Happy Summer from Anita!đ„ł
Dreamers and adventurers throughout history, inspire us to be better, be braver, and live more fully. Most kids have a knack for trying new things, without the filters we pick up over the years! Â No matter your age, we all need a little adventure!
It doesnât have to be a grandiose expedition to qualify. We are made of our dreams, when we become too practical, logical, and comfortable, we lose the essence of our being. Stuck in a safe rut, we have lost the zest for living that we once had.
I went to my crazy friend Terriâs party and came home with huge insights about myself.
What can I say about Terri?
She lived in a white clapboard chapel with a steeple on the rambling little lane where Chuck and I were also building a country home.
She was never bored, she had a dream.
Terri had moved this church from another town, against everyone elses advice, next to a picturesque waterfall and rambling creek. Later, she built a minature one bedroom replica of the chapel and steeple. Her vision for âChapel Homesâ was to host spiritual retreats and weddings.
With that in mind, she also bought the mid century modern house next door and added it to her collection of B & Bâs. Often out on a limb financially, depending on which houses were rented out, on weekends her clothes were locked in a closet and she rotated where she stayed.
Terri wore her heart on her sleeve, often saying the most outrageous and embarrassing things. You had to love her for it.
Terri was dying of cancer when she hosted the epic yet bittersweet Girlfriends Pajama Party.
We hit every thrift shop in town, drank copious amounts of wine, laughed and cried and cooked together. It all wound up with musician, Renee singing an acapella reindition of Amazing Grace from the top of the staircase.
The next morning, her lifelong friend, Debra, hauled in armloads of brushes and paints, while we draped the antique walnut dining table with canvas cloths.
The stage was set.
Cans filled with brushes of all sizes and shapes, rainbows of color in tubes, and a cornucopia of unfinished wooden birdhouses covered the table. Chattering girlfriends busily created their unique birdhouse gift to be transported to Terriâs new home.
Her cancer had advanced to the stage that she was forced to leave her twenty year vision, âChapel Homeâ and move to Austin to be closer for treatment.
Shyly I told them, âOh no, Iâll just watchâ and didnât choose a house to paint. As a kid, I was a bookworm and never tried to draw or paint. My mind was set that I wasnât good at painting.
Funny how if you think you canât, doors close. False ideas get locked in like concrete.
To embrace a new adventure, we must accept the mystery of the unknown. The exciting but scary idea of trusting that doors will open and answers will appear as we round the next bend. The mission will unfold, we will meet people who can show us the way, but not before we get started. This only happens after you make the first bold move.
When I saw the girls slathering paint on, I perked up. The colors were beautiful and bright. Their birdhouses werenât so great, who paints a red and white striped side, then starts in with blue and yellow stars on the next side?
My competitive nature kicked in.
Debra encouraged âThereâs a couple more houses here, you can start one, but you donât have to finish it.â
I picked up a brush. Debra showed me how to mix a buttercream shade with grass green vines trailing along the side. Then, bright songbirds appeared to grace the little cottage.
My eyes were opened by seeing all the different approaches each woman brought to their individual work of art. No one was better than another, togther they were fantastic!
We provision our ships as best we can, but itâs only in uncharted territory that we unearth unique resourcefulness . Others will come alongside to pitch in, but thereâs nothing like a bold person on a mission to attract others!
All of us have a dream in our hearts, even if itâs buried underneath chores and âto doâ lists. I challenge you to give it some thought. Allow yourself the freedom to daydream with pen and paper.
Terri passed away peacefully a few months later in her new home filled with family and friends. I was by her side when she drew her last breath. The big tree in her back yard was loaded with colorful hand painted birdhouses.
Letâs all live this precious life to the fullest!
Iâve bought some paint and brushes but theyâre still in the boxđł
waiting to see the picture of the tree and bird houses