Care, Curiosity, and Stories

Me around that time

 Now: rebuilding my YA collection

When I was a kid, my dad had a monthly preaching appointment about five hours south of where we lived. He worked full-time too, as a sales manager, so Friday after work and school,  we’d pile into the car and drive down to the nearest church member's house. This was California, maybe around 1980. 

 

We’d get there around 11 PM, and James and Margie always had the table spread with every kind of food we could want. They lived in a little town north of Santa Barbara, right near the beach. Sometimes the next day, Margie would take us to look for seashells, and we always found the best ones. They had wonderful cookouts too, and they were so warm, happy, and kind that it felt like the whole world fit into their little house.

 

You might think I’d be most excited about the water. That was pretty cool, but my favorite thing was sitting on the chest freezer in their garage, reading through the large collection of young adult novels they kept there. 

Restocking my library now (yay, Friends of the Library Bookstore!) I can’t help but think back to those evenings when someone would say, "Where's Katie?" and then laugh when they found me reading again. I’m so thankful to be in this home, making a space where a young guest can stretch out with a book and feel the same sense of welcome and warmth I felt at James and Margie's. I am making a home like theirs, filled with care, curiosity, and stories.

 

Taking the Plunge

When I was a kid, our neighborhood pool had a high dive. I couldn’t wait to try it. The first couple of weeks, I’d climb up the ladder, walk out to the edge of the diving board, peer down into the deep end, then chicken out and climb right back down the ladder. Over and over.

Finally, one day, as I turned to make my usual retreat, a lifeguard blew his whistle. He shook his head and motioned firmly: jump.

So I did, and I loved it. That first leap changed everything. I spent the rest of the summer climbing, running, bouncing, and diving, over and over again, as if I’d been born to that high dive.

I’ve realized I approach new communities the same way. I show up eager, but I take a while to find my bearings. I hover on the edge. Sometimes, if I’m honest, I linger a little too long before jumping in.

I've been in Alabama for a year, and I have joined in a bit, but mostly held back. Now the school year has started again, and with it, the rhythms of community life. It feels like the right moment to take the plunge. So I've signed up for a few things, and here I go.

Don't just blow bubbles - make a splash :)

Hi there!

I'm Katie, and I used to blog at CM, Children and Lots of Grace. Eventually, the kids grew up, so I renamed the blog Lots of Grace. Then there were things that happened, and while I still felt the presence of grace (thank the Lord for it, too, his mercies are everlasting, and also new every morning, and I will cry if I think too hard about it), I felt the need for a bigger change. So I switched to this new blog, The Lighthearted Stoic.

Not sure how folks will take the Stoic part of Lighthearted Stoic, but it's accurate. I need to cultivate a bit of stoicism; otherwise, I get maudlin, and no one wants that.

Meanwhile, I moved from Texas to Alabama and bought my own home, which had been a dream of mine for a long time. It's the best house. I always wanted to have a home with history. This house was built in 1952, and one family owned it until I bought it in March of this year. There are so many ingenious and quirky things on the property. I love it of all things, and I've named it Everhaven. It's the best.

If you remember, I had a music studio before. Now I work as a trainer in financial services, but I'm starting to teach piano again here at Everhaven. I have one student, and she is wonderful. We put on a recital, just the two of us, in July. I'm working at getting more students, but that two-person recital was unquestionably fabulous.

Also, I am a grandma now! My grandmother name is Lulu. This child is such a sweet little miracle. I have no words. I'm planning all my low shelves to be her property, and we will have such fun identifying flowers and birds, sketching, and reading books together. I'm definitely in the idealistic phase of grandma-ing. I can't wait. Right now, I get to hold her while she sleeps and speak to her when her eyes are open. She has the deepest blue eyes. 

Anyway, Cornflower said I should return to my blog, and I think she is right. So here I am. I'll keep blogging.