When I'm home, I'm thinking about travel 75% of the time and plotting my next adventure and anything that sets itself apart from my daily life. When I travel however, I find more clarity in the things I have, have had or will have at home and can't wait to get back and settle into those things. Make sense? Not to me either.
I would guess to most its quite obvious that this particular time on the road (and for the last 7 months actually), the thoughts and feelings that occupy most of my brain and energy are those for mi madre. What a bright light she was and that light is burning brighter in me than it ever has. It was always bright, but now it's explosive. I'm assuming if you are reading this blog you've probably met my mom, shared laughs with her, gave her a secret to keep or were given a gift from her (in the form of a word, a look or a physical token of love) so you know the level of her specialness. If you never had any of those with her though - consider this your gift. And hold it deep in your heart for keeps. You can thank me later.
This blog is mainly a place for updates on life and what is happening on the road, my new shop, and just general happenings. But I wanted to carve out special time to share pieces of the most important person in my life and the one who has left the biggest impact on me. Here are some gemstones from my mother that I take with me everywhere I go. Hope you enjoy!
1. Create magic.
Beth Timm was a kid at heart and always knew how to make any situation magical. And I use the word magical in every sense of the word. Not like a magician with tricks, but more like the magic of Christmas in the eye of a 5 year old. At no point in her life did she stop living this way. For most it would be exhausting. For her, it was pure joy. This magic came in the way she told stories, created moments out of nothing, getting excited over the smallest idea, showing encouragement and enthusiasm, decorating for the holidays, giving gifts (not just the act of giving but HOW she gave the gift) and throwing a damn good party. Want a magic example? Put a spot of food coloring under dry cereal in a bowl on say... St. Patricks day morning. We would come down for breakfast and mom would come over with a jug of milk (in it's natural, white state) and pour it over our every day, boring cereal and then BAM! green milk. I can still feel the awe I felt for those moments. And a good mom never reveals her secrets. Wasn't until High School that I had my ah-ha moment of how she did it. It's all in the detail. Always remember the detail (I forget this a lot).
2. You're single 'til your married.
A lot of people have asked me if there was any advice mom gave me as we prepared to say goodbye and the answer is no, not really. If I had to get mushy about it I would say in those final days she led by example and unconditional love was the advice I heard loud and clear. But if you want to know the truth, one of the greatest lessons mom ever taught me (and she made sure to repeat it) was "You're single 'til your married." There is obviously a story behind this one, so I'll go ahead and share. A few years ago she took my friend Shayla and I to an auction my brother was running and afterwards we stopped at a winery in Hood River to drink some wine before the drive home (naturally). And we were talking with a couple who were giving us loads of things to do around town for the next time we were out that way. The man then asked us if we were single and at the time we were not so we said no (obviously) and he said that's too bad because Hood River is booming with active, adventurous, single men so the odds are in the favor of the ladies if they are seeking eligible bachelors. Then mom turns to Shay and I very seriously and says "Girls. You're single 'til your married." Coming from my sweet, dear mother we were taken aback a bit. But then after hearing her reasoning I realized she lived those words very true when dating my dad. Now she by no account means to be unfaithful to your partner. But until there is a ring on your finger and you have decided to commit yourself into a loving, life-long partnership you've gotta keep your options open because you just don't know what might happen. Genius mom, genius.
3. Treat yourself.
If you want something for yourself, you don't have to wait around for someone to buy it for you. Treat yourself. ", you've GOT to have that." Those were her selling words. And if you hear her saying that to you when you are holding something in your hand debating to make the purchase or not, then you better buy it. (I thank her daily for the beautiful Frye boots I bought myself a couple months back. No regret.) And if you some how manage to shove that feeling somewhere deep down and it keeps trying to resurface the day after, or especially the day after that, then you best get your ass back to that store and buy it. If it's gone though, you should kick yourself because I warned you. Rather, mom warned you.
