Not Exactly Martha Stewart...

Hi,


Artisan ornaments created by tiny hands, and a pie whose hat is too small.



Not exactly Martha Stewart....ask me if I care.



By some peoples' standards, the ornaments may appear a bit lopsided, a little heavy with paint and glitter, if that's even possible. The pie, too, has a pastry that apparently likes to show its midriff. It's not alone in its imperfection. There are some squares and cookies currently residing in my freezer that are by no means uniform, most of which are a result of happy accidents rather than scripted recipes.


Not everyone's idea of perfect... ask me if I care.


My house isn't new, or fancy, or filled with expensive things. It will never be featured in a design magazine, it has, to put it kindly, character. It carries the bumps, bruises and battle scars of the lives of its inhabitants. The days and nights of a lot of laughs, many, many sets of little feet, and some legendary teenage shenanigans, the details of which our daughters still think we don't know.

It carries the memories of a lot of happy and precious times, and the burdens of soul-tearing heartbreak.

There are marks on doorframes that mark the signs of physical growth. There are marks that mark territory in shared rooms. There are marks that mark the grief felt at the hands of friends gone too soon.

There are marks that mark, well, everything that goes with 25 years in the same house, four kids, all of their friends, countless dayhome munchkins, and every DIY triumph and disaster.

It may not fulfill everyone's definition of pretty, but it is home. A home to some, a second home to many.


It may not be beautiful... but is filled with beauty, all the same... ask me how much I care...


We all live our lives in different ways. What each of us finds the most important is, and should be, different. No one way is better or worse than another.


Life is not a competition. Just enjoy it.



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May you love where you are, who you are, and what you do.
May you find that if you don't, a change is up to you.

May you see that keeping up with the Joneses is a trap, a simple exercise in chasing your tail.
May you see that even if you succeed, you've only proved proficiency in duplication, not doing you can only fail.

May you find beauty in the scars that surround you, they speak your truth, they tell your story.
May you let yourself celebrate what you've built, enjoy it, bask in its glory.


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www.margyreidbooks.com