Go Get Your Life

Do you ever sometimes wait for something to tear up so that you have a new and reasonable excuse to replace it? When my husband showed me the split in two of our deck chairs, I felt I was going to burst. NEW FURNITURE!! Since Covid -19, like most of us, I have spent a lot of time looking at the same stuff in the same rooms. When you spend this much time in the same place, you think about all of the things you need, think you need, and need to get rid of. All of those home projects that I DID have time for pre-COVID -19, I now had no excuse not to get to. So, what do you do when you are pretty much done with those essential projects? Well, the universe delivered.

Circa 2012

I took my time decorating our home. We’ve been in this house for 12 years. My style has definitely changed over the decade in that, I think I finally have some. Pinterest has been such a saving grace. I LOVED seeing the pattern of things that resonated with me. There’s the things you already have and Pinterest shows you what could be. I‘ve always struggled with accessorizing albeit clothing or home decor. I love the effortless yet put together look. Over time, I understood that the effortless look took a lot of effort.

So, I was determined to take my time with redecorating our deck.

Outfitting this presented it’s challenges. My small-ish town has limited furniture options. You couldn’t sit on furniture because of Covid. Ordering online was a big risk. I tried to involve my husband with my dilemma of “do I get the matching coffee table or just an end table?” He was not interested in this conversation. I, however, became obsessed.

It started with the lights. If I could light up every room with twinkling bulbs, I would. I ordered furniture with good reviews and prayed. Nothing says chic like a rug. Like I’m so fabulous, I put my rug ON THE OUTSIDE! But, how could I bring life to my deck? It needed something alive.

My conversations with my family centered around what this deck was to become. Even I surprised myself in how this project was all I could talk about. I really started to wonder why was I so into this? I don’t even like to be outside very much because of my allergies and insects. Even my family questioned why I was so fricken focused on this when they knew I’d ALWAYS prefer to eat indoors given the option at a restaurant. Then, it hit me. This was all happening at a time when I didn’t want to leave my home. I missed lunch with girlfriends and browsing the bookstores. But these last few weeks, I really didn’t feel like being social. Covid forced me inside but the racial pandemic made me want to stay in a space where I felt protected and at peace.

Geraniums and Gerber Daisies. Basic and simple. Hopefully I wouldn’t kill those. But if I’m trying to add some meaning to my life, then perhaps each flower I pick should come from a place of love. This is were I started getting excited about the greenhouse at Home Depot. Walking through the aisles was so incredibly tranquil. Was I becoming a gardener? Do I have to have a garden to be a gardener? I googled the difference between potting soil and gardening soil? Was it marketing or was there really a difference? Oh this was amateur hour for sure and I was having fun learning.

Succulents were supposed to bring peace. Hydrangeas always reminded me of my summers in Alabama visiting my grandparents. Grandma Ruby’s Hydrangea bush was epic. The purple things needed to shine because I didn’t even know their name, but they clearly loved attention. Just like that, the flowers became the life that my deck needed. . . the life that I needed. And when that rug arrived from Target, I literally screamed with joy because I knew the space was complete.

Not only did I finish a project, I created an environment full of life, a place for new memories, homages to the past and unapologetic personality. Where the space in daylight revealed an entirely different mood in the evening; Where an idea began from something broken, made space for something new. Sometimes things really do have to fall apart, so better things can fall together.

Until next time, you know where to find me.