Hi Everyone,
I hope you had a good week! My week? meh. I also hope life has been good to you ~ really good ~ not just this past week but always? Do you have a lot to be thankful for? I find myself saying: Why do I deserve all this? I did nothing to deserve any of it!
Downside
There’s no denying life is not always goodie, goodie, marvelous-marvelous. Is there anyone out there that doesn’t have at least one thing they hate and aren’t thankful for?
Allow me to introduce the ugliest tree in Buckhead:
Ugly tree
Same ugly tree
Neighborhood Landscape
It’s not a secret that I love where we live. Springlake is a section of Atlanta that sits between north midtown and south Buckhead. If you swing over to Ansley Park and wind around to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, you’ll never convince me that that precise geographic outline is not the Center of the Universe. It is!! Jeff and I have lived in this location of ATL for almost 30 years. If history repeats itself a gurney will move me out. Or, quite possibly agitation from the ugliest tree in Buckhead.
Empathy Route
Ok, so I don’t know the tree’s heart and inner world. Nor do I know what it sacrifices to nourish insects and protect wildlife. Or, the odds it beat to grow numerous, ghastly, brittle, branches with prickly pine needles and heavy, spikey bundles that torpedo south. It’s unsightly, that I know.
Upside
In spite of the tree’s ugliness, Springlake continues to thrive. A new, awesome, amazing, beltline and recent Bobby Jones renovation has added appeal to the extreme. We’re also a stones throw away from stunning Peachtree Battle. Take a drive down Peachtree Battle the next time your in ATL. You won’t find a tree like above anywhere. NO where! Why Springlake then?
Resolution
What’s a tree-hate digging girl to do? Stop digging, said my husband. So, I did. I didn’t stop just like that though. Nor, did I ponder good qualities the tree had and write them on yellow stickys and place them about. But I did accept that the tree is who it is and that I’m not better than it, or prettier. Ugh, but I still struggle to accept that it’s brother and sister trees aren’t around the corner on Peachtree Battle, thriving.
Fiction Fun (The Room)
Onto fun-loving stuff! If you want to tackle a writing project try paraphrasing what it’s about in 20 or less words. Do it for characters too. That’s what TPA did this past week with all three personalities in The Room. And we did all of them in exactly 19 words. Challenge yourself with a word limit. Check ours out here: Week 4
Thank you for reading!
Love, Shelley
James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
P.S. Reception invitations went out yesterday.
Please pray!
Loads of love for this smart, beautiful, soon-to-be-home-for-the-summer, blogging girl.
Like mother, like daughter, silly inside…