4. Smile and laugh it off.
No greater medicine, therapy or way to getting what you want than to keep smiling and laugh. If nothing else sticks, remember this one. I'm assuming she learned this being the youngest of 5 sisters (the sisters could probably chime in on this one). This is how she got through raising my brother and I while dad would be gone for days at a time flying and then come home for a few days. It would take us a little bit to adjust and find our balance (which we always did), but it was always through her laughter that the balance was found. Now picture a brother and sister tormenting one another, a constant stream of friends in and out of the front door, 3-4 dogs tromping through the house and 6 acres of livestock and property to care for. I think this is the definition for chaos. So when you need your kids to behave and stop being mad at one another, do you send them to their room and give them their own space? Nope. Mom would stand in the middle of the kitchen and grab us each by the neck and hold our foreheads together until we had no choice but to laugh and forget what we were fighting about. It was quite ridiculous but worked like a freaking charm. Laughter is medicine and the answer to many, many things. You can't help but smile when you laugh and then end result is undoubtedly a good mood. So there you go, triple threat.
5. Clique is a dirty word.
Call me almost any name under the sun and it'll roll off my shoulders pretty quick. It'll sting for a minute and you'll probably hurt my feelings, but I will get over it. Call me "clique-y" or associate that word with me and that'll hurt me to my core. For all my enemies out there, I hope you are taking note (and lets hope that doesn't apply to many people). Have your crew and close friends who you do everything with, but the minute you become exclusive or tease people because they don't fit in your mold you've taken it too far. This is something mom felt very (I mean VERY) strongly about. I was guilty of it a few times growing up and the weight of her disappointment was the worst punishment I ever received. Even more so then the time I got an MIP at 14. Truth. So moral of the story - be nice to people. Include others. It's easier to be nice and leave people with a good feeling than be a jerk and make people feel bad about themselves. Why would we ever do that? Even if you dislike someone, kill them with kindness. The affects will last a lot longer. Rumor has it when mom fired somebody, they didn't even know they were being fired but they sure as hell didn't come back to work the next day. Say no to cliques.
Mind you, I'm sitting on a train in Morocco right now as I'm writing this, so these are just the things that have come to mind in the last 30 minutes. And it seems very random as I'm reading back through it, but who the hell cares? There are a million other things I have to say on this topic, but these are the five gemstones that are on my mind today and as I'm starting a very important new chapter of my life.
Cheers to you mom! You live on in every life you ever touched.
I would guess to most its quite obvious that this particular time on the road (and for the last 7 months actually), the thoughts and feelings that occupy most of my brain and energy are those for mi madre. What a bright light she was and that light is burning brighter in me than it ever has. It was always bright, but now it's explosive. I'm assuming if you are reading this blog you've probably met my mom, shared laughs with her, gave her a secret to keep or were given a gift from her (in the form of a word, a look or a physical token of love) so you know the level of her specialness. If you never had any of those with her though - consider this your gift. And hold it deep in your heart for keeps. You can thank me later.
This blog is mainly a place for updates on life and what is happening on the road, my new shop, and just general happenings. But I wanted to carve out special time to share pieces of the most important person in my life and the one who has left the biggest impact on me. Here are some gemstones from my mother that I take with me everywhere I go. Hope you enjoy!
1. Create magic.
Beth Timm was a kid at heart and always knew how to make any situation magical. And I use the word magical in every sense of the word. Not like a magician with tricks, but more like the magic of Christmas in the eye of a 5 year old. At no point in her life did she stop living this way. For most it would be exhausting. For her, it was pure joy. This magic came in the way she told stories, created moments out of nothing, getting excited over the smallest idea, showing encouragement and enthusiasm, decorating for the holidays, giving gifts (not just the act of giving but HOW she gave the gift) and throwing a damn good party. Want a magic example? Put a spot of food coloring under dry cereal in a bowl on say... St. Patricks day morning. We would come down for breakfast and mom would come over with a jug of milk (in it's natural, white state) and pour it over our every day, boring cereal and then BAM! green milk. I can still feel the awe I felt for those moments. And a good mom never reveals her secrets. Wasn't until High School that I had my ah-ha moment of how she did it. It's all in the detail. Always remember the detail (I forget this a lot).
