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Sunday Matters

How is Sunday treating you so far? We are good here. Weather has been nice. Not too hot. Feels a tad tropical with our 30% humidity but I am not complaining. I’ve embraced the messy hair bun so frizz is not a concern.

Right Now:

Not a lot going on at the moment. This past week, I’ve noticed a decline in activity for the pup. Could it be possible that she is just sick of seeing my face now? She’s not spending her morning sunning like she usually does. She prefers to just stare at me from afar. Her face is saying, “Are you still here?” I bet she misses me when I return to work though. That will be a whole thing to transition into. That said, debating on whether it’s too warm to take her for a walk right now.

This Week:

My daughter and I leave for Missouri on 8/17 and I am getting to the point when I am thinking of just winging it. I can’t sit down and plan anything. It all seems like too much or not reasonable. I envy those of you who just fly by the seat of your pants because I am a planner, normally, but haven’t been good at it since the pandemic.

Reading:

My review of Count The Ways posted last week so be sure to check it out if you missed it. Gosh, I loved that book.

What I say I am going to read ends up being different from what I actually pick up. You know, mood. I am supposed to be reading Damnation Spring but picked up Where The Truth Lies. So far, so good.

Watching:

Haven’t been watching anything. Just reading. A first.

Grateful for:

There is this app I discovered called One Minute Pause. It is kind of like a meditation app but focuses on Jesus. Not trying to get preachy on you but it’s been a blessing to me as my head spins around like Linda Blair in The Exorcist.

Do you have what I call a Sunday dinner? One where you all sit down and enjoy a special meal? I like to do this but these days with one kid gone and the other packing in her social activities like they are going out of style, I’ve not done it lately.

Count The Ways
By Joyce Maynard
William Morrow, 9780062398277, July 13, 2021, 464pp.

The Short of It:

An amazingly heartfelt story about a family.

The Rest of It:

The easiest way to describe Maynard’s newest story is to say that it’s a story about life. The life that you and I know, have lived or are currently living. As I was reading it, I could relate to different parts of the story as well as different characters as they were walking through it.

At a young age, Eleanor scrimped and saved to buy a farm and the small but lovely house that came along with it. Having some success writing children’s books, she built a small, humble home for herself and when she falls in love with Cam, he immediately becomes her future. The talk of kids and family and raising them on the farm is all that matters to them and so they waste no time. Three children later, Eleanor’s writing career is somewhat on pause due to raising her young children, Eleanor and Cam struggle to make ends meet. Cam? Not concerned. He has what he wants. He’s creating his burl bowls in his workshop and he’s surrounded by his family.

Although the bowls he creates are beautiful, they don’t sell and with Eleanor’s writing career on hold, she slowly begins to resent Cam’s easy going attitude about making, or not making a living. He is the fun parent. Always stepping in to whisk the kids away to the waterfall, or play with them all day long while Eleanor sits in the house trying to come up with new story ideas. During these times, the cracks begin to show. The cracks in their marriage. All is not gold. Is it ever?

This is such a reflective type of read. Eleanor feels every bit of her age as her children grow. The hours spent feeding them, changing their diapers, tending to their every need. It all leaves a mark. At the same time though, it’s exactly what she wanted from life. A home. A family. A loving man to call her husband. As the home life she creates begins to unravel around her, she wonders why she never wanted more for herself.

I loved this story. There is so much to ponder. Especially for me, as my own kids leave this nest we’ve created. I’d turn a page and read something that I’d have to sit with for a little while before moving forward. I’d go to bed thinking about this family, about missed opportunities and about friends and the idea of home and what it means to each of us. This family will stay with me for a very long time.

Simply put, get yourself a copy. It doesn’t matter if you are married, single, have had kids or not. There is something here for everyone. Highly recommend.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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