Weekly Winks

One of my best friends from high school gave me this steel magnolia for Christmas. I will treasure it forever.

Photography by Lori K. Tate

            Hope your first full week of 2020 is going well and that you’ve all selected your word for the year. If you haven’t there’s still time, so do it! (It’s not like I’m going to put you in Winks of Goodness jail.) In the meantime, here’s the latest Weekly Winks

            Every Friday I share the Winks of Goodness I experienced throughout the week because I’ve found that writing down and formally acknowledging these suckers gives them more power. I encourage you to share your own Weekly Winks on my site or on social media. Look around and write it down — share the goodness.   

Saturday— John, The Tots and I met my dad at The Depot in Concord. (If you haven’t been here and you like antiques and farmhouse décor, this is the place for you — all 88,000 square feet of it.) Anyway, it’s housed in an old mill building that was once part of Cannon Mills. As we were walking through the building, dad told me that my grandfather used to work in it. I had no idea. I love having roots!

Sunday— As we continue to declutter our abode, we discovered a cat toy colored like a candy corn. To our surprise, our cats actually played with it when we threw it across the floor. (If you don’t have cats, know this, they hate to play with or even acknowledge anything that is made expressly for their species.) 

Monday— I had dinner with my three best friends from high school, and one of them gave us each a magnolia made of steel. It one of the best gifts I’ve ever received because through tragedies and triumphs, all four of us are steel magnolias. Also, Steel Magnolias is one of the best movies of all time.

Tuesday— A friend and I had breakfast (I never go out for breakfast) before a school meeting, and it was so great to talk mom stuff. Nope, we weren’t comparing how awesome our children are; we were swapping strategies and stories about the challenges of motherhood. Priceless. 

Wednesday— I was having a bad grief day when suddenly one of my best friends texted me to go on a walk. She had no idea what a rough day I was having. She just wanted to walk in the sunshine. It did me a world of good. Love my soul sister!

Thursday— As I recovered from the aforementioned bad day, my son gave me Mr. Orange (his beloved orange blanket) to keep me company while he was at school. Love my little man to pieces!

Friday— A young clerk at a store asked what the charms on my charm bracelet meant as I checked out this morning. She patiently listened to the stories behind this jingling timeline of my life.