World Class Quitting

aka Knowing when to throw in the towel and knowing when to wash, dry, fold and stack the towel.

Hello Loves,

How was your weekend? Here at Casa Davis we spent Saturday morning drinking coffee (black for E, and iced with all the caramelly oat creamer for me), doing word puzzles and reading.

Isn’t reading divine? It’s a free vacation without all those pesky TSA lines and deciding what to pack. At the Goodwill, I have started picking up classics I have never read, but always meant to get around to. The Secret Garden was my last classic, and oh, how I loved it. Next up is Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. I had no idea what it was even about until I read the blurb on the back cover. It sounds romantic. I’ll let you know. It’s a hefty 500 pages, which seems like a challenge.

Sunday, E worked the brunch shift and I puttered around the kitchen, cooking a tiny Easter feast for the two of us. I made deviled eggs topped with crispy bacon bits, roasted chicken thighs in mustard sauce, sauteed green beans with chopped, toasted almonds and bacon, and oven roasted carrots and potatoes. I like to roast the veggies until they’re charred. It reminds me of having a grill, something I always took for granted until apartment living. The apartment complex frowns on us starting fires on their 1985-built wooden decks. I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it. The meal ended with my world famous (in my mind, they are famous) lemon bars. Lemon bars are one of those kind of labor intensive dishes I only make if I truly love you.

Life has been taking some weird turns lately. There has been news that has made me rethink my choices. Who am I kidding? I am always rethinking my life choices. I wake up rethinking every choice I ever made. My brain won’t leave me alone about my ill-thought-out choices. There is one choice that remains a good one - marrying Eric. So, I’ve got that going for me.

Recently, evaluating my choices have been a therapy for me. Looking back, I have started reviewing the times I have quit jobs, lifestyles or relationships as learning experiences and not failures. Sometimes I fail at this. It’s a process.

Is quitting always bad? I don’t think so.

Moving from experience to experience has given me many different perspectives. I’ve met literally thousands of people on 4 of our 7 continents, and I have absorbed something from most all of them. I’ve learned to be flexible and to develop new skills. I’ve learned to say “my compliments to the chef” in every country I’ve visited. Try using that tip the next time you travel and enjoy the absolute delight it brings to you and the staff in restaurants.

Being on my death bed and having regrets is something I never wanted to do. Doing the Tokyo Drift and squealing my tires out of this life is preferable. Let’s squeeze as much out of this time as we have left. Vroom vroom, y’all.

Burning bridges is something I try not to do. When an experience has run its course, it is always best to leave gracefully.

Have I always bowed out with charm and aplomb?

No, no I haven’t. And for that, I am regretful. I’ve left a couple of nasty broken hearts in my wake - romantically and in friendships - that haunt me to this day. In some cases, we were able to mend fences and patch up the relationship, but more often than not, circumstances and egos (mine included) can’t get past the hurt, pride or sadness.

I often thought I would make an excellent consultant. Go in for a year and help a company get on its feet and move to the next place.

In my former life I might have been a railroad hobo. Or a “Ramblin’ Man” like Gregg Allman. I love the thrill of the next thing. Life changes do not make me fret, they energize me. But I still dream of buying another forever house and planting hydrangeas and growing bright red Big Boy tomatoes each summer, which I would eat with fluffy white bread and Dukes Mayo, wearing my Bitter Southerner “Mayo & Tomato” tee shirt. I want it all.

All this unrest could very well be adult ADHD. But I digress.

For all of you out there who are experiencing unexpected changes, and feel like life is quitting on you, chin up little buckaroos. I know the world seems especially bleak right now, but there is something right around the corner that will perk you up and make you realize that change can be wondrous. Don’t throw in the towel. Take the towel and wash, dry, fold (or iron it first, if you’re a weirdo like me) and tuck it into a cabinet for another day. Give yourself a hug.

Spend your down time reading that book you’ve always meant to read. Have potluck suppers with friends so you are all getting a bit of fellowship without the cost of eating at a restaurant. Take a walk. Bird watch. These are a few free things we can all enjoy right now.

As for me, I’ll be planning how to work remotely while living in a converted van with an English Bulldog and Eric, traveling the USA.

Just kidding. I’m in Atlanta to stay. At least for a while.

Remember you are ENOUGH and always have been. I love you.

xoxo,
Patti