We got a sign! It only took three years to pull the trigger, and actually the trigger was pulled by the firm nudging from our landlord who then also went ahead and ordered the sign for us…but we did it! Hurley House is now officially a store, according to the monument sign. It seemed it was the right time, three years in, to go ahead and stop hiding, hoping you figure out where we are located. Now it is posted for the whole world to see (or at least the the world of traffic on Bellaire and Bryant-Irvin).
Here’s what we talked about this week…
ONE.
For Easter, I bought a fanny pack from Target for one of my daughters. Surely by now you’ve noticed the resurgence of this “vintage” fashion trend, even if it never was cool the first time around. There was a moment in Target, while I was trying to decide whether or not to buy the fanny pack for my daughter, when my cynicism showed up and started strutting around, trying to rule the moment.
Ugh. Fanny packs. Those are the worst. Absolutely terrible. And now, because some fashion diva decides to make them cool, we are supposed to jump on board and act like they are cool? Not me. I know better. Fanny packs are dumb, and I’m not going to be the fool that falls for that gimmick.
And then, I remembered something Brené taught me. Cynicism is a defense mechanism. It’s a wall. It is a way we protect our self from feeling joy, because joy is one of the most vulnerable emotion we can express. I don’t want to self-protect. I want to stay open and vulnerable. So I made a choice to silence my cynic and feel the joy. I embraced the fad and purchased an iridescent lavender fanny pack for my adolescent daughter, and gleefully allowed myself to smile and drink in the ridiculous amount of joy and fun it brought her on Easter morning.
It feels freeing to have fun and embrace trends, even when those trends are silly. In fact, I felt so intoxicated by quieting my inner cynic with the purchase of a fanny pack that I promptly went out and bought cropped boot cut jeans. Who wants to help me style them?
TWO.
I cannot share the context of this next conversation, because it is not mine to tell, but I am a mother, and I know this is true. Children are like hedges. Those unpleasant little branches of behavior are easier to prune when they are tiny and tender, not so much when they have grown into full blown pieces of lumber requiring major muscle to move. Take the time to prune your children while they are young. The inconvenience, pain, or patience required will not only be far less than it will be down the road, but your children will be a delight to be around as a result.
THREE.
Hey, guys, guess what we don’t need? Half birthday parties. I own a bakery, so people come to us when they need a cake, and a lot of times we get to hear what the cakes are for. Lately, there is a rash of people ordering cakes to celebrate half birthdays. I am not making this stuff up. One time, we had a client order half of a cake, fully frosted. Get it?
There are a few exceptions where I suppose celebrating the passing of six months would be reasonable. Maybe your birthday is on December 25 and you have decided to always celebrate in June instead of battling the holidays. Cool. Or maybe you are recovering from an illness and every opportunity to celebrate should be embraced. Yes and amen. But the “just because” nature of celebrating a half birthday does not sit well with me and seems to feed the giant entitlement monster that our culture has created. One birthday per person, once a year, is ample.
FOUR.
Have you ever tasted chocolate cake with vanilla frosting? We were discussing whether or not this was in fact the absolute best cake frosting combination ever, and a mini feud broke out between two members of our staff. All of it was in good fun, and had a very “fake mad” tone about it. No one is really upset, but Molly has never tasted the chocolate cake with vanilla frosting combination. Her reasoning? “Our chocolate frosting is so good, why would I ever choose vanilla?” Well said, Molly.
Elizabeth, however, has only one favorite cake combo and it is the chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. She jumped in and challenged Molly, “The vanilla frosting actually makes the chocolate cake taste more chocolaty!” She’s not wrong.
Molly responded with, “Vanilla frosting is just sugar butter and if I’m going for chocolate I want chocolate everything.”
Then Elizabeth fired back, “Yeah, well, chocolate cake with vanilla frosting is so delicious I chose it for my wedding cake!”
The air became charged. It was like the triple-dog-dare moment from A Christmas Story, where everyone gasped and took a step back, wondering if Flip would actually touch the frozen flag pole with his tongue. Would Molly insult Elizabeth’s wedding cake? Would Elizabeth concede the known fact that our chocolate frosting is in fact amazing? The fake tension hung in the air like the scent of cinnamon sugar and butter coming off a hot tray of cinnamon rolls. Those of us watching were giggling at the whole scene, watching the two of them duke it out over frosting preferences.
In the end, we decided everyone was right. All cake is good cake. All frosting is good frosting. No one got their tongue stuck to the frozen flag pole. This time.
Have a lovely week!
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