Recently, *Brenda at Coffee Tea Books and Me* wrote a thought-provoking post about saying yes. As one who says no a lot, I felt that she might have been writing just for me. So I prayed a little prayer that I might be given an opportunity to say yes more often.
It only took until Thursday when my sister called and asked if I'd like to go for a drive and get some ice cream. I said, "no." She's been following a new eating plan and ice cream does not always agree with me. Still, I decided to go on the
ride — an errand for a mower part. She and her husband have been caring for our father's lawn. Next week, they will be caring for him in their home once he is released from rehab.
While parked waiting for her, I noticed these and, though I can't imagine what I'd do with it, I'm pretty sure I need one.
~that would be a NO~
Earlier, my daughter called to invite me out for a Paint Nite. Having visited *Linda at Linda's Life Journal* for years, I know all about Paint Nights. ☺
Now I have not painted since I was a child. Laurel, who does paint, was probably amused by my slap-happy technique. I am sure that I looked like Tom Sawyer whitewashing his Aunt Polly's fence. Not too inspired. Funny thing is...I had fun!
We had no choice about what we would paint...pretty arbitrary in subject matter; however, both Laurel and I were a bit rebellious. The instructor was a fun gal who said that there were no rules except this pledge: no saying the painting is a pile of baloney and no requests to fix this. You probably want to see our paintings.
There you go... Not close enough? Okay, bend my rubber elbow.
I'm tempted to say that mine is a red hot mess, but I have decided to hang these together as a memory of a fun mother~daughter evening. I have just the place in the attic bedroom upstairs.
My daughter usually does paintings like this...
~Cape Elizabeth~
She prefers to work with oils over acrylics.
Are you a person who says yes often or is your answer more often no can do? There's definitely a balance and it is good to find it.
A blessed weekend to you...
Hmmm...I think I'm usually the one asking. I have learned to comfortably say no. I'm racking my brain now on when someone has asked me to do something lately.
ReplyDeleteI do like both your paintings from your night out. The other one that your daughter painted is quite nice! Love the clouds...
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi Vee, I fall into the category of always saying no. I'm glad you took these two opportunities to get out. I do love the paintings. I have other blog friends who often paint pottery pieces with their daughters. Saying a prayer for your Dad and that all goes smoothly as he adjusts from rehab to his new home. Rainy in Georgia this weekend. Definitely bad hair weather!!!
ReplyDeleteHey Vee, very good! Love the paintings! I never do that type of thing, although I'm pretty good about saying Yes. My mind often thinks No, but I know we're placed here on this earth with other humans for a reason. (I have to keep telling myself that.) Your daughter's oil painting is amazing. The only oil painting I've ever done is Rosemaling. Although I loved painting, I hated cleaning my brushes afterwards (which took almost as much time as painting) so I gave that up. Besides, once you have about 5 pieces of Rosemaling, that's more than enough to last a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful weekend, Vee!
I'm so glad that you and your daughter said "yes" and took the paint class! My students always had a good time. You did a great job and had fun doing it! I have to admit that the older I get I tend to say "no" more often and hope to get past that.
ReplyDeleteOh, dear....I seldom, if ever, say no. It's always yes...I am so deep into age that I never want to turn down something that I might never get the chance to do again.
ReplyDeleteAs I grow older, I guess I say no more than I should. I just prefer being at home where I am comfortable and safe. I enjoy the company of my family and