Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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my favorite tree in colonial williamsburg

July 15, 2018

This past Monday morning, Halee, my brother’s wife and one of my truest friends on earth, brought me with her two boys to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. We explored everything slowly and had such fun before a super refreshing and kind of fancy lunch.

I rate fanciness by the smallness of an espresso cup, and I’m telling you that “The Blue Talon,” a French bistro, provided a thimble. But the food was plentiful and delicious!

super fluffy omelet stuffed with veggies and an arugula salad…xoxo

One memory from the day will forever stand out. It was this magnificent old tree in the middle of the village.

We were all walking toward the restaurant area when we spotted it, and looking back the day would not have been the same without this small excursion.

Greg, soon to be a second grader, was all in when I suggested we climb it.

It was one of those ancient trees, undamaged by ice storms, several stories high and just as broad. A dense, shady, domed paradise. Was it maple, I think? Not oak. Something else. It boasted thick, sprawling branches as substantial as tree trunks themselves, the kind that reach out several yards away to touch the earth then curve back up and out again, elastic and strong. The actual trunk of this specimen was downright beastly. As big in diameter as a freight elevator. I easily imagined a spiral staircase carved within the wood, secret and hidden. Lit by elves with magical glowing rocks, instead of candles, leading to a subterranean apothecary and library.

The tree had both masculine and feminine qualities. I felt both vibrating, alternately, as we played. It was everything you want an old tree to be.

A braided steel cord ran up from the ground, along the smooth but deeply textured bark, up toward the sky. The cord had popped free here and there from its spiked tethers and eventually disappeared into the leafy canopy. We said it was a live electrical wire and took turns pretending to shock-zap each other with its nearness.

Okay, I admit I thought it was a live wire and sweated in my armpits a little when my calf accidentally touched it.

As we climbed and scooted around, the conversation flowed freely.
At one point Greg unknowingly touched on one of my most favorite philosophical topics, fear.

“Babies don’t have any fear.” His little brother, Connor, played contentedly on ground level with his Mom.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because they don’t know anything yet,” Greg answered, shrugging his tiny shoulders and wiggling his close-cut, bright red hair. Freckles shining in the shade.
“Like, what can happen?” We had been trading commentary about which branches were the safest route, how a fall to the ground might feel, why I hated busting out my teeth, etcetera. I was in a full body, wrap-around, chimpanzee grip on my chosen branch.
“Right, all they know is their Mom and Dad and stuff.” Greg was walking upright like a kid from the Swiss Family Robinson, counting black ants as they raced around his sneakers.

“So maybe that’s why grown-ups worry so much? Because they know what might happen?” I was not too subtle about defending my dental catastrophe concerns. My fears.

“Maybe, but still I’m not scared,” Greg said this with absolute lightness, and he scrambled a little further away.

A few strangers were passing by beneath us. We heard one man say to another, that there were signs posted not to sit on the tree. Soon Halee figured out it was a small deception by that man meant to keep the second man from violently bouncing the lowest branches. Or maybe to keep his own kids from climbing the tree, because they definitely saw us. There were no posted warnings, but the whole scene played really nicely into our exchange about fear and adulthood.

And persuasion, using both truth and untruth.

Greg observed that while adults may have fears, it’s up to kids to convince them otherwise. Kids are there to persuade adults, in his words. Just as he was managing to persuade me to keep climbing.

This is where I confess that while it was originally my bright idea to climb the tree, one of my very favorite things to do in life, eventually I needed motivation. Mostly because after kicking off my wedge sandals I found the bark to feel much smoother than expected and my bare feet had trouble gripping. Plus, you know, my teeth you guys. The burden fell on my young nephew to keep me from giving up. Once when I nearly disembarked (ha! Get it?) near the trunk, he persuaded me to stay in the leaves with him and retrace the long limb we had just traversed, exiting instead the long way down. He said it would be more fun. He used truth to persuade me, unlike the man had done, and he celebrated this fact.

Also. Let me point out that from the get-go I fully expected Halee to keep our adventure in check. I thought she would slow the roll if needed, and at some point, I was kind of counting on that for personal reasons.

But she didn’t. Apparently, I was the only fearful adult that day. She just stood there on terra firma, cheering us on, encouraging further exploration and assuring us of how manageable the jump would be should we feel the urge. Once, she even offered her slender shoulders when I hesitated at the 8-foot drop.

Thanks, Halee. (haha!)

