1. I know you’re more worried about what’s going on at school right now than spending time with your family, but one day, you’ll enjoy being with your Mom so much you’ll take road trips to some really pretty places together.
(1a. Pay more attention to the things she writes to you in those cards she leaves on your bed.)
2. When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Take half the clothes and twice the money. (Heller)
3. Start each day by looking up. It’ll widen your horizon.
4. The human spirit needs places where nature hasn’t been rearranged by the hand of man. Take more walks in the woods!
5. You know all that weird “old stuff” your Mom thinks is so cool right now? (screen doors, stone chimneys, old windows) You’ll be crazy about it all one day, too.
(5a. You’ll love that kind of stuff so much you’ll even start a blog about it.) (PS- I know you don’t know what a blog is right now, but trust me, you’ll be crazy about those too one day.)
6. Those architectural drawings your Mom works on in her office may not intrigue you now, but one day, you’ll be passionate about drawing rooms to scale for people too. Ask her questions about what she’s working on and take notes!
7. This may be hard to believe, but weeding the garden isn’t going to kill you.
(7a. one day, you’ll wish you had enough time, talent and space to grow all the amazing things your Mom does!)
8. Life is like riding a bicycle – in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. (Einstein) Follow your heart and fight for your dreams!
9. Riding bike might not seem like a very “cool” thing to do right now, but one day you’ll see a grass green Schwinn cruiser that’ll take your breath away.
10. Buy a bike now and ride it whenever you can! There are awesome bike trails all over the place, just ask your Mom.
11. In late September, spend less time looking at your cell phone (again, that will make sense later in life), and more time looking at the trees explode with color.
(PS- You aren’t going to meet and marry Jon Knight from NKOTB, but don’t worry- there’s another music man out there whose heart has your name written all over it.)
12. Pay more attention in photography class. There’s a road from the eye to the heart that doesn’t go through the intellect (Chesterton) and one day you’ll slam on the brakes to take pictures of things you don’t even notice are beautiful right now.
13. Ask your Mom to teach you how to cook. If you don’t take the time to learn how to do it now, you’ll be eating cereal, sandwiches and Stouffer’s when you’re 37. I’m not kidding.
14. Cherish the sky-blue painted wood floor in your bedroom. One day, you’ll want to paint the wood floors in your own home, but you’ll be too scared to do it!
15. Do not, I repeat, do not try to use a fire escape ladder to sneak out your second floor bedroom window this year. You will regret it. I promise.
16. Being grounded isn’t the worst thing in the world. When you get older, you’ll actually enjoy sitting still.
17. I hate to break it to you, but you will always be afraid of the dark. Invest in a good nightlight and take it with you wherever you go!
18. The three C’s of life are choices, chances, and changes. You’ve gotta make a choice to take a chance in order to change. (unknown)
(18a. The 4th C should be for Chex mix. Not only will you carry a bag of it wherever you go when you’re 37 years old, but in a pinch, you’ll also use it to king your checkers on one of the road trips you take with your Mom that year.)
19. Someone is totally right about that whole water thing. Sweat, tears, and the sea can cure anything.
20. At different points throughout your adult life, your inner fire will go out. Don’t worry. Spend time with people who can rekindle your inner spirit and don’t ever forget to tell them how much they mean to you.
21. When it comes to solving problems, dig at the roots. Don’t just hack at the leaves. (D’Angelo)
22. Sometimes, the most important thing in a whole day is the rest you take between two deep breaths. (Hillesum)
23. You might not ever figure out exactly what you want to be when you grow up, but that’s okay.
Your parents are totally cool with your artsy-fartsyness and life is more about the journey than the destination anyway.
24. Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. (D’Angelo)
25. Be like the color yellow as much as possible. Sunny, optimistic and cheerful!
26. Read more books. Someday you’ll want to write one.
27. Blog about your road trips with your Mom and include lots of pictures so you can relive the memories you shared with her for years to come.
Some of them will instantly transport you back to the day Mother Nature seemed to be celebrating her very presence by showering her with crunchy “leaf confetti” every time the wind blew extra hard. (Remember how she had to guard her coffee from the celebration!)
