This Week (Mostly Today)

I was dreading this week and distracting myself from what I anticipated would be the start of 10 days without Brett. I shared a little about how I was feeling on Instagram recently and was met with so much encouragement that I literally had to stop reading comments for the rest of the day because they kept making me cry. Like big, familiar hugs. Thank you, kind-hearted people.

After asking Brett for the fifth time if he knew when he'd be leaving for field training we realized why we were on different pages when he clarified that his branch only had to be gone for three of those ten days. It was like someone had just dropped off dinners for the rest of the week, like someone telling me my bills were paid three months in advance, like a weekend of thrifting with my best friends! 

There has also been the fun distraction of setting up and selling vintage dresses from the pop up shop and feeling really thankful that these precious garments will be enjoyed by someone else's little girl(s). 

Ruby and I finally had ourselves a mama/daughter thrifting trip Thursday morning and stumbled upon something I've been trolling craigslist for for weeks, an old piano! The few that I've seen (that I've liked) have been more expensive than I'd like and I knew if I just held out I'd find something. It usually works that way. This one was less than half of what I'd seen online and in beautiful shape. Once it's tuned I'm hoping we can get Sebastian started on lessons. My mom taught piano in our home when we were kids and I even picked up a few things during lessons of my own, although chopsticks and one Brian Adams song is not that impressive at my age. I'm sure it's going to be noisy for awhile but that first mistake-free rendition of Chopsticks is going to be worth it!

I got an early and quite special Mother's Day gift from Sebastian after school that has me excited for this new stage in his expression of love for his mama. I told him I was going to keep that letter forever and the look of satisfaction and delight on his face was golden. We got ice cream later to help his bad scrape heal up. It's as good as Neosporin to kids! 

Oh, and I made myself two tops using a vintage shirt that the dear Rubyellen of Cakies sent me in the mail. It was a touch snug without a high-waisted skirt but I knew the pattern would be great in a different fabric. I'm hoping to finish another couple before too long for those days when a dress is just too fussy. Thank you, Rubyellen, for jump starting my summer wardrobe!

I've been thinking a lot about this series of posts that some brave bloggers have been offering to readers as a way to remind everyone that we all have messy sides. I've been thinking about how much/little I want to share as often times I feel like the sheer weight of ALL OF THE THINGS is too much even for people I know well. I love feeling authentic and brave and transparent but it feels like the older I get the harder it is to achieve in certain forums. It's stirred something up inside me, though. I'm looking forward to figuring out what happens next.

-Rachel

p.s. That's Brett's 'pretend you're not looking so I can take your picture' face. Pretty handsome guy, isn't he.