My Sudsy

My Sudsy

This is an adorable picture of my Sudsy...some of you may know her as my niece, Lisa.  She is so cute!  I literally want to reach through that picture and pinch her cheeks!  Look at how she is rocking that hula-girl-hair-thingy.  Wacky went to Hawaii and must have brought that back for her.  Lisa is also holding a hula girl doll.  I remember getting one of those dolls...but not the really cool hula-girl-hair-thingy.  It makes me a little jealous...because I think I would have really liked to wear one of those.  

Lisa is only 4 years younger than me, so we grew up more like sisters.  And with that came a little (teeny tiny) bit of sibling rivalry.  I always had to be the older, more responsible one and as the baby of my family, that didn't come easy.  There was a school near their house that had a great playground.  I remember a time that I was heading up there for some intense swinging and Lisa wanted to come along.  I really didn't want to take her...well, because her hair was a mess.  (I'm sure mine was too...but that is besides the point.)  I told her she had to brush her "Raggedy Ann" hair if she was going with me.  The details get a little sketchy at this point...I don't remember if I took her or not, not sure if she brushed her hair or not.  What I do remember is the lecture I got from my sister, Pat (her mom).  Apparently, it isn't nice to tell someone that they have "Raggedy Ann" hair and I promise you that I never made that mistake again.

While Lisa was my constant playmate, she did kind of annoy me with copying everything I did.  One time she asked me what my favorite color was and I told her green. She proceeded to tell me her favorite color was green.  So, I decided to change my favorite color to purple...and guess what...she changed hers to purple!  Like any mature 8 or 9 year old, I told my sister that Lisa kept copying my favorite color.  My sister replied with that dreaded saying, "Imitation is the best form of flattery."  I really hated that one.

Lisa has grown up to be a wonderful woman of God and pours her life into teen girls at her church.  She has 5 children.  The oldest 3 are girls.  All four of them have great blogs...Lindsay's is about being an ordinary girl, but she is anything but ordinary.  Her twin sister, Courtney, is a gifted photographer and just got back from a 6 month mission trip in Thailand (and I think) New Zealand.  The oldest girl is Brittany.  Brittany is an ER nurse and much of her blog is about fixing up her home in an urban renewal area of Detroit.  I love to look at pictures of what she and her roommates have done to this place.  (Yes, I'm a lurker.) I love her sense of style and decorating.  The first time I looked at the pictures is when I realized I had sort of lost my whimsy.  I remember thinking (months ago), if I was her age, I'd decorate my house just like that.  It occurred to me this week, I can decorate my house like that, even at my age!  And so, step two of getting my whimsy back is to start collecting and making awesomely whimsical "stuff" for my house.  (Step one was this blog, not that anyone asked.)

One last thing...if you looked at my blog and Brittany's (makingitinmidtown.blogspot.com) you might notice a slight resemblance.  I'm a copier.  I even had her background at first...but thought it might creep her out if she ever saw it.  But then again, there is that old adage, "Imitation is the best form of flattery."  There is another saying..."what comes around goes around"...so, Sudsy, I guess that's true, even if it means the daughter has to pay for the sins of her mother.  <3

Whimsicaliness

I stole my post title from my whimsical friend, Cheryl.  She is one of the most creative, funny, smart people I know. She has tons of whimsy (and was the inspiration for starting this blog.)  But it got me thinking...where does whimsy come from?  Let's be honest...not everyone has it.  So, is it something you either have or don't have?  Does everyone start with whimsy and some lose it along the way? Can you catch it from someone else? Are you born with it?  Can I look at my family tree and trace it back to my great aunt Harriet?

Yesterday, I talked about my partner in (whimsy)crime...but we have an older sister, Pat, that overflowed with whimsy.  She was 18 years older than me and had children close to my age...she frequently felt like  a second mom.  She saw whimsy and joy in almost every situation.  Many whimsical memories come to mind. Like the time that she made my niece, nephew and I, join hands with her and sing, "O, Tannebaum" around the Christmas tree before she took it down.  There is the time she decided I would look good with a shag and cut my hair...right there and then.  (I'm not sure if my hair ever got over that!)  When I graduated from high school, she made a huge deal out of it.  Every morning during my last week of school, she gave me a small gift or token.  Before I got married, both her and Jackie worked tirelessly on decorations and showers and all that wedding stuff, to make their little sister's wedding beautiful.

For my 16th birthday, Pat had a "Sweet 16" corsage delivered to me so I could wear it to church.  I'm sure when she was 16...all of the cool girls got one.  Not so much when I was 16. I guess back in her day, sugar cubes were put in the corsage to symbolize the "sweet" part.  Well, my corsage had 2 inch blocks of styrofoam in it...yep...big, huge, faux sugar cubes. I think some of my friends were slightly jealous that I had a corsage (because what girl doesn't love flowers).  And even though I spent most of my day explaining over and over again why there was  styrofoam with my pink flowers, my whimsical sister made me feel very special.

She passed away much too young at the age of 44.  But she left behind a rich legacy of whimsy.  When I look at her children and grandchildren...I see her whimsy in all of them. That made me realize that whimsy is a gift.  Whether it is a gift (or talent) from God or a gift from a friend or relative...it is a gift.  One that is meant to be passed on or shared with others...so if you have a little extra whimsy, please share it.  You might make someone feel very special.

Pat with Jackie's husband...
not sure what kind of shenanigans
were going on.

Christmas 1972
I think Pat gave my niece the same
hair cut she gave me.  (BTW, I
really love that wallpaper...really!)