And thank you, Greg! I am so glad we explored that beautiful tree together and I feel enlightened by your young mind’s view of fear, persuasion, trust, and fun. I love you. Meet me on the trampoline anytime, too.

Signed,
Your Slightly Nervous but Fun Loving Aunt Marie
XOXOXO

Epilogue: Since this day, my whole family visited Colonial Williamsburg, and rumor has it that three generations of tree-climbing Dunaways made a memory together in those gorgeous, substantial branches. I missed this fun but enjoyed the photos immensely. Life is good. Trees make it better. 

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Filed Under: family, memories

weekend moments & a serious question

June 10, 2018

Friends, honestly, these days I am enjoying more fun and more overflowing love than any one woman deserves. I could blog all day every day and not keep up with the thousands of beautiful details.

My private notebook journal is filling up quickly with sketches of daily life, and my phone is loaded with snapshots from all the diems being carpe’d. I try to stop, breathe deeply, and soak it all up, try to somehow slow the clock, which only works a little. Life is full to bursting in the best ways.

My sister Angela recently celebrated not only her 40th birthday but, more importantly, her third year of sobriety. I cannot overstate the joy here, the refreshment and encouragement it brings our entire family.

So many swim nights!! Pup friends make it even more fun. And I love my husband. Gosh.

I want to share more stories from our family Seattle vacation. You deserve full and proper reviews of Radium Girls, a book Gen and I read in tandem (fascinating and disturbing!) as well as The Book of Joy and some peripheral reading I am doing about prayer and meditation.

Running and fitness are going pretty well, although I am not training for anything and in fact and going pretty easy on my schedule just to enjoy summertime. I’ll pick up a new marathon plan late July.

The gardens!! The gardens on every side of the farm are pure joy and explosions of life. 

Lots to talk about and many good stories to tell, and not just the surface beauty. Our prayers are being answered in deep and stunning ways. 

Here are a few more happy photos, then if you will stick around for a few minutes and indulge me, I have a serious question about something. It’s a long-standing curiosity I have had, and it appeared in the book I finished.

Our friends’ son Tanner, taking some chalk art very seriously. Cutie!!
We were all at a car show in Stroud, OK, and had lunch at the semi-famous “The Rock.” Fun!!
The Bandit & Leroy!

My running friend Marcia has just retired from an incredible military and teaching career, and she celebrated this weekend. I was so happy to attend her party. She is widely accomplished and much loved by her people, and I left having made a new friend! Such a happy event!!

This morning I joined three other running friends (all women I admire so dang much) for about 8 sweaty, low-heart-rate miles and then some Panera food and coffee. All four of us happened to order the exact same delicious whole grain sandwich with egg white, spinach, and avocado, ha! We caught up on the life stuff we don’t put on Facebook and wished Lisa well, who is soon relocating to Colorado. Tiny T posed for a Boomerang video but is still thinking hard about a worthy caption. I love mornings with running friends. I don’t do it enough. They are fantastic humans and very positive, healthy influences. STRONG HAPPY BOSTON QUALIFIERS!!

Here is the fascinating (to me) question:

Do you think the world at large is improving, or growing worse, or is it neutral? Why?

What about your individual, private life? Please tell me why you fee this way, if you can. 

Okay, now Handsoem and I are getting ready to drive to OKC for my beautiful Mom’s birthday dinner. Nice and casual, just immediate family and a few of the grand-kids. We will feast on excellent Tex Mex food plus two homemade desserts per her request. She is 60 today and we all love her so much. Another topic worthy of its own deliberate blog post. My mom really is the best. 

Thank you for reading and for sharing your thoughts on this topic, friends. I can’t wait to read what you write. And I will be sharing soon why it’s on my radar and what the book had to say. Super interesting stuff.

Happy Sunday evening!!

Carpe those Diems!

XOXOXOXO

 

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Filed Under: 1000gifts, daily life, family, gratitude, running, thinky stuff

#dunawayderby2018 starts tomorrow!!

June 1, 2018

Tomorrow my parents are leading the lion’s share of their progeny on an adventure to witness something pretty special. Gen (also known as Viva Michelle, aka Wrex) is skating her final weekend with her beloved Los Angeles Derby Dolls. An accomplished and celebrated skater, an All-Star with the “Ri-Ettes” in fact, she is finally retiring, and I already have all the feels for her. 

http://www.derbydolls.com/riettes

I remember when she first tried out, when she appeared in a television show,  and when we watched her live on an internet feed.

