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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

What Grown-Ups Get to Do (and a free printable.)

May 21, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey 13 Comments

When I was eight years old I wore purple unicorn sneakers and yarn ribbons in my hair. I scraped my knobby knees jumping off the front steps to escape a lizard. I fashioned a reading nook with my Lady Lovely Locks sleeping bag and a stack of books from the school library. The minute we came home from school, I dropped my backpack and found my quiet spot to crack open Spunky’s Diary for the fifth time.

My mom headed straight for the kitchen and began to make dinner. She sang hymns under her breath and I heard her when the electric can opener stopped abruptly. She seemed to be in her happy place, stepping from refrigerator to counter and back to stove top, humming and stirring dinner for six other people. Even after being at work for hours, she still seemed happy to be where she was. Happy to be doing what she had to do.
What she “got” to do.

grownups

I have clear memories of thinking I would just call out for pizza every night when I was a mom— you know, so I could read more books. (Nerd alert.)

I thought that grown-ups could do whatever they wanted because no one was bossing them around.
I thought my parents both worked so hard because they enjoyed it, when it was actually more like– they had five hungry guppies eating everything in sight and needing new shoes every four months.

Now I know.
Now I know that what grown-ups really get to do, is clean cold scrambled eggs out of the sink drain and be thankful for mouths to feed.
Grown-ups get to peel themselves from a warm duvet at midnight when a tiny person needs a hug and not really mind.
Grown-ups get to buy each other ceiling fans and small appliances and know that the experience of building a life together is really where it’s at.
Grown-ups get to catch baby spit-up with their bare hands, and then laugh about it.
Grown-ups get to be the former generation of big kids who do the things they have to do with joy.

AnneQuote1I want for my children to see that. I want them to hear me humming at the end of a long day. For them to see me smile when the hours till bedtime are stretching and so is my patience. I want them to notice me delighting in my life– all of it.

Because once upon a time, this reality was more or less exactly what I dreamed of.

There is so much more that we could say on this topic, but let’s leave it in the hands of the very wise Anne with an E.

I made a printable with a lovely quote from Anne of Green Gables for you and I. There are two font options, so just pick the one you like the most and download below.

AnneQuote2-3

Hang it near your desk or washing machine or kitchen sink so that we may remember– We may not choose the task, but we may certainly choose the perspective. 

Anne Printable, Script Font

Anne Quote, Caps Font

Download either PDF by clicking the link above & save it to your computer. Then either print out your 8×10 print at home, or email to your local print shop or office supply. I would suggest Cardstock or a high quality paper. Then just frame it and hang it!

Be kind, and please always give proper credit. © Cynthia M. Stuckey. For personal use only, not to be altered or sold. https://www.happygostuckey.com

Quick Basil Pesto
What We Can Do In The Aftermath.

Comments

  1. Birdy Pierce says

    May 22, 2016 at 6:59 am

    ❤️

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      May 29, 2016 at 5:23 pm

      Right back ‘atcha dear friend!

      Reply
  2. Cheryl says

    May 22, 2016 at 8:24 am

    Yes I love that and print it I will!

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      May 29, 2016 at 5:22 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. lee says

    May 23, 2016 at 2:16 pm

    Beautiful reminder! Thanks for the lovely design to remember this important concept. =)

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      May 29, 2016 at 5:22 pm

      Thank you! I certainly need to surround myself with reminders and it helps if they are pretty, right? Thanks for stopping by to say hello!

      Reply
  4. Courtney Lynn Harris says

    May 24, 2016 at 4:43 pm

    Such a lovely reminder! I love what you said about your Mom doing the work she “got” to do. I want my daughter to have the same perspective on my work, based on what she observes from me. Challenging!

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      May 29, 2016 at 5:15 pm

      Hey Courtney!
      It is such a challenge to know we are always being watched, isn’t it?
      I love what you have done with your writing space. Really fresh and pretty. And your recent post for “when your week has been hard” is just lovely. Sharing now!
      Always happy to see you here or there.
      –Cynthia

      Reply
      • Courtney Lynn Harris says

        May 29, 2016 at 7:41 pm

        Thanks so much, Cynthia! So fun to reconnect with you. 🙂

        Reply
  5. Megan Rae says

    October 12, 2017 at 2:55 pm

    Cynthia,

    I love this quote with your design elements! May I discuss purchasing from you a higher Rez for a larger print possibly? Thank you!!

    Reply

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    May 28, 2016 at 7:39 am

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    […] Did you see this post last week with the free Printable? I had such fun making this for us. Help yourself to […]

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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.

