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Writer's pictureLaura Rodgers

When life gets to be too much, hit the pause button and pick some blueberries.

I have decided that renovations are not for the faint of heart….nor is the planning for renovations. Did you know that lumber prices have increased by 40%, who knew? And of course they did, I have always had good timing and what better time to start a renovation, that requires your entire roof to be rebuilt, than right after a world wide pandemic has swept through your state causing lumber prices to go through the literal roof. A Saturday or so ago we met with our contractor who delivered this marvelous news. Now, more than a bit of our budget and renovation plans need to be re-examined and prioritized at least for the time being. I just want this home to be as close to my perfect dream home as I can make it and just refuse to let some wood get in my way.

Life sometimes has a way of getting to me and after the contractor left that Saturday, I knew that the pause button had to be pushed. And so I pushed it. My family, all in town, drove to a little slice of heaven on the west side of the state. Pentwater, Michigan. My best friend’s family and lake house welcomed us and gave us all a moment to breathe. There is nothing like “Up North,” Michigan to heal a soul. The warm breezes in the air, the cool temperatures of Lake Michigan, bonfires in the evening and beautiful sunrises in the morning heal my spirit like nothing else that I know of.


This year we added blueberry picking to the healing process. On the only cloudy day that we had that week, our two families set out to pick blueberries. There is definitely something therapeutic to this task. Having our sweet Nora by our side, eating as many blueberries as she put in her bucket, made the task that much sweeter. She absolutely loved walking amongst the bushes, using her chubby little fingers to pluck those berries off the bushes and sharing them with anyone that would let her. At times I found myself alone in those bushes watching my friends and family doing more than picking berries. There was conversation about everything under the sun. A competition took shape to see who could find the biggest berry and without a doubt there was lots of ribbing and teasing. It filled the patch with laughter.

As I stood there watching them all, the stress of life eased a bit, if only for those few moments. It reminded me of what is important, and as luck would have it, lumber and its price was not even a part of the equation. It was a fun week, a full week and a week filled with the love of family and friends. The best kind of week, at just the right time.

Wednesday, Jim and I will be going to the showroom at Cabinet Creations to finalize the cabinetry for the kitchen. This room is the one room where I hope no compromising will need to happen. It feels as if I have been waiting a lifetime to make this just the way I want it.

And so, with Demo Day just around the corner the pause button has been replaced with a full steam ahead button, but I have to say that for one sweet week, life slowed down and paused for memories to be made.

Hit the pause button when you need to. Pick some blueberries. You too, will find that it is good for the soul.


Stay well,

Laura

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