A short(ish) post for your Wednesday morning with a few (quasi?) profound thoughts.
- You have to let go in order to be caught. A particular interpersonal challenge has been plaguing me for over two years and leaves me with the sense that I’m hanging off the side of a cliff. Last week I allowed myself to visualize this very scenario – I imagined holding on to an unstable, crumbling precipice with exhausted hands while my feet flailed about helplessly. Then I thought: If I want to be caught…I have to let go. Sometimes, the cliff isn’t as high as I imagined it to be (unless you’re
Tom CruiseEthan Hunt who regularly finds himself in precarious situations on VERY high cliffs, see above). And I have the bad habit of forgetting there are loving hands below waiting to catch me – I just have to have faith and let go. - Sometimes the bruise hurts more than the fall. When a pain-inducing moment is over, I’m surprised I don’t immediately feel better. Recovery (the bruise) can be a far more difficult and painful process than the initial injury (the fall) when adrenaline temporarily masks both pain and fear.
- Don’t give a gift you’d resent someone for using. This is my own play on the quote: Don’t offer what you’d hate someone for accepting. As Christmas approaches, I should NOT gift my daughter the glitter craft kit. Would she enjoy it? Yes, but I’d resent her for using it. Do you want someone playing the drums in their bedroom or having a giant dollhouse taking up floor space in your living room? If the answer is no, it’s probably best to not give that item as a gift!
P.S. This is a final call for anyone interested in entering my Super Awesome Planning Giveaway! I will be closing comments tomorrow morning, with winners announced on Friday.
Your turn. Any profound(ish) thoughts lately? Are you Team Glitter? What’s the best gift you’ve received in 2023? Have you ever given a gift youâve resented someone for using? Is there anything you want/need to let go of this week?
Header photo by Blake Cheek on Unsplash
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Coree
All the nos on glitter… paint is totally fine, glitter, absolutely not! It’s an environmental abomination and messy. The previous owners had installed wallpaper with a very fine layer of glitter on it, hideous… we had to wear masks when removing it so we didn’t inhale it.
I’m being a bit bad-tempered about my new job so trying to remember “bloom where you’re planted…” when I get cranky about things.
Elisabeth
Glitter wallpaper. This I have not heard of. Abomination indeed…
Sorry the new job is challenging. Bloom where you’re planted is great advice, but also pretty hard to actually do sometimes. But I’m confident you’ll settle into a groove soon, or make necessary pivots. Sending hugs <3
Jenny
I always remember a passage from a Margaret Atwood book (was it Cat’s Eye?) where the main character described the bold move she was taking as, it was like stepping off a cliff and finding that the air could support her. Your post reminds me of this.
Glitter… well, my daughter LOVED glitter as a child and I did let her use it for all sorts of crafts. Once you have the glitter out, it’s everywhere and you can never get rid of it. I don’t miss those days, and I’m laughing at Coree’s comment above- glitter on WALLPAPER? That sounds like the worst idea ever.
Elisabeth
Gold star to you as a mom. Glitter IS fun (I’ll admit it), but I have accepted it’s a pass on the glitter. Imagine my dismay when I picked A up from a birthday party a few weeks ago to discover she had gifted the girl a card FULL of glitter. I was embarrassed – obviously the kids loved it, but the birthday girl’s mom…not so much *facepalm*
sarah
I indulge almost every single one of Minnie’s whims, but I could not buy her glitter slime Play Doh at Target yesterday (WHY IS THIS EVEN A THING)– and now I know why đ
Elisabeth
An excellent question. WHY IS GLITTER SLIM PLAY DOH A THING? Because someone out there hates parents, Sarah. That’s the only feasible explanation.
Lindsay
We are a hard “no” on glitter in this household, as well as slime. The enjoyment Lil Momma would have would be tempered (or, possibly snuffed out) by how incredibly resentful I would be if she went all in on them (which, honestly, is how you enjoy glitter and slime). She is currently advocating for an easel and paints for Christmas and I am trying to look into myself to see if I feel the same way about paint.
I have so much to let go of this week (month) (year, sigh), but it’s really challenging to when you’re gripping your way through these days. Thanks for the as always right on tone/time post, Elisabeth <3
Elisabeth
Sigh. One of my children loves slime and has made it many times and been given it many times and I let it come in for about two days and then it is OUT.
And so true about glitter and slime being things you need to go “all in on.”
Thinking of you in the middle of your storms/valleys <3
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
#3 is genius life advice, and I’ve followed it before. A close second to “no glitter” is “never accept a gift drum set”.
As for #1 and #2 these are deep truths. I’m working on realizing that my particular bruise is just a bruise.
NGS
I am not Team Glitter. However, I’ve definitely given my nieces craft kits with glitter in them after checking with their parents that it’s okay. Maybe the parents lied to me when they gave me the thumbs up, but I did ask!
Best gifts of 2023 (so far) are my Whirley Pop popcorn maker and some endless hoop earrings my husband got me for my birthday. I wear the earrings daily (I haven’t even taken them out since I put them in!) and the popcorn maker gets a lot of use, too!