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happygostuckey

Just in case you need the reminder, not everything Just in case you need the reminder, not everything blooms at the same time.

If you find yourself in a season that requires all of you— all your energy, time, and mental space— Take Heart.

The truth that life is made up of seasons and no season lasts forever— is perhaps the greatest comfort for those who suffer.

Seasons slowly fold their way into another, taking their place in line.

Often what we wish would bloom right now, doesn’t. We can’t force it. 

Still, we can’t miss the beauty of what stands in front of us while we wait for other things.

I know that so many dear friends are in a season of waiting. Perhaps you’re waiting in secret, waiting for something you’ve not even spoken aloud.

We can wait together, you and I— knowing that the beauty of today is not a gift we want to squander as we wait for what’s around the next corner. 

Pictured: the Tulips at The Biltmore, followed by the beautiful, but still bloom-less rose garden.
I’ve always wanted to paint, but I guess this is I’ve always wanted to paint, but I guess this is almost as good. 🥰 

Finished this lovely piece for a very special birthday and I really love it!
Thank you for the free pattern, @dmc_embroidery !
It’s that time of year again! Here in Augusta, e It’s that time of year again! Here in Augusta, everything is shades of green— ⛳️🌿🥬🌳— including some of our favorite foods! Our Masters celebrations look different from year to year, but we ALWAYS have at least one meal made of Pimento Cheese, Arnold Palmers, & Green Jacket Salad. If only we could get someone to smuggle us out a 🍑 Peach Ice Cream Sandwich, we’d be good!!

I’ve linked my favorite recipe for Green Jacket Salad today so you can grab it and bring a little Masters into your meals this week!
Happy Easter from the grateful, hopeful, Stuckeys. Happy Easter from the grateful, hopeful, Stuckeys. He alone is our Peace.

Surely he has borne our griefs
  and carried our sorrows;
 yet we esteemed him stricken,
 smitten by God, and afflicted. 
 
  But he was pierced for our transgressions;
 he was crushed for our iniquities;
 upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
 and with his wounds we are healed. 
 
  All we like sheep have gone astray;
 we have turned—every one—to his own way;
 and the LORD has laid on him
  the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:4-6
It’s officially Guac-A-Clock. 🥑Ringing in the It’s officially Guac-A-Clock. 🥑Ringing in the fact that it’s almost Master’s Week in Augusta with pollen and Pellegrino aplenty.
When all is well, we often forget to pay attention When all is well, we often forget to pay attention.

We forget to look for daily provisions and mercies as we do when they are life and water to us.

It is not sunny optimism, but hope-filled obstinacy that pushes us to count our gifts instead of our trials.

To know that when the season is hard, and awkward, and everything seems backwards— we are not forgotten.

You may well know, it’s not an easy task. It’s hard work. Like those last few reps of lifting weights— when your muscles burn and you need to quit. What does the coach always say? “Don’t stop. These are the ones that count.”

Perhaps we think of gratefulness like this— It’s still important when we’re sitting with so much grace around us that we hardly remember our thanks.

But when it’s hard?
When it hurts?
When we cannot possibly see the light at the end of this particular tunnel— ✨there✨ is where we make the list of all we know to be true.

That is the place where it counts.
Where we squint if we must, to see what God is doing for us and in us— and definitely in spite of us.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll just be over here filling pages with provision I never want to forget. #solideogloria
Just a little flower garden while we wait for spri Just a little flower garden while we wait for spring to come in earnest. 🪡 🌸🪴🌼🌿 

This is a flour sack towel and although I don’t recommend it for stitching, (too loosely woven,) I do love the way it turned out! 💗
“Sometimes, placemakers make new. Build fresh. S “Sometimes, placemakers make new. Build fresh. Start from scratch. But most of the time, they repair. They restore. They protect. Sometimes, placemaking is nothing more than the refusal to unmake.”

@christiepurifoy // Placemaker

#internationalwomensday #mothersofdaughters #getaftergrateful #weareplacemakers
Do you remember your last normal adventure? Mine Do you remember your last normal adventure? 

Mine was one year ago today and I love the pictures from it so much I made them into a chatbook.

My Mom & I visited the @biltmoreestate to celebrate her being healed from cancer— We enjoyed the most beautiful afternoon tea, saw the Downton Abbey exhibit and were even surprised with a bit of unexpected snow.
It really was ✨magical✨ and proof that short getaways really can be the best!

Planning travel might be my favorite part— Where will you go next? 🧳 🛫⛰🏰
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