Carlton Landing: A mental health thanksgiving

Our House

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After the rocky month and a half we’ve had, Thanksgiving was the last thing on my mind. I told Simon I wanted to skip it, to be honest. Not that we weren’t grateful or didn’t have things to give thanks for. On the contrary! In fact, we have more than ever to be thankful for. But it was the pageantry and preparation that felt overwhelming to me this year. The fact that my mom wouldn’t be at home. Wondering how to readjust everything.

Jude had a whole week off school, so we took the opportunity to run away to Carlton Landing for a bit in what I’m now referring to as Mental Health Thanksgiving.

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And we did nothing but take long walks, attempt to go fishing (no dice), have long dinners with friends, explore surrounding towns, and watch spy movies on TV.2015-11-23 13.44.09

And put naked babies into farmhouse sinks for baths after messy dinners of lasagna. Of course.2015-11-23 18.56.39

But work couldn’t be put off, so midway through the week we came back to OKC for time with the extended families and decorating for Christmas. (All I accomplished thus far was putting up the tree. The end.) And getting a Joovy Spoon walker for Archer who promptly climbed right out of it. All of my attempts to contain this child have been foiled. HELP.

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On Thanksgiving day, we had lunch with Simon’s parents. Numerous times over that day I thought that I’m so grateful for them and their hospitality. All we did was show up, nothing but the children in hand. And they were so gracious and welcoming and all that mattered was togetherness. It was maybe the easiest Thanksgiving ever.

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That night we all piled in the car after putting on comfy clothes and drove straight back to Carlton Landing in the pouring rain.  OKC got a massive ice storm and we escaped it due to the location of CL in the southeastern portion of the state. But it did pour rain for three days straight which meant that we accomplished nothing except changing out of our pajamas to put on another pair of pajamas. We laid in bed, ate more goodies, bundled up for chilly walks in between rain storms, and did exciting things! Like trips! to Walmart! In rural towns! And lots of online shopping! Wheeeee!

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Speaking of shopping, we finally got our loft light fixtures installed that we bought at HD Buttercup in Los Angeles. They were the steal of the century at – wait for it – $95 apiece. WHAT. They hang on either side of the loft where Jude sleeps and I LOVE them. We hadn’t made any decision on what to hang there so it’s been a big empty hole for awhile.

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And then there was the nonstop exhausting chasing of Archer up and down the stairs.

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But he’s cute, so we’ll keep him. Just one more thing to be grateful for.

In short,  I can’t say enough good things about taking a mental health Thanksgiving. Stay in your pajamas, watch Netflix until you fall asleep for the second nap of the day, and eat loads of chocolate chip cookies. And come back to the world ready for the next round.

with love,
Rachel

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