Fabulous Mediocrity

My husband Jon was once in a conversation with a close friend who was struggling with the disappointment of how his life wasn't turning out the way he'd expect, specifically in regard to purpose and fulfillment. Jon's response was brilliant: he said, yes, it is hard to come to that late 20s/early 30s realization that we hadn't achieved more by now -and it's fine to allow yourself to grieve that loss for a bit- but that actually the only thing wrong was our unrealistic expectations in the first place.
But don't dwell on it for too long at the risk of just becoming a cranky douche. Instead, learn to embrace a life of "fabulous mediocrity." (Jon's exact words) Do the work you need to do to survive with a decent attitude and the rest of the time do your best to tap into whatever makes you happy.

I'll add this point: damned if our well-meaning parents aren't somewhat to blame because of their ultimately deceitful "encouragement" telling us "you can be anything you want." Which is why I tell Coen to go ahead and dream big, but don't get too caught up on the end results. Enjoy the ride!

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121915/dont-search-purpose-you-will-fail

Urban Hike

Jon wasn't feeling well on Sunday so I took Coen on an all-day field trip in our little city. First we walked to the Irish pub at the one end of the retail district, The Marlay, where we had brunch. Then, after make a brief stop at the Cook's Warehouse for espresso machine cleaner and a tiny cheese grater we were previously unaware we absolutely needed, we made our way up the hill to the main Square.

We knew it was time for a sweet treat so, after much discussion regarding whether to go to our local frozen yogurt place (The Yogurt Tap) or to one of the two ice cream shops, we settled on checking out the flavors at each place to help us decide.

However, the excitement and temptation at the first place overrode our previous logic and we ordered a sundae with one scoop of The Milkiest Milk Chocolate and a scoop of the Ndali Estate Vanilla topped with fresh whipped cream, sprinkles, an equally fancy cherry and served with some Salty Caramel sauce on the side. (I'd like to add that all of this sustainably sourced, natural, small batch awesomeness was only $6.00!)

Afterwards we had to make the obligatory stop at the bandstand gazebo which Coen loves to run around and was happily accompanied by a fellow circle-running and loud-screaming aficionado, a 3 year old named Aubrey.

Once he was worn out I took him to a little boutique and bribed him to be patient using my phone while I browsed. I picked up a pair of jeans and a pair of earrings that are little quotation marks and therefore perfect for me.

We rounded off the day by spending some time at the playground near our house.  All in all our urban hike took about 5 hours and covered maybe 2.5 miles :) And of course we made sure to keep everyone safe the whole time from any bad guys by using Power Ranger karate moves. Both of us.