Elisabeth
You need to post about the endless hoops; I’m intrigued. Are these the same as sleeper hoops?
Suzanne
I am okay with glitter, but it definitely has longevity! But there is no reason to give A glitter if it will drive you bonkers. That’s how I am with slime. I refuse to allow it in the house.
Elisabeth
It will indeed drive my bonkers – so I did NOT buy the set. I get other art kits, but stop short of glitter.
J
Trusting that the air will catch you, or strong hands of family and friends, is a leap of faith, but I suspect it will be rewarded. Hang in there, this too shall pass!
Regarding glitter, I donât think we ever had it in our house. My thought was that it was fine for after school care AT SCHOOL. Thatâs their business.
Elisabeth
I said the same thing about paint – that is something they basically only do elsewhere!
Nicole MacPherson
Not to be all gendered, but having two boys has meant that I really have not had to deal with glitter. I do get it though. Now, with regards to the drums: we have not one but two sets (one acoustic, one electric) and I actually LOVE hearing my son drum. Is it really really loud? Yes. But I love it. The day I recognized that he was playing In The Air Tonight was, if you will, the moment that I was waiting for all my life.
Elisabeth
This made me so happy “the moment I was waiting for all my life.” I know EXACTLY what you mean by that statement and it gives me all the feels as a parent.
Katie
Ha, these are some EXCELLENT and WISE points!!
I don’t mind glitter, PlayDoh or even slime. The things I don’t like are those “make a candle”, “make your own bath bomb” kind of sets… whenever A is gifted one, I smile and nod and plan to donate it to the charity shop… BUT in actual fact, my hubby has no issues with these kinds of sets, so he ends up doing them with her đ
ccr in MA
I am team anti-glitter! If someone sends a greeting card that has some on it, it sticks to my hands and that creeps me out. Then it’s all over the place, due to the magic (evil) spreading powers of glitter. No thank you.
What I’ve been saying to myself is “Good enough is good enough.” This is not a time to set big goals. With Mom’s health, we’ve been through and are going through a lot in these last few months. Will I make space to set up the air bed before my brother arrives for Thanksgiving? Yes, I will. Will the entire “guest room” be set up perfectly? No, it will not. We will adjust as needed. “Good enough is good enough.”
Elisabeth
Yes to: this is not a time to set big goals. I agree 100%. Some seasons we have very little extra of ourselves to give away.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I just talked to my friend today about glitter. The European Union actually passed some sort of law that glitter is forbidden in cosmetics and craft products because it is made out of microplastic. Not sure when it will be active though.
I love the metapher with hanging on a class and that you need to let go in order to be caught. So true and so hard to do.
Elisabeth
Glitter is pretty but horrible on many levels and yes – definitely NOT good for the environment.
San
Profound thoughts on a Wednesday morning indeed, Elisabeth. The “letting go in order to be caught” is much harder to do than it sounds, but it’s often surprisingly worth it.
Glitter is fun in theory. In practice? Not so much.
The best gift I’ve received in 2023? Time with my family. đ
Elisabeth
Theory vs. practice. Isn’t that true of so many things in life.
Perfect answer to the “best gift” question.
Lisaâs Yarns
I donât care for dogs either⌠they are ok but I am kind of afraid of them and feel very uncomfortable around them. But dog owners often assume everyone likes dogs⌠and that being jumped on or licked is welcomedâŚ
I could do without flowers. Glitter is a hard pass. As are drums as a gift for a kid. Someone recently said they were thinking of getting their child drinks. Suzanne maybe? I was like – what???? She is a way more fun mom than me. Drums are my personal hell.
I do like spicy food but a 3/5 on the spiciness scale. I donât like Siracha though!
Elisabeth
Yup – the jumping and licking really unsettles me, especially when I’m walking and a dog is bounding at me off leash.
Steve
Of course, it is a time-honored tradition to gift someone else’s child with a big, noisy drum set or art/craft/science kit with 10,000 pieces as an act of revenge on their parents đ
Elisabeth
Haha – yes; time-honoured indeed đ
Kyria @ Travel Spot
No to glitter; I even make people take their shoes off in my house as I have hardwood and any little kernel of dirt gets on your feet when you walk around barefoot, which is gross. I was in Ljubljana and I was just wandering around, and I passed an apartment where someone was playing the piano inside and it was lovely. You could tell it was not an expert, but I still stood outside listening for a while. I feel like I would have done the same with drums, although I know its an entirely different story when its in your own house.
Elisabeth
I wish we had a piano in our house and someone that could play. I grew up hearing my mother play piano ALL the time (she still does), and it was such a lovely soundtrack to our childhood.
Anthea Booysen
I’m not on team glitter – it gets everywhere! Even if Christmas decorations have glitter on it I’m hesitant. No matter how much you vacuum, it just gets all over.
Elisabeth
Indeed. And Christmas cards with glitter can’t be recycled đ
It is pretty from afar, but I’m loathe to have it in my own home.
Anne
Glitter is evil. In cards, art sets, wherever. I’m like ccr – I check all holiday cards before they are out of the envelope and even then, I sometimes get glitter bits on the floor. Grrrr…
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