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Wanna visit the old blog? Check out posts about transitioning from high school to college, lessons learned, and more! Marlie-Jane

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Two new posts up on the blog! Check them out! #PlainJane

- Porch Therapy Sessions - No matter the ups and downs in life, one can always be consoled on MawMaw & PawPaw’s front porch. Family “therapy” sessions used to take place on the old patio, but the flood came, and now there’s a whole NEW porch the size of a castle and the rest is history. I can’t tell you how many tears have already been shed nor how many laughs have been shared since someone laid the wood down on this new porch (we didn’t need rails before the convening began). We’ve all had struggles here and there in our lives (I’m probably the biggest crier when it comes to those), and somehow we always end up on this porch. I’ve never felt like I needed to go to an actual counselor or support group because I’ve always had the biggest support group here. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats sitting on this porch with my family and a hot cup of coffee, listening to the latest “scoop” or spilling the latest heartbreak. I’ll never forget the time I came home from work in tears, only for my little cousin to pull up YouTube and play “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” by David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney to get a good laugh out of me. There’s no judgement here when you’re upset or hurt, maybe some straight up opinions about what should be done in whatever situation, and a whole lot of love. The love may be expressed by us yelling over each other because we all have a two cents to put in, but it’s love all the same. Blessings come in many ways, shapes, and forms, and this one came in the shape of a flood-damaged, demolished house turned into a storm safe trailer with THE BIGGEST PORCH EVER. Here’s to more porch therapy sessions, laughs, tears, and talks with the best support group in the world. I wouldn’t want to belong to a louder family.

- Hoarding Plans - I’m Marlie Lynch, and I’m a hoarder. I collect plans, lists, birthdays, schedules, to do’s, events. I mean, it’s only October and I just bought my planner for 2020. Do I have anything to put in it yet besides birthdays? No. Do I have a problem? Maybe. There’s something therapeutic about writing things down. (Maybe I use making to-do lists as my replacement for actually writing). I LIVE for being able to erase a month from my dry-erase calendar and start one fresh. I love starting a new planner, making a to-do list when I have a big event or task coming up. No matter how much I seem to “plan things out” or “have my life together” (BS), nothing ever actually turns out the way I dreamed it up in my head when I scribbled it down on lined paper. I remember being 10 years old probably, mentally “deciding” I would be married by 21 and have kids by 25. *Pause for laughter* I remember being in college, planning out my “forever career” in communications (HA). I remember feeling a sense of peace when the stress subsided, when those plans and goals weren’t fulfilled. When I have to make myself slow down, be present, and listen to God, accept HIS plans for me and my life. That’s something I’m really bad at — slowing down. This season of my life, however, has been a lot easier in that aspect. For once I’m only working ONE job and taking ONE course for a little while. I’ve learned to take it day by day. (But I still believe in to-do lists when the time calls). I’ll keep writing down important dates and birthdays, listing out my work schedule on my dry erase board even though it’s safe in my phone, and marking “potential” appointments in my 2020 calendar. BUT, I am going to have to start writing down “STOP AND LISTEN” in my list of to-dos. Everyday. Planning may be therapeutic for me in short term, but a more comforting thought is that God knows my long-term. I’m working on being content with just that. And I pray that all the other plan-hoarders out there can do the same once in a while. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer 29:11

- Costume parties - I love October so much, and not just because of the weather (definitely not with the heat we currently have). October has to be one of my favorite months because there are SO. MANY. COSTUME OPPORTUNITIES. Scheduled costumes for the upcoming weeks: This weekend: 1800s Vintage for a Murder Mystery Game Night Last weekend of October: THE OFFICE CHARACTERS for our Annual Halloween Party November: Renaissance Festival! Maybe a few things in between🤷🏼‍♀️ So far this month I’ve done a lot of crafting up items for a photo booth and picking out fabrics for Ben to make us some cool wizard-esque costumes for Ren Fest. I’ve also spent too much money at Walmart and on Amazon. Pictured here is my outfit and our decorations for a Stranger Things 3 Premier watch night at my house a few months ago. A blast! Any reason for a party to be thrown that allows me to be creative and come up with a fun outfit — I am IN! I’m sure there will be tons of pictures of these costumes posted on my personal @_marliejane in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned! #SpookySzn #FallVibes #CostumeParties

- How We Met - Tonight Ben and I looked back on the first few weeks we knew each other, so I thought tonight’s post could be about how we met. I started working at PJ’s in November of 2017 and this guy was someone I often worked training shifts with. I had chatted with him a couple of times before we worked a shift together. I knew he liked to write and that he was cute — that’s about it. He spent a lot of the first shift quizzing me on “What goes in this drink or that drink” and pointing at the menu above our heads. When we had free time, he explained the machines. He had such an old fashioned and polite way of talking, and I was actually learning things! We got to the automatic espresso machine, and he described pretty much what goes on inside of it: “The machine shoots water out and puts pressure on the grinds and they form a brick, and once the shot is pulled the bricks fall into this bin.” At this point I’m trying not to laugh, and I’m wondering if it’s too soon to be punny in front of this very mature-seeming guy training me at my new job. But I do it anyway. “Wow, if I was under that much pressure I’d sh*t a brick too.” I guess something clicked there because that’s the point in the story he described to friends with “heart emojis floating around my head” 🙄 How romantic? I guess his way of flirting was pretending he didn’t like my puns, and then smoothly asking me to dinner at Albasha’s next door to PJ’s. We sat outside of our favorite coffee shop and talked for hours! Flirting advice for girls: Even if the pun feels too dorky, MAKE THE PUN. I’m pretty sure what began this (almost) 2-year relationship was 99% God’s timing and 1% that pun. He might tell the story slightly different, but it’s still my favorite story. (I know our co workers who see this will say “EW” — sorry not sorry, you guys DID “ship it” in the beginning).

- Life on a Compound - Today my little cousins made a lemonade stand and sold artwork, and nearly everyone down the road walked/drove over to their house to buy things. This weekend we are all planning a very elaborate costume party. From selling lemonade to loud get-togethers, there is never a dull moment down my family road, or as I like to call it, the “compound.” No matter how many times you drive up and down this road, there’s someone ready to wave, or stop and talk to with the window rolled down until traffic comes through (another aunt or uncle arrives home from work). There’s always “hows your mom and em?” or “you remember so and so?” We might live close by but there’s always a conversation to be had, even on the way out the door. Leon Road is where I grew up and if you’ve read any of my former blog posts, you’ll know how much love I have for this place and these people. My family. I enjoy comparing the generations down here, not too much ever changes. We use the same Cajun phrases here and there and rock babies to sleep in the same manner as they did way back when. The cooking is AMAZING and so are the weddings (we need to have another one of those soon — who’s next?!) What I love most about Leon Road is that it’s changed so much over the years, from cow pastures, to dirt, to rocks, to pavement, but we don’t. This place has flooded, some of the houses have changed, some people have moved away, but they always come back to the same loving and welcoming family I get to call my own. I pray that everyone gets to have this kind of family at some point in their life. Blood related or not, everyone deserves to be loved and accepted, cooked a good meal once in a while, have a swing to sit on and people to talk to. I don’t know what I’d do without life lessons from MawMaw’s porch, or golf cart rides on the “back roads (I certainly wouldn’t have picked up driving as quickly). If anyone happens to feel like they DON’T have that, we love to share and we love making the family even bigger. Come hang out with us — we will put the coffee on. #Compound #FamilyRoad #SouthernFamily #Louisiana

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