Bottoms Up By Lynn J Simpson

My nephew and his wife, Laura, were blessed in June with their third child, a healthy baby boy. One afternoon I happened upon a mall craft show where I found fleece baby blankets with sewn in leg pockets. I thought they were the cutest thing. In a few weeks I’d be on my way to Ontario (from Alberta) for another nephew’s wedding and would be stopping in to visit the baby. So I bought a blue blanket patterned with colourful dinosaurs and red leg pockets. But when packing, I wondered if I had time to stop in at Indigo for a prettier present. See, Laura has a home fit for House & Home magazine. And I was sure she wouldn’t like the blanket. 

I did visit Laura and her beautiful baby but (conveniently) left the blanket behind at my sister’s. However, I few days after I’d returned home, I received a Facebook message from Laura exclaiming how much she loved the blanket. And could I get her in touch with the crafter?

Huh. 

A completely opposite reaction than what I expected. Laura had turned what I thought I knew of her upside down. And even though I was glad she liked the blanket, I (again) wondered how, in this current season of life, my expectations of reactions and outcomes are, more often than not, upside down. 

Maybe it’s my shifting hormones or reaching the upcoming mid-50’s birthday that has me questioning the roads I’ve chosen, my goals and my dreams. I question the time and money I’ve spent on activities including the website that sits idle, the box of business cards with a professionally designed logo that no longer applies, and the stack of self-published journals I no longer market (and wonder what value they have). 

When spending nights alone, I question choosing to stay single until my children grew and established homes of their own. Now that I’m an empty nester—well—I thought my world would look different than it is. 

Recently when I drove my grandchildren for a day at a lake, I took wrong turns heading east instead of west, twice. 

And, just the other day, it was a couple of hours after I dressed before I noticed my sweat pants were on backwards, the front pockets on my bottom instead of on my front. 

  

In the movie “Mary Poppins Returns” there is a delightful scene when Topsy (played by Meryl Streep) sings about her every second Wednesday when “my whole world goes flippity-flop like a turtle on its back. And I don't know my up from my down, my east from my west, my topsy from my bottomsy!”

I think that just might become my current season theme song. 

Fall season is usually when I rev my life up with courses and new activities. However, this fall season, I’m turning that upside down too, and choosing to only sign up for skating lessons (something I’ve always wanted to do to spend less time on my ‘bottomsy’) and drop leadership roles and other activities for a season. And instead of goals, focus on intentions such us letting writing become fun again. 

Maybe God’s leading me to become right-sided up so I take in a new view, similar to the advise Mary Poppins sang to Topsy.

“Well, knock on wood, my dear!

When you change the view from where you stood

The things you view will change for good”

One thing I know for sure in this season and every season, is He is always doing something new for our good, even if our season seems upside-down and topsy turvy.  

Isaiah 43:19

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

You can also find Lynn's musings on life's seasons at Lynn J Simpson-a gal doing life a step at a time