Some of them will bring back memories of exploring interesting places, sipping wine out of tiny juice glasses, and making up your own rules because neither of you knew how to really play…
And fortunately, some of them will be there for you to witness over and over again…
Print and place this post somewhere you can reflect on it regularly, Layla. It is a treasure. Thank you for sharing it with the rest of the free world.
Wow, Layla, what a wonderful post!! Those photos are something else, girl. So happy you had this time with your mom & celebrated so many beautiful days together. You will treasure this time forever, I know. Hugs, my friend!
That was beautiful…touching…and oh, so true. How I wish that I could have just a few more moments with my Mom. I don’t ordinarily comment, but this was one of the best blogs that I have read in a long time. The photos were exquisite. I forget how beautiful a Midwest Fall can be. Enjoy these precious moments with your Mother.
Beautiful, Layla.
What a gift you have.
What a blessing you are.
As I try to compose myself enough to compose this comment, I must first say thank you for sharing. Our oldest daughter began college this year. God blessed us with the most amazing young lady. Never did she think she would miss home,miss mom & dad, and miss the smell of home but she does. I was blessed to have her home for 2.5 days this past weekend and she wanted to do some of the things mom enjoys doing. Wow it was touching. Blessings
Oh, Roxanne! I’m so glad you were able to share an amazing weekend with your daughter! Thank you for sharing this special story with me…it truly warmed my heart! 🙂
Every word you’ve written here rings true though I never tried the fire escape. Thanks so much for continuing to inspire me on so many levels.
I so love this on so many levels. It is a beautiful tribute to your relationship with your mother and the life lessons you’ve learned. It also hit especially close to home because I grew up going swimming at Lake Wandawega and my MIL is from Sparta. You captured so many emotions and then made them personal to me. Thank you!
Now I think I am going to schedule a day to spend with my mom…just the two of us.
HI Elizabeth!
How AWESOME that you grew up swimming on Lake Wandawega!!! And my bicycle ridin’ Mom LOVED Sparta! 😀
I hope you have a beautiful day with your Mom!
🙂
What a beautiful tribute to your mom!
This is such a thoughtful and beautiful post! Thank you! It brought tears to my eyes and warmth to my soul. Enjoy your wonderful trip!
you just made the most convincing statement in favor of time machines! How wonderful that you and your mom have such a special relationship! Enjoy your trip & by the way your photographs are beautiful!!!
This touched my heart and thank you for pouring out yours. Me and my mother don’t have a close relationship but you can bet your buttons that me and our 2 daughters will!
These words and images made me cry. So beautiful…
What an amazing post. Not only is it a beautiful tribute to your mom and your relationship with her, it’s an inspiration to others. I loved it. I’ve been reading your blog for quite some time now and I love it to bits, but this is my favorite post so far! Also, the pictures are gorgeious. Great job =).
Brought me to tears. Well said.
I really needed that today. 🙂 Thank you!
Oh I love it! I never had the chance, but someday I will hug her again and we will catch up!
The beauty in this is amazing…beautiful images… beautiful thoughts, and a beautiful relationship.
You made me cry.
Beautiful. So much fun for the two of you. Cherish the moment.
That was extraordanarily beautiful! 🙂
This was GREAT! Very, very cool!!!!
What an amazing post. Love the photos. I will be passing this link onto my daughter. Diane
This is the exact reason why I love your blog. It’s so thoughtful and inspiring. I just want to read, and re-read, and re-read some more, as I really related to everything you said. Thanks so very much for sharing. You are an awesome person, and the people who know you personally are very lucky to have you in their lives. 🙂
So very lovely! The words, photos and your Mom!
Layla, you are blessed and so lucky. Your trip sounds amazing and perfect for the soul. Cherish your mom, I wish I was lucky enough to have a mom who loved me and cared for me who would want to take trips with me. Your photos are beautiful and capture how special your trip is.
Brilliant! Thank you for taking the time to compose that post. I’m sure it has blessed many.
Lisa
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME post. I think this is your best post EVER!!!
What a wonderful post, thank you for sharing your thoughts, photos, and some really great quotes. I came across your blog several months ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve been going through a particularly difficult time in my life, and many of your posts, especially this one, have lifted my spirits and helped me to look at the bigger picture. Thank you again. 🙂
Growing up nearby, and still living in the area, it’s almost surreal to see you post familiar pictures. That wood-clad mill barn in Springfield? It lives in my memory, so it was suprising to see it here. Love!
