Here comes August! I wore this Graecove (now sadly defunct) linen dress and a pair of Veja sneakers for a 2-hour drive to inland California to see a possible wedding venue. A high of 104 degrees was predicted, so a dress it was, with laces to keep my shoes stable on my feet for the long drive. Sturdy Gals foevah. My pearl earrings matched my shoes; all was not lost.
BTW, it’s my daughter’s birthday, so I will take a minute to wish her Happy Birthday here with you. The wedding venue project continues.
Back to August. I will be taking the month off, as has become the custom on Privilege. When I return, if all goes according to plan I will have photos of a Swedish wedding and Norwegian fjords. Probably also closeups of my left thumb and videos of a strange chandelier given the standard phone fumbling.
And taking the month off brings me to last week’s post. Flo asked me if I ever groaned when writing these posts, and–very grateful to have been asked, as we are when someone indicates they care about our well-being–I said yes. But I do not want to leave you with the impression that I don’t want to be here. I do. I just don’t always know if I have anything I can say from my heart that serves you.
This blog started as a tiny personal blog that no one knew, turned into a style blog that a lot of people saw, and has evolved into a personal blog still read by many. I want to provide community and a modicum of delight, for you, but also for myself. But in this time in our history, the issues of our future and governance loom so large it’s often hard for me to say anything that isn’t a very loud, “HALP,” or “Are we kidding?” or “No no no no no no!” Or, occasionally, a “Maybe there’s hope after all.”
I don’t want to become just another yelling voice, and yet I feel these political currents so strongly. So I suppose what I try to do, when not analyzing the perfect shade of olive green, is encourage by example. You know my political beliefs. Maybe I can show those of you who disagree with me just who we try to be on this side. And it can take more skill than I’ve got, often, to exemplify thoughtful, fairness and compassion, to say nothing of a certain aesthetic and midlife style. Being, in fact, imperfect, the farthest thing from an icon of virtue. But I try.
It’s very Sturdy, to feel like we’re bound to try to do the best job we can. I imagine you may do the same. I have also learned, in going on 68 years, that the other Sturdy gal trait, simply showing up in the first place, may be even more important. We are more than the tasks we perform, the excellence we embody, the material value we provide. We’re humans, in bodies, living through time. We have faces, and gestures, a tone of voice, and a feel to our skin. As such, we are good for other people in ways we don’t and can’t even understand.
I’m glad to show up here. Even more than that, as I’ve said before, I’m glad and grateful you all show up. Here, of course, but wherever you are with the people and creatures that matter to you.
Back to August. Enjoy. See you in September.
22 Responses
Thanks for continuing to be here, Lisa. Have a good break. xox
Ditto the thanks for being here. Enjoy August. Happy venue hunting and good travels.
One of the greatest compliments that I ever received, quite unexpectedly from a nephew, is that I show up. I hope you have a wonderful August!
I am grateful for the constancy with which you’ve shown up over years of time, and many changes. It is important to me to have have some things to rely upon, and you provide one with some, I assume, not insignificant labor on your part. You also get comments that are sometimes, I assume again, challenging to feel good about, along with others that are lovely. You deal with it all with admirable aplomb. Happy Birthday to your beautiful and accomplished daughter, and happy birthing day to you. Good luck with your wedding venue search. Stay cool, or as cool as it is possible to be given our realities. We are living in interesting, fast-changing times. The current reality is giving me a bit more hope, and a lot of opportunities to enjoy the humor it brings out in the cleverest among us. Enjoy your August off. xo.
Happy birthday to your daughter, good luck with the wedding venue search, and hope you have a wonderful trip and a rejuvenating August.
Happy Birthday to your daughter, and it’s exciting (and stressful) to be planning a wedding. I’ll miss your posts in August but good to take a break, I know. Looking forward to seeing your photos, I have a similar collection of iPhone pics of my left thumb, and the inside of my pocket. xo
My very favorite is when an errant finger will activate the 180° view, and now I’m looking at my hag face [grimace and all], from the chin upward. Give me a thumb and a pocket any day!
I am looking forward to your next post in September! Wishing you a great trip to Europe!
I am glad you still show up. For us. For yourself. Bon voyage. Looking forward to viewing your pix when you return from traveling.
Happy birthday to your lovely daughter, and best wishes for a wonderful trip abroad. I’m already excited to see your photos!
I’ve also learned that the importance of simply showing up can’t be overstated, especially showing up for friends. They (we!) only need us to be ourselves and we encompass. I only want my friends to be there, however they are, and I’m trying to be what I wish to see in others. Your writing is a joy and brings joy and encouragement to my life in both its lighter and darker moments. I do know the feeling of “HALP!” very well; and it does indeed help to be reminded that I’m not alone in feeling that way, especially in the deep-red area where I currently live.
Have a wonderful, joyful break and do share lots with us when you return! ❤
*and all we encompass. Typos and all!
Hope you have an interesting and inspiring August. I too am glad you’ve continued to publish here through these phases of life, public and private. I’m not especially interested in clothing yet I find almost all your musings interesting. Happy to read you on topics big or small. Somehow you manage to mentally turn and inspect things from unusual angles, while often yielding insights that click with recognition for me. Rare treat. Happy trip!
Happiest Birthday to your beautiful brilliant daughter; Happiest Anniversary to you and Mr. Lucky which, I think, comes middle of August; and thank you endlessly for this blog.
Last week, my remark about The Groan was in context of your definition of Generosity, ie that there should be some measure of sacrifice, or “a groan,” ahead of follow through. And you responded admirably at the time – in fact, I’ve been thinking about your Generosity post, and your personal response to me, all week. Even walking the aisles in the grocery store today. You’re right, we all gain immeasurably from your words, from your sturdy weekly electronic presence. Thank you, Lisa.
Last week. I’d only been vaguely aware that I’d been shoring up myself, and my CNS for months, in advance of the crushing inevitable. I wanted to be prepared, I wanted self-scaffolding erected, I wanted emotional detachment plans in place. So when the announcement came, no one could have been more surprised when I actually felt the load drop from my shoulders. Being a Jungian INTJ, I actually noticed a wordless, internal shift.
Off into August we go. Take care of your Sturdy self. We’ll be here when you return.
Have a great break. And thank you for always for inspiring me, and remaining steadfast, even as I feel myself too often buffeted by the winds. I love your sturdy presence. And I have to thank you also for that dress. You encouraged me to get one of my own
I really like the little corner of the universe you created on this patch of cyberspace. I read with interest your posts on myriad topics and the thoughtful reader comments they always generate. Such discourse is hard to come by in a fraught world. I appreciate the effort all of this takes. Enjoy your break and see you in September!
Happy to have discovered your blog way way back… happy birthday to your daughter!
Groan away! But keep on writing….i read them all!
Leslie
Can’t wait to see your photos of the fjords. We may be seeing them at the same time as we are headed back to Norway in about two weeks. It is a place of such beauty!
Have a relaxing but also exciting August Lisa. I look forward to your weekly gentle words of delight , so will be here and waiting for September.
Happy B-day to your daughter. Enjoy your August; it sounds like you’ve got lots of lovely plans. Take care. See you in September.
Miss you already! Have a wonderful and restful August.
THIS.
“We’re humans, in bodies, living through time. We have faces, and gestures, a tone of voice, and a feel to our skin. As such, we are good for other people in ways we don’t and can’t even understand.”
This was the lesson of the pandemic, and it is such a precious thing to see it clearly. heart eyes!
From the groans & pangs of emotion, come your words of inspiration & heart. Thank you. Enjoy August wherever it takes you!
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