She is so strong and confident, both in mind and body. It’s crazy how much I look up to her, although she is my “little” sister.

How fun to think about all the women she has mentored over time, as a Derby Doll, and how much more she might do after retirement.

Ahhhh Seattle!! I am so excited to be there!! To see her in the flesh with her teammates, kicking so much ass and doing what she does. And I am excited to spend some undivided time with my family, too. This should be pretty a pretty memorable few days.

Much more to say. But I have to “jam” up these quick posts once in a while or I will never blog. I promise to share more on Instagram, too. Please follow our crazy family adventure!!

#dunawayderby2018

“Jam” is a derby term.

We love you so much, Wrex!!
See you soon!
XOXOXOXO

 

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Filed Under: family, fun, Genevieve, memories

or we could just buy new coffee filters

April 10, 2018

Story #1, The Mystery of the Hand Warmer:

This past Sunday Handsome and I took Klaus to Oklahoma City for the Open Streets festival. Despite the dark and chilly afternoon, we had so much fun! My parents and local sibs and beautiful nieces were all there too, and I loved every minute. Easy family time. We just enjoyed walking up and down the venue, meeting the vendors and jumping rope badly (me) or great (Angela), letting Klaus sniff each of the seven thousand dogs. (He was extremely well behaved. We were proud dog parents.)

And we showed up in a photographer’s public gallery, so we’re famous now, right??

At one point in the exploration, I was walking with Chloe, my sister Angela’s second born. She is a girl with sharp wits. A biting wit, you could say. Her mom bounced up to us and we traded updates about our meanderings. Then she remembered a free giveaway token in her pocket and showed Chloe. “Look, I got you a surprise, you’re gonna love it!”

Some background: Angela is very good at selecting personal gifts, big and small. She has a talent for showing you that she gets you. I love that!!

Anyway. The surprise was a single use handwarmer, the foil-wrapped kind, provided by one of the festival vendors. Chloe had been cold and it was so sweet and funny.

Then it got really funny.

Chloe asked aloud, “How do they work?” and everyone started offering their ideas.

As if none of us adults had ever successfully used a chemical hand warmer before.

Like ever in our very mature lives.

The possibilities of how they might work seemed endless. Who knew the secrets of these tiny packages of sorcery?! Perfect little modern miracles!! Angela and I got more excited and cracked up by the second. We knew it was ridiculous but couldn’t stop. (We also just didn’t know.)

“I think you break it like a glow stick!”

“No, I think you just squeeze it, I’ve been squeezing it a lot in my pocket already.” (Like a picnic condiment, probably.)

“Do you cut it open?”

“Are you sure it’s not electric?”

And so forth.

Imagine a calm but simmering middle school girl fluttering her beautiful eyelashes and collapsing her posture just a little more than it already was. Imagine her sighing so loudly we could hear it even above our cacophony of brilliant ideas.

“Or… you could read the directions???” Freckles sparkling on her cold cheeks.

We busted out laughing so hard and looked. Yep, sure enough, the foil wrapper was printed on one side with clear instructions which were, I am sad to say, not remotely close to any of our theories.

Oh well.

This reminds me of another Chloe story. I am pretty sure this took place last March when our whole group was in town for Grandpa’s funeral.

That photo above is me with my four siblings, March 2017. From the left, not in birth order, is Gen, then me, then Joe (Joey ok PLEASE), then Ang, and Phil (John to his coworkers and to my confoundment). My joke for this moment is that it looks like we had just cut a Beastie Boys cover album. The truth is, we had.

Story #2, Coffee Filters:

Ok. Three generations were crowded happily in Mom and Dad’s living room, talking about lots of irreverent things, things that were especially irreverent considering the somber reason for our gathering. One of the conversations was centered around suitable emergency substitutions for coffee filters.

I don’t remember exactly how this started, but it took off like widlfire. Considering ourselves a clever and resourceful bunch, the list grew by the minute. People suggested clean socks or tee shirts, paper towels, tissue wrapping paper, flour sack cotton, and much more. No one claimed (or admitted) to have ever tried any of these things, mind you; but we were in an unspoken contest to one-up the previous suggestion. You have siblings. You know the drill.

This whole time, Chloe had been playing a video game with her slender back to the room. She had so far contributed zero to this lively exchange. Out of the blue, she said, “Or we could just go buy some more coffee filters!” Dripping with both sweetness and acidity.

We all lost our minds from laughing. 

And that is the end of my story today.