Oh Layla…you made me so homesick for my mom and Grandma. Living 800 miles away from them, it doesnt take much. I have learned over the years, (when I accepted the fact that I would probably always live 800 miles away…) that I need to cherish every moment I have with my mom and Gram, and I do. Also that I need to cherish every moment I have with my daughters. My oldest is a senior, and I cant tell you how many times I’ve thought, “this is our last…” Today was “our last last day of fall break”.”..so we went to see Footloose!
Your post is beautiful, thank you for your words. They touched me today. xoxxo
Your post has made me cry. I have an 18 year old and I’m gonna forward this to her 🙂
Your Follower in IL,
Suzanne
This maybe, just maybe, is the best post you have ever written. While I love the transformation of your home, objects, and design – its the transformation of growing up, growing back and growing together that speaks to the heart the most. thanks for the reminder…I now need to call my mom…
love this. oh the things I wish I could tell myself! hope you are well!
I love this post. It’s a wonderful thing how much closer daughters become to us as they come into their twenties. I love spending time with mine and I can tell your mom loves spending time with you. And obviously you feel the same.
i really like the “treehouse”. where is that located?
I love what I call “slammy doors”, the kind of screen door on a spring, that bounce off the house when they slam closed. There was one on my great gmas house. I can’t see one and not think of her and her house in Louisiana. Some day I’ll have a house I can put one on.
I really enjoyed this post. I shared it with my daughters aged 22 and 17. Thank you for your insight and pictures. Blessings to you and your beautiful mom.
I have a 17 year old daughter…you just gave me HOPE!.. Someday I may come to find out that she really did appreciate the things we took the time to do for/with her, the people we were, the lessons she learned. That was just a FABULOUS post. Thank you!
Love this (I live in WI and from MN) and you’ve captured our lands in these photos..and the essence of it all. And, Im writing down your quotes to share with my four boys as they grow! (6 and 4 year triplets) Thank you. Great post.
This post brought me near to tears. Such beautiful memories and gorgeous scenery for your mom and you to enjoy together. And seriously, what an enchanting treehouse! I hope you were able to enjoy a glass of wine and dance around like a little kid in there cause that’s what I’d be doing!
What a sweet, beautiful, and touching post! I’m sending it on to my two twentysomething daughters. Thank you.
great post. i would love to make this kind of trip but with my darling dad.
I read your blog everyday and have never commented but today I have to say Thank You, beautiful.
This may be the most beautiful post you’ve ever done. For lots of reasons. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I give thanks for you,
Mz V
Layla what a beautiful diary of yours and your mothers time together!
Thank you for such a very, very thoughtful post. Some day, when you are older, you will be thankful for this time you had to spend with your mom. Now, if we could only get those 17 year olds to read this!
What a beautiful post!!!! My Mom has been gone 8 years now. This reminds me of how much I have missed out on in the last 8 years.
Hi, what a wonderful post! You made me think about being 17 & oh my, I would have never thought at 17 I would be living with my mom, dad, gram & gramp at 39! Going on 3+ years & loving i….most of the time 🙂 I’m so glad that you are getting the opportunity to spend fun quality time with your mom 🙂 At the end of the day, when your head hits the pillow, it’s all that really matters 🙂
I’m a long time reader, and I think this might be my first time commenting – although your blog always makes me smile. Having lost my Mom entirely too young (I was 25, she was 47)… It was so nice to read your latest post. I’m so happy for you that you are able to be “in the moment” and enjoy your time together. Thank you for sharing. Melissa
This was truly beautiful and moving. & so true.. I live 20 hours from my mom due to the military & I would give anything in the world to be closer to her & I would tell my 17 year old self to hang out with her as much as possible because she is simply amazing!!! Thank you for the post { I cried}
Liz Marie
I love this post, Layla.
My mom died when I was 36 years old. So it’s really poignant for me to read this. I find myself intensely grateful that you recognize the deep worth of your mom. And it makes me wish I had a daughter! Daughters-in-law someday, I hope. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your sweet thoughts and your beautiful pictures. Reading this made my day.