In a nutshell, this weekend represented everything that we love about our neighborhood and our neighbor friends who have become family. Originally, Lisa and I had deemed this weekend as a "no plans" weekend. I had work stuff to do and projects to finish in the Bodacious DIY Dog Mom Project Workshop. But then...
Stuff came up. It wasn't just stuff. It was important stuff.
Earlier in the week, we received an invite to a birthday party cookout on Saturday. Around 2-ish. Neighbor friend's house. Across the street. We accepted the invite because we love spending time with them and their family.
Then...
Another neighbor, who has become family, posted they were having a yard sale over the weekend.
On Friday, Lisa worked another long day. She had an errand to run before coming home.
Meanwhile, I made sure all of the housework was done. The kids were taken out and fed dinner. And, I made this fragrant garlic herb pizza crust.
That homemade garlic herb pizza crust was the canvas to making Lisa a surprise pizza dinner.
Barbecue Cheeseburger Pizza.
It was love at first bite.
After a little family snuggle time and watching an episode of Shameless on Netflix, I tucked Lisa and the kids into bed.
I stayed up a bit to work on blog columns and dive into another book.
We got up early Saturday morning. I made Lisa a hot breakfast before tending to the prep work on the fresh veggie pasta salad for the birthday cookout.
After the pasta was done, we ventured to our neighbor friend's house to check out their yard sale.
I brought our leftover Barbecue Cheeseburger Pizza for them to enjoy for lunch.
We bought a few small wicker baskets, chatted for a bit, and then came home to tackle some stuff before the birthday cookout.
Our original plan was to stay at the birthday cookout for a couple of hours. Then. Come home to tackle mowing and yard work.
That didn't exactly happen.
We ventured across the street around 2:30.
We didn't get home until almost 10:00
During those hours, one or both of us walked across the street to check on our kids, take them out and feed them snacks and dinner.
There was so much love and light and positive energy at the birthday cookout.
At some point throughout the afternoon, Lisa and I locked glances.
That translated to, "We will do yard work and chores and everything between tomorrow."
This morning we got up early. Again. Went about our usual morning routine with the kids and breakfast and planning out our day.
Lisa spent most of the afternoon outside. Mowing. Yard work. Prepping the front yard for Fall. She ripped out all the of sunflowers. Thinned out the Summer flower gardens. Put up the cornstalks and decorative scarecrows.
I was inside most of the time baking for Lisa's work lunches and breakfasts. Something I do every Sunday and Wednesday.
I made a scrumptious dinner of Asian Barbecue Meatloaf, fresh mashed potatoes, and a beautiful garden salad.
While slicing and dicing vegetables for the salad, a neighbor friend asked if we wanted more cherry tomatoes.
Um...yes!
And, perfect timing as I was still working on our salad.
She delivered the tomatoes. I handed her a couple of the fresh Whoopie Pies I had made a little over an hour ago.
Then, about an hour later, we received 2 quarts of freshly picked raspberries from another neighbor friend who has become family.
This is where I need to pause.
Put on a gentle version of my resting bitch face.
Or, at the very least, put out a little warning for the rest of this blog post for the not-so-sugar-coated-content.
Lisa and I didn't eat dinner until after 6 p.m. tonight.
That's late for us because we get up at 4 a.m. to begin our Monday through Friday workday.
Even though we were both exhausted, it didn't matter.
Even though we originally had no plans for this weekend, it didn't matter.
What mattered is that we showed up. We were present. We made time. Not once did we use busy as an excuse.
We could have...
We could have left the birthday cookout early to do yard work. Or, not showed up at the yard sale. Or shared food. And treats.
But.
We did not go down that route.
Because, again, this weekend radiated what happens when you make time.
When you make the decision to be present.
Show up.
Share food and meals.
Listen.
Support others in their endeavors whether it's a yard sale or fundraiser.
Extend random acts of kindness.
Bake and cook more than what you need to spread some deliciousness to others.
Share the last of the Summer garden veggies instead of letting them go to waste.
Make that extra jar of jam.
Make extra Bodacious DIY Dog Mom Project decor to share with others.
Spread the love.
Because.
At the end of the day, that is what matters the most.
Celebrating those special occasions and rites of passages.
Passing on what has been collected for decades.
Just. Being.
It matters.
More. Than. You. Know.
And don't forget...
Busy is just an excuse.
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