
  4. 305cre2 Making Moments Matter … Seize Today
  5. sd_apples_thanksgiving_400 31 Days of Simple Thanksgiving
 
5 Comments

Comments

  1. Kelly Ann says:
    October 31, 2011 at 10:56 am

    How did I miss this post?? LOVE everything about it. You are hilarious and awesome. :) Makes me want to hang with my mom and not cut my bangs too short. Again.

    Reply
  2. Dee Williams says:
    October 7, 2011 at 1:07 pm

    Happy Belated Birthday Wish! Are you still 29 and a half? You look younger than the picture.
    May God bless you with many more birthdays!

    Reply
  3. Ellen Forrester says:
    October 7, 2011 at 8:46 am

    I LOVE these Thanksgiving/fall posts because I love fall and I think our nation overlooks Thanksgiving and goes straight to Christmas from Halloween. There’s a sermon in there somewhere! But, today’s has made me smile; actually laugh! Mission accomplished- see #3! Amy was born in 1980 and Emily 1983! We have those dresses & those haircuts; even PERMS! We paid good money to look like that!

    I just dug out my Pi Phi Baylor Mom’s Day “Run for the Cure” Tshirt from a few years back! Loved those days; the luncheons, not the running! Enjoy! Have to go now- need to go clean out some cabinets!

    Reply
  4. Tammy says:
    October 7, 2011 at 8:32 am

    Susie,

    I enjoyed your post today so much! I felt similar this week. A trip to the attic to gather my Autumn Decorations brought me face to face with items from my grown children’s upbringing. Baseball gloves, tutus, costumes, barbies, baby rattles, and toys. I sat on the floor and remembered. Then I began to ask myself if I should A. Pass the items on to my children, B. Sell the items on Ebay (not all of them, but the less sentimental ones), C. Put the items back in the box and seal shut.

    We are planning a move in the next 2-3 years. It is time to downsize. There won’t be space for everything.

    I totally “get” your post. Actually, I’m so glad that you wrote it. Feeling much the same.

    Blessings~ Tammy

    Reply

Leave a Comment

*