A straight line is the shortest distance
between two points.
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: daily life, family, funny

six short stories on saturday night

February 10, 2018

#1: A few warm, sunny days this past week really got my heart going pitter-patter for springtime, however far away it might truly be. The hens are laying again, the honeybees have been buzzing around on fresh breezes, and my first seed order should arrive soon. I walk around the farm every day and still see lots of dry, sepia winter scenes, but in my mind’s eye, everything is verdant already and bursting with kaleidoscope color, vibrating with new life. As I type this paragraph we are bundled up in the warmest room of the house, debating the wisdom of hot coffee so close to sunset. Which is becoming later each day, I have to add. 

#2: Jessica spent the past few days with us at the farm, and she blended in so naturally. She has a way of making the gorgeous weather even more springlike. It felt like the old days, but better. On Friday she and I spent many hours together between the kitchen and the barn and the possibility-filled gardens, talking and laughing about everything old and new. She and Klaus became seriously good buddies. She and Handsome discussed car purchases and adult life. She and I (mostly she) produced a big batch of delicious soft pretzels plus a cozy family dinner of salmon cakes and all the good sides. We all watched a movie together and studied for her upcoming exam. This beautiful girl-now-a-woman has exciting plans and is brimming with all the best things about being twenty years old. We are just thrilled and grateful to be included in her life right now. Overnight, our weather turned frigid cold again, bringing us a grey and dull Saturday morning, but her presence in this house warmed it up. Her boyfriend joined us all for a late breakfast of waffles with all the trimmings, another meal which she made perfectly. We really enjoyed his company, too, and is there anything more fun than seeing your child in love? All of this beauty, and still bigger miracles are growing up around us. Things I will write about soon. 

Have you made these yet?

#3: I have for the second time cracked open A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson and am, well, in love with it all over again. Her preface gripped me this time as though she had written it, especially for Jocelyn. (Thank you for your continued prayers and the gentle stream of love notes, friends.) In a few weeks, I will join two wonderful girlfriends to listen to the author speak, a miniature book club reunion and really just time well spent with two stellar human beings, absorbing some magic together. 

When we were born, we were programmed perfectly. We had a natural tendency to focus on love. Our imaginations were creative and flourishing, and we knew how to use them. We were connected to a world much richer than the one we connect to now, a world full of enchantment and a sense of the miraculous.

#4: Have you winterized your salad bowl yet? If we cannot yet enjoy watermelon, let’s definitely feast on big, luxurious bowls of leafy greens topped with roasted vegetables and some protein. No dressing needed. Warm those bellies and keep them happy with complex carbs! This past week I met my sister Angela for lunch in a faraway place called “Oklahoma City, Northside” and we shamed ourselves at a magical salad bar. Have you heard of Salata? Oh man. 

#5: One of our local Hansons mentors posted this quote today, and it is perfect: “The genuine marathoner is a rare breed indeed, half athlete and half poet. Part rock-bottom pragmatist and part sky-high idealist. Completely, even defiantly individual and yet irrevocably joined to a select group almost tribal in its shared rituals and aspirations.” Fair warning, friends, if you check in here on Monday. I had a week of non-running and have lots to say. Many lessons to solidify!

#6: My husband’s new favorite dessert is kind of a surprise to me. It was a throw-together layered shortbread-and-ganache idea from a brownie mix I picked up at Aldi. Should I make it again for Valentine’s Day this week? Or should I make the very top secret thing I was already planning? Or should we have multiple desserts to finish off our traditional heart-shaped ribeye dinner? Like a small chocolate festival of our own? Okay, yes, that.

Stay cozy, friends! Read great books. Eat the best food you can find. Expect miracles and do not for one day give up hope. What if we did? Look what we would be missing already. And tomorrow hasn’t even happened yet.

“Never underestimate the power
that one good workout
will have on your mind.

Keeping the dream alive
is half the battle.”

~Kara Goucher
XOXOXOXO

 

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Filed Under: daily life, faith, family, Farm Life, gratitude, thinky stuff

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Hi! I'm Marie. Welcome to the Lazy W. xoxo

Hi! I’m Marie. This is the Lazy W.

A hobby farming, book reading, coffee drinking, romance having, miles running girl in Oklahoma. Soaking up the particular beauty of every day. Blogging on the side. Welcome to the Lazy W!

I Believe Strongly in the Power of Gratitude & Joy Seeking

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Lazy W Happenings Lately

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"Edit your life freely and ruthlessly. It's your masterpiece after all." ~Nathan W. Morris

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