Lemon Drop Martinis
Lemon Drop Martinis
Today started with great anticipation and an unsettled vibe in the house… antsy plus a little shot of excitement all mixed in a shaker. One night without kids for us is like some kind of strange holiday / prison. Funny how it can be both at the same time. It’s awkward and a beautiful treat, but very much a unicorn. I cooked us an adventurous adult dinner last light and at one point Shane mentioned how beautifully and oddly quiet it was. There was a general lack of 50 questions and the noise of boys. My feminine spirit relishes a bit in the quiet as I never imagined life with 3 boys, 4 including the dog, could be so LOUD, but it feels foreign.
Sawyer finally arrived today and we had a spirited time decorating the tree with his decorations and splurging to have hot cocoa with marshmallows AND hot cocoa AND whip cream AND chocolate chips on top. We are sugar free for the most part in this home, so it was a big treat.
The boys then headed off to the skatepark and I jumped on a work call. And then, out of nowhere, the day shifted and turned into an entirely different kind of day. One of Shane’s rentals was on fire- a very real fire. Honestly, after the way this year has shown us how little we control, it was odd to have that lesson thrown back at us today. We truly have NO idea what each day will bring us.
Shane’s rental complex is destroyed and a total loss. Well, I don’t actually know what “total loss” means when it comes to fires, but I do know that it will need to be rebuilt from the studs - at a minimum. And I do know that his tenants are without their possessions and without their homes tonight. That fact is heartbreaking and it’s hard to even wrap our heads around. Just like that - a blink of an eye -and everything shifts. Our perspective goes from what we can accomplish and how we can move the needle to how to best assess the damage and how to recover. Life is incredibly precious and also so very fragile.
A few weeks ago, the boys did a writing project about school where they could pick a superpower. They wanted invisibility and the ability to fly if I recall correctly (it changed at least 8 times). Right now, I’d ask for a magic wand that would make this day start over and prevent the fire from ever happening. I’d give the tenants back their homes and their things and we’d have one less big worry tonight. But, then again, I am grateful that everyone is safe. That only “stuff’ is lost. That again, we are shown how we can only control our attitude in life.
One of the qualities in Shane that I love most is his ability to make something out of lemons he is handed. It’s incredible and rare, especially when so many people become victims over stuff like this. Not my BFG, he is ALWAYS looking for a lesson, a positive twist and a way to make everything a win. He’s steady but he also honors his emotions through things and talks about them. His heart is broken for his tenants, but I have no doubt that he will make this bag of lemons into a dozen lemon drop martini… and a delicious one at that. He will find a way to make magic out of this. I just know it and I am so proud to walk side by side with him through life.
It is days like this that I am so grateful to have my morning ritual and that I woke up early to do breathwork, meditate and journal. I find that when I consistently do these things, days that rock my world like today are a bit easier to handle. This is oxygen first, that way I have my supply built up. It’s also the only way that I have survived Covid and in fact thrived during this time. And guess what, missing Dominic today still held a place in my heart but it wasn’t crushing. It was just honored for what it is. Love. Deep love of my little man who is not currently with me but who is always in my heart.
I am sending you all love tonight and gratitude to everyone who reached out asking how they could help. And special thanks goes out to the elf who left amazing Tequila on our doorstep tonight. Stay safe out there. And try to never take for granted all of the gifts we have each day. So many people would use their magic wands to switch with us in less than a second. Please, don’t take it for granted. Soak it all in.
CHEERS & BIG LOVE,
