gratitude

happy, happy birthday, baby.

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i turned 34 this week. the estrogen-compelled ageist in me bemoaned the fact, condemning the gray hairs abounding along my middle part (of course. of course they sprout up in the exact place they would be most noticeable), and my metabolism, aka the physiological version of a last-picked-in-P.E. loser, no longer able to sprint through any of my all-you-can-eat culinary acquisitions the way it used to. but, the Moonriver cantillating, stained-glass reverie dwelling, heartsome part of me reveled in the blessing of another year on a planet so apt to provide. aside from grateful communion with my God, i felt there was no better way to express my thankful wonder at the world then by composing a list of 34 reasons why I am so very glad to be alive and well.  Continue reading →

Apron Strings

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mayday“For this child I prayed.” 1 Samuel 1:27

I promise I will always have pennies in my coin purse in case we happen upon a fountain, for I will never stand for you missing out on anything upon which you can attach a wish. I promise to let you stay home from school every January 8th, and we will have Elvis sandwiches and watch his movies all day long. (We will tell your teachers it is a religious holiday.) Continue reading →

Girl: Happy

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“In this world in which we live, simplicity and kindness are the only magic wands that work wonders.”
-L. Frank Baum

When I think of living simply, I immediately envisage small living spaces. Most often, the requiem I find myself in is a small loft apartment, with charmingly crackled walls, cold concrete floors, and a bed clad in diaphanous white linens, the center of it all. There are countless little towers of vintage books, haphazardly strewn throughout the humble haven, all standing watch like little sentinels.  Continue reading →

I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine

Quote ~ ~ brittanygolightly ~ 5 Comments
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^ That was taken at Versailles! “Isn’t it marvelous?!”

“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?”
-Oscar Wilde

Ernest Hemingway said to write hard and clear about what hurts. A truth I am trying to champion is that there is an acuity to my words only when they are written extractions of my tragic vulnerabilities (proof: here); I want to be able to extract my happiness with the same amount of expressive precision.  I have hesitated for quite some time to publish this part of my life for fear of brandishing my unpleasantries for the world wide web to witness. But, another truth I am trying to overcome is that I am not very brave. And so I am going to do as Ernest urged. He was, after all, a man so very handsome, and as  “I’m just a girl who cain’t so no” to a handsome man… Continue reading →

Girl: Happy

~ brittanygolightly ~ 1 Comment
“I simply remember my favorite things- and then I don’t feel so bad.”

-Fraulein Maria

The Sound of Music is one of my very most cherished and favorite movies. For awhile I put in on every Sunday as I was getting ready for church. I watched it today with the little peanuts I nanny and even they seemed mesmerized at times by its charm. (What good is being a nanny if you can’t indoctrinate the little people into having good taste?)

Continue reading →

Girl: Happy

~ brittanygolightly ~ 4 Comments
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“It is the sweet, simple things in life that are the real ones after all.”

-Laura Ingalls Wilder
Confession: This blog is purely and whole-heartedly a device for cataloging my eccentricities. To what end, I’m not sure. But, since someday I will have children who will only know me as their old battle-axe mother and not as this sprightly young girl that I am now, I feel it important to somehow document the spontaneous and admittedly eclectic thoughts that roam through my mind and heart so that there is proof that this girl once existed.  Continue reading →

And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind

~ brittanygolightly ~ 3 Comments

the grove

“i thank You God for most this amazing

day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes”
-e.e. cummings
I feel somewhat remiss in taking an eternal week to catalog what was my glorious celebration of Mother Nature last Friday. Yes, I know. Earth Day is not a real “holiday”. I get it. But for me, there is something very kindred about that day. Continue reading →