2. You're single 'til your married.
A lot of people have asked me if there was any advice mom gave me as we prepared to say goodbye and the answer is no, not really. If I had to get mushy about it I would say in those final days she led by example and unconditional love was the advice I heard loud and clear. But if you want to know the truth, one of the greatest lessons mom ever taught me (and she made sure to repeat it) was "You're single 'til your married." There is obviously a story behind this one, so I'll go ahead and share. A few years ago she took my friend Shayla and I to an auction my brother was running and afterwards we stopped at a winery in Hood River to drink some wine before the drive home (naturally). And we were talking with a couple who were giving us loads of things to do around town for the next time we were out that way. The man then asked us if we were single and at the time we were not so we said no (obviously) and he said that's too bad because Hood River is booming with active, adventurous, single men so the odds are in the favor of the ladies if they are seeking eligible bachelors.
3. Treat yourself.
If you want something for yourself, you don't have to wait around for someone to buy it for you. Treat yourself. "
4. Smile and laugh it off.
No greater medicine, therapy or way to getting what you want than to keep smiling and laugh. If nothing else sticks, remember this one. I'm assuming she learned this being the youngest of 5 sisters (the sisters could probably chime in on this one). This is how she got through raising my brother and I while dad would be gone for days at a time flying and then come home for a few days. It would take us a little bit to adjust and find our balance (which we always did), but it was always through her laughter that the balance was found. Now picture a brother and sister tormenting one another, a constant stream of friends in and out of the front door, 3-4 dogs tromping through the house and 6 acres of livestock and property to care for. I think this is the definition for chaos. So when you need your kids to behave and stop being mad at one another, do you send them to their room and give them their own space? Nope. Mom would stand in the middle of the kitchen and grab us each by the neck and hold our foreheads together until we had no choice but to laugh and forget what we were fighting about. It was quite ridiculous but worked like a freaking charm. Laughter is medicine and the answer to many, many things. You can't help but smile when you laugh and then end result is undoubtedly a good mood. So there you go, triple threat.
5. Clique is a dirty word.
Call me almost any name under the sun and it'll roll off my shoulders pretty quick. It'll sting for a minute and you'll probably hurt my feelings, but I will get over it. Call me "clique-y" or associate that word with me and that'll hurt me to my core. For all my enemies out there, I hope you are taking note (and lets hope that doesn't apply to many people). Have your crew and close friends who you do everything with, but the minute you become exclusive or tease people because they don't fit in your mold you've taken it too far. This is something mom felt very (I mean VERY) strongly about. I was guilty of it a few times growing up and the weight of her disappointment was the worst punishment I ever received. Even more so then the time I got an MIP at 14. Truth. So moral of the story - be nice to people. Include others. It's easier to be nice and leave people with a good feeling than be a jerk and make people feel bad about themselves. Why would we ever do that? Even if you dislike someone, kill them with kindness. The affects will last a lot longer. Rumor has it when mom fired somebody, they didn't even know they were being fired but they sure as hell didn't come back to work the next day. Say no to cliques.
Mind you, I'm sitting on a train in Morocco right now as I'm writing this, so these are just the things that have come to mind in the last 30 minutes. And it seems very random as I'm reading back through it, but who the hell cares? There are a million other things I have to say on this topic, but these are the five gemstones that are on my mind today and as I'm starting a very important new chapter of my life.
Cheers to you mom! You live on in every life you ever touched.
Courtney, I just finished reading this beautiful tribute to your mom. You have discribed her perfectly. Beth was such a unusual person. There has never been anyone like her in my life. I just feel so very fortunate to have had her as my friend. I loved being with her . She was always so easy to be around. We had some great times together.There were times we laughed so hard that we would both be crying. it was a special kind of humor. It was like something nobody else would get! Beth was always there for me during my down times, so supportive. We talked a lot about you, Justin and Alex. She was my role model for being a mother. Often times when I would get stumped on a particular part in raising Alex or handling something Randy would say to me " what would Beth do" ? This question would always bring me to the right answer. I could go on forever about Beth but it is hard to type through tears. You and Justin have so many qualities your mother had. I love being around you both because I feel closer to Beth. I miss your mom so much but it makes me so happy to see what wonderful adults you and Justin have become. You are carrying on where Beth lefted off. Your mom is always in my heart,Love you Always Barb
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