Do-over

Seeing some of the more neglected corners of my home in the photos of my last post inspired me to impose some order over the weekend. Here are my do-overs for my closets. Because I believe in second chances. Don't you?

Basic Joy

Anne Bentley Waddoups

“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

— Mary Oliver

Hi, I'm Annie, enthusiast of words, development, faith, ideas, travel, design, movies, hygge, stories, and a good laugh.

“Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.”

— Wendell Berry

First time here?
A few posts to get you started:

Marriage
Passing the bridge of sighs
A modest proposal
A modest proposal ii
Adeste fideles

Life
Uncurbed enthusiasm
Liner notes to growing up
Sunday dinner @ 135
Playing big
In praise of late bloomers

Parenting
Triptych
Bless her heart
Paging EB White
Nine and a half
Madeleine, 16
Keystone parents
She holds these truths
Louie, Louie

Latest Instagrams:

PSA: It’s not an “empty nest”—um...we’re still in it! Are newlyweds empty nesters? Then neither are we!
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It doesn’t feel very healthy to define current stages by previous ones. I’d rather move onward with gratitude for where we’ve been and where we’re headed, including all iterations of nests
#wordsmatter #notemptynestersbutnextphasers

September was an all-out blur, a rushed mix of joy and discomfort. The universe is teaching me alllll the lessons about letting go and accepting what comes. To wit: I dropped off my last child at college and then a few days later dropped off my only gallbladder at the hospital. Ha! Good one, universe!
. . .
I’m a stubborn student but I’m learning, slowly. All is well, all is swell (and, for now...swollen).

Launch 3B complete! Turns out that sending your offspring out into the world after his two-year mission to Angola is, well, still not easy but easier all around. Can I call/text/video anytime? Can I visit whenever I want? Will I see you in a few months? Yes, yes, and yes!? I’m here for it.

We’ve had a wonderful summer with Sam and the fam. He’s had a lot of parent time (some might say an overdose) and he is READY to go, ha. As with each of my kids, I’m excited to have a front row seat to watch his life unfold—the bumps and triumphs and everything in between—as he takes it on with his whole heart.

Feeling this truth lately: Where you stumble, there your treasure lies.
✨
“Mythology tells us that where you stumble, there your treasure is. There are so many examples. One that comes to mind is in The Arabian Nights. Someone is plowing a field, and his plow gets caught. He digs down to see what it is and discovers a ring of some kind. When he hoists the ring, he finds a cave with all of the jewels in it. And so it is in our own psyche...where it seems most challenging lies the greatest invitation to find deeper and greater powers in ourselves" -- An Open Life: Joseph Campbell in Conversation with Michael Toms (1988)

Watch out world, @madeleinebw is back to music making after a 7-year hiatus! 🎻 ✨

Shortly after choosing her new violin/roommate/grad present, Madeleine drove across country to move into her own apartment (Friday) and start a new cool job in Richmond (tomorrow). Here’s to crossing new thresholds and adulting like a boss!

Reading:

Writing Elsewhere:

Segullah
Letters to a Parent
Nest and Launch

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