• Start Here
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Table
    • Together at the Table
    • Food and Such
      • Beverages
      • Bread
      • Breakfast
      • Main Dishes
      • Vegetables & Sides
      • Soups
      • Desserts
  • Writing
    • On Family
  • Happy Designs
  • Connect
    • For You
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

Grab yourself a push-pop and RELAX. 

July 15, 2015 by HappyGoStuckey 11 Comments

Last night I stood in front of the house on Almond Avenue. The house that I lived in for the first fifteen years of life. The blue paint had been replaced with a pale creamy yellow but the palm tree outside my bedroom window remained. (Because, Florida.) From first steps to cheerleading practice, that house held it all.

IMG_4893
You better believe those fancy satellite dishes were not ours.

I stood there next to my brother and for three whole minutes, it all came rushing back.  Like someone pressed play on a scratchy VHS tape of our childhood– I watched us tear through the back yard with our dog, Sally– and ride, sans training wheels and hollering down the driveway.

This front yard saw one and only one white Christmas in 1989– and by the time we scraped up a few snowballs, it was more of a grey Christmas anyway— but we may as well have been in It’s a Wonderful Life with socks on our hands (because who has gloves in Florida?) and layers of light jackets.

And that tree over there? The one that use to tower so high? That’s where Mom lined us up in our Easter pastels and took our photo each and every April, grinning and jittery from too many jelly beans.

Not surprisingly, the snapshots of life that play over and again in my head are the simple lovely bits of every day life that we lived and not the “bigger” moments. 

This week I laughed and perhaps shed a tear or two at the poignant and hilarious Inside Out movie. One of the most lovely parts of the movie was the concept of “core memories.” In the movie, these pivotal moments, happy or sad– drive ones’ personality and who they become.

Later I realized that most of my own core memories are not ones I would have known would become such. The smell of bubbling spaghetti sauce and the clattering of plates laid out for all of us. And laughter. So much laughter.

Meanwhile I’m the parent now with the task of raising and steering and loving littles and I cannot help but wonder if we try too hard to make every little thing an EVENT. Every birthday, St.Patrick’s Day, and Guy Fawkes Day often carries with it the pressure of “making it special.” Maybe it’s Pinterest or maybe it’s just a desire to make every moment mean something.

May I make a suggestion? Look back at your own memories. Which ones matter the most? The ones where you knew your mom stayed up all night making halloween costumes for 2 dozen cupcakes or the moments you felt loved and safe?

Life itself is special. The living of this life together is what makes it special. Give yourself a little grace and focus on what matters.

My parents loved God and loved us– and taught us to do the same. Almost everything else was just sprinkles.

IMG_4892
I know. Hazy and Crazy.
No Actual Productivity Represented
Stitch Fix Review #3

Comments

  1. lisa says

    July 15, 2015 at 7:13 pm

    Oh, Cindy! A rush of memories came back to me also! I loved that house! And Sally, oh man…. remember the forts we use to build on the back yard? This is a wonderful post. Bittersweet memories for sure. Thank you, Lisa.

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      July 15, 2015 at 7:15 pm

      YES! I wanted so badly to walk through the back yard and see the “three trees” where we built our forts! Glad you were there for those good times. <3

      Reply
  2. Chip Blythe says

    July 16, 2015 at 10:41 am

    Well written, Sister. I recently thought a lot about this subject and came to the conclusion that it’s not the dirt and the bricks that make or contain the memories, it’s the heart. Home is not a place, it’s a state of being. Being with loved ones and experiencing our lives individually, and collectively. No doubt, there are solid memories tied to the street address, but really it’s just a landmark in our minds, a gateway to the past, a window to what was and to what made us what we largely are today. Deep blessings, from Holy God, that’s what the number 6653 means to me.
    Chip

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      July 18, 2015 at 4:24 pm

      I completely agree Chip. 100%. <3

      Reply
  3. Chip Blythe says

    July 16, 2015 at 10:41 am

    Well written, Sister. I recently thought a lot about this subject and came to the conclusion that it’s not the dirt and the bricks that make or contain the memories, it’s the heart. Home is not a place, it’s a state of being. Being with loved ones and experiencing our lives individually, and collectively. No doubt, there are solid memories tied to the street address, but really it’s just a landmark in our minds, a gateway to the past, a window to what was and to what made us what we largely are today. Deep blessings, from Holy God, that’s what the number 6653 means to me.
    Chip

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      July 18, 2015 at 4:24 pm

      I completely agree Chip. 100%. <3

      Reply
  4. bakerlinda54 says

    July 16, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    Very special memories and insights! How special to revisit the house of your youth! Inside Out made some very good points!

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      July 18, 2015 at 4:23 pm

      It really did! Hope you Bakers are doing well! <3

      Reply
  5. bakerlinda54 says

    July 16, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    Very special memories and insights! How special to revisit the house of your youth! Inside Out made some very good points!

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      July 18, 2015 at 4:23 pm

      It really did! Hope you Bakers are doing well! <3

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe and receive a Free copy of “Simmer: Six soup recipes and the Stories that Inspired Them.”

Your personal information is safe and will never be shared.

Hey There!

I'm Cynthia and I'm so glad you're here. I am an introvert with an extrovert's love of gathering people together. I love good books and capturing moments. Whether you visit me here or on my own front porch, I'll be the one holding the Iced Coffee for us both.

Instagram

happygostuckey

Truth: I am not the best cookie baker in our house Truth: I am not the best cookie baker in our house. It is hands down @friar_stuck — Today he added a pinch of fresh orange zest to Oatmeal Scotchies and they taste just like childhood.

