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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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March 20, 2016

French Country Wall Clock

My husband and I were talking the other day about this magical thing that transpires when we get one-on-one time with our kids. And these days with our almost teenager, its almost as if he becomes a different person. Gone is the attitude and the eye rolling and the one word (usually sarcastic) answers and in their place is laughter and fun and great conversation.
Living room and dining room arrangement

A couple of months ago my son had a day off from school but my daughter did not. And, I’m not gonna lie, it was during a pretty exhausting parenting patch. It was a time when we felt like we were beating our heads against the wall trying to get this kid to care about even just the basics in life, like…oh…you know…wearing deodorant or actually using shampoo in the shower. It was a season where there was lots of arguing and we felt like we had to have nerves of steel to be able to peacefully interact with him.

And I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling all warm and fuzzy at the thought of spending the day with this kid who was pushing me to the limit and making me question everything I ever thought I knew about parenting….or life…or myself.

French country style wall clock in living room atthepicketfence.com

But, deep down inside, I knew. I knew that what our relationship really needed was time together. Time away from the daily routine. Time that didn’t include running out the door to school and doing that horrible thing called Algebra.

And I was right.

I had been wanting to get a new phone for awhile (and was being mercilessly teased by my family for having a REALLY old model iPhone) and I knew that this boy desperately wanted to go with me to the store and help me pick it out. And when I informed him that our first order of business for the day was to get my new phone he was beyond excited!

French country style wall clock

After that we headed to lunch and shared a precious time of talking about middle school and all of the highs and lows that come with it. We talked about friendships and teachers and about his relationship with God and there was not a single moment of eye-rolling or arguing.

And then we made a stop at Trader Joe’s which just happens to be next to Tuesday Morning which is super dangerous for this shopper. We wandered the aisles and joked around and then suddenly I spotted it.

The perfect piece for an empty wall in my living room.

French country clock face

I’ve been looking for just the right thing to hang on this long wall and was so thrilled to score this beauty.

After paying for it, this boy who exhausts me and tests me and pushes me to the limit, well, he casually took the clock from my hands and carried it out to the car for me. I glanced at his face as we walked through the parking lot and he looked so happy, so serene. So like my boy. The boy who he is when he isn’t being taken over by puberty and hormones and trying to hard to grow up.

And now, every time I glance at that clock hanging on the wall in the living room, I don’t just see a fabulous decorating find.

I see a memory.

Spring coffee table decor

A memory of a day that I will cherish forever and one that I will cling to during the next round of eye-rolling and sarcasm and arguing that is sure to come. Oh wait…here it is now! 😉

So glad you could meet me at the Fence today,

Vanessa signature

19 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Family, Good Ideas Tagged With: decor, decorating, spring, spring decorating

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Comments

  1. Lynda Brandly says

    March 20, 2016 at 3:25 AM

    Your clock is beautiful, Vanessa, but your memory is even more special. Our son just left yesterday to move back to Boston after a 7 month visit and I am sitting here with tears in my eyes. I’ve had tears in my eyes for a couple of days now. They grow up so fast and those memories of their childhood are so sweet. I’m so glad you had a day of ‘connecting’ with your son. I know it meant as much to him as it did to you! I hope you’ll have many more days like that.
    love and blessings~
    Lynda @ Gates of Crystal

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 20, 2016 at 4:51 PM

      Thank you so much Lynda! Our emotions as moms are just always right there on the surface when it comes to our kids, right? No matter how old they get!

      Reply
  2. Ariel says

    March 20, 2016 at 5:55 AM

    I relate to this post so entirely, that I cried while I read it. There has been a lot of times recently when I look at my 9 year old son and think “where did MY son go? ” I know it’s a phase and he is just trying to figure life out, but I miss my silly son that gives me random hugs and enjoys our time together. Beautiful post!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 20, 2016 at 4:50 PM

      Well now I feel like crying Ariel! It’s definitely just a phase and I’m so thankful I still see glimpses of my own silly son in between the eye rollinig and arguing. Hang in there mama!

      Reply
  3. Sherry says

    March 20, 2016 at 6:48 AM

    Beautiful clock and a beautiful story, thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  4. Marty Oravetz says

    March 20, 2016 at 11:01 AM

    Such precious moments shared. These are ones he will remember too, he just won’t tell you.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 20, 2016 at 4:48 PM

      Thank you Marty!!

      Reply
  5. Polly says

    March 20, 2016 at 12:36 PM

    Vanessa,
    I know just what you mean but mine is my grandson! Growing up is such a challenge these days! I had a whole day with Travin after picking him up from the dreaded drivers Ed, went to Cracker Barrel which is a favorite and just plain talked to each other. It was great and much needed for both of us! No complaints No one word answers just talk! We are doing it again soon, kind of a very special day 🙂

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 20, 2016 at 4:48 PM

      What a blessed boy for you to have him as a grandmother Polly!! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Rebecca Turner says

    March 20, 2016 at 12:44 PM

    Love the clock! I can relate to your stories lately about your son, because our granddaughter is thirteen, and some days it seems las though the teen monster has taken over her mind and mouth. Usually, normally, she is sweet as pie! Our grandson is ten, about to be eleven, and he is such a delight at this age. I’m dreading the change, which is likely to occur soon, with puberty. May God help them, and us.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 20, 2016 at 4:47 PM

      LOL Rebecca!!! Yes they and we need all the help from the Lord that we can get! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Carol Reddin says

    March 20, 2016 at 1:47 PM

    Love the clock, Vanessa, and so happy you had a good day with that special boy!

    Reply
  8. pamela says

    March 20, 2016 at 2:21 PM

    The clock looks great! I totally understand where your coming from. Its like where did my son go. Then they come back for a bit. and they do grow out of this and grow up yeah!! But it is very bitter sweet.

    Be Blessed and know this is only for a season.
    Love Pam

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 20, 2016 at 4:47 PM

      Thank you so much Pam!

      Reply
  9. Nikki says

    March 20, 2016 at 5:35 PM

    Awe… nothing better than children! Except grandchildren. 🙂

    Reply
  10. Lisa Mothersead says

    March 21, 2016 at 5:29 AM

    I love that. The history of a home.. When we moved to our french exterior, somewhat modern interior smaller, more custom home, my youngest was such a help with all the furniture and decor choices. We had lived in colonial and cape cod homes and almost nothing I brought worked. 7 years later when she (my youngest) left for a college apartment and I missed her so much, I looked around and saw a multitude of memories with every cabinet, basket, picture, etc… around me. We had spent many, many hours finding those “perfect” pieces together. So happy for those memories.

    Reply
  11. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    March 21, 2016 at 6:05 AM

    The clock is beautiful Vanessa…but more so is the memory…..I love it when you can see a special piece in your home and it just makes you smile with joy!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 21, 2016 at 8:29 PM

      Thank you so much sweet friend! <3

      Reply
  12. Morgan says

    May 19, 2016 at 2:35 PM

    Wow, that clock is absolutely beautiful! It goes so well with the rest of the living room, and it’s a wonderful addition! The white paint is a really nice accent on the yellow walls. Very nice! Thanks so much for sharing this!

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
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