My grandma used to make these and serve them to me on a pink plate with a small glass of sprite with ice. At 39, I now realize two things— 1. She would have adored my husband and 2. these cookies go best with coffee or tea.

What cookie makes you feel eight years old again?
There’s something unusually long about the winte There’s something unusually long about the winter months when we’re in a season of slow growth and imperceptible change.

The landscape outside your window TODAY can feel like it’s your landscape forever but it’s actually not.

If the view from where you stand looks rather bleak and not at all how you hoped, can I remind you to look up? 

These trees in my own backyard, captured this morning, last March, and last August, will continue changing in their own rhythmic way whether I’m watching them or not. There’s a comfort in that for me today— and perhaps for you.

Whatever looks slow and unmoving, with change almost too gradual to detect— is still very much in a pattern of forward transformation.

And these quiet days in the midst of our January-ness— we can be reminded that growth never really stops, especially in the hidden places.

#wonderfortheweary #feastingandforaging #bluehousebackyard
Not moving from this spot, except to boil the kett Not moving from this spot, except to boil the kettle for more tea.

This is the first complete weekend that we’ve been home since Thanksgiving. 😳 It sounds awful, especially for this homebody, but really what it means is, we’ve celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with family, attended one beautiful family wedding (Hey, Shelby! 👋🏻❤️) one 90th Birthday party for our beloved Granny, and had a family trip. They were all such sparkly gifts. Ones I don’t take for granted and so very different from last year.

But I do love home— and am happy to spend the second half of the day right here with this book which I’m truly enjoying. 📚❤️
The inhabitants of the Dickens Village wanted me t The inhabitants of the Dickens Village wanted me to tell you three V. important things. 1. After years of having one pub and no church, they are *finally* getting a church tomorrow, thanks to FB marketplace. And all the people said, “Amen & Huzzah.” 2. We’re still keeping Christmas over here — Though we’re slowly bending towards back to normal. The tree still lives and we’re celebrating the tenth day of Christmas with a fire & coziness before we pull out the pencils tomorrow. And finally, 3. Everyday Affogato. You might need this tiny pick me-up in your life. One shot of hot espresso poured over a tiny serving of vanilla ice cream. Please and Thank you.✨ #merrymerrystuckeys
2021 was a year of change for nearly all of us. Mu 2021 was a year of change for nearly all of us. Much of which we are happily taking with us into 2022.🥂

Nine squares is not sufficient to reflect the ways we’ve grown and changed, but it is a glimpse of the graces of the year behind us.

Not pictured: waking up to find our children taller and suddenly at our eye level, new laugh lines on our faces, sweltering pool days, fireplace dinners, Marco Polo chats with friends, family weddings & visits, mountain air breathed, books read, new jobs begun, school days, approximately 52 pizza nights, new rhythms & schedules, house repairs, car issues, and God always before us, behind us and within us. Soli deo Gloria. #thebestisyettocome
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave t On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… 🍦Four Honeymoon milkshakes from the Dreamette. We’re going out with a bang, at the spot where their Grandparents grew up eating their ice cream. It’s absolutely the GOAT.
🎄✨Merry Christmas from Team Stuckey!✨🎄 🎄✨Merry Christmas from Team Stuckey!✨🎄

2021 has been full of new things— but I’m grateful we have walked through them together and in God’s sovereign hand. 

Pro (🤣) -Tip: if your Christmas cards say Happy New Year, you have longer to mail them… 📮🥂
Okayyyy @smittenkitchen ‘s Gingerbread Bûche de Okayyyy @smittenkitchen ‘s Gingerbread Bûche de Noël was fun and delicious. 4 out of 4 Stuckeys agree we have a new Christmas dessert! 🎄❤️

Happy Christmas Eve, friends— especially all you midnight merry makers! Hope you find all the stocking stuffers you hid.🙈
Do these Mince Pies make me look One-Quarter Briti Do these Mince Pies make me look One-Quarter British?

Truth be told, my grandma always used the jarred mincemeat and I wasn’t a fan as a child. Only last year did Lance and my Mom collaborate in the kitchen to try out homemade mincemeat filling and let me just say, we are never quitting these! 😍

The filling we use is from @bonappetitmag and it’s really good. It’s a gorgeous blend of apples, dried fruits (cherries, apricots, sultanas, figs, currants) with apple cider, spices, and a few other things. No meat, though.

Happy Christmas from the Jolly Old Stuckeys! 🇬🇧🎄❤️
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Categories

Featured Posts

Autumn Apple Dutch Baby

Saturday Breakfast is an important rhythm in the #BlueHouse-- my husband is an excellent breakfast … [ Read More ]

On Waiting & Moving

(And a Recipe for Italian Tortellini Soup) Later this month, our family will celebrate the 10th … [ Read More ]

Five Good Things

Hi. How are you, really? If you're anything like me-- you have moments of complete gratefulness for … [ Read More ]

Winter Favorites

(and why it matters to pay attention to the little things.) "For you are the sunshine-maker in … [ Read More ]

Loving Lately in November

"...all creation's revealing his majesty. We're invited to join with all nature in manifold witness … [ Read More ]

Miss Something?

Please be kind and give proper credit if you share! © Cynthia M. Stuckey. For personal use only, not to be copied, distributed, altered or sold.

Privacy Policy

Full privacy policy may be found HERE.

Want each post to magically appear in your email box?

Your personal information is safe and will never be shared.

Cynthia@happygostuckey.com
xo Cynthia
  • Start Here
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Table
  • Writing
  • Happy Designs
  • Connect

© 2023 · Pretty Creative WordPress Theme by, Pretty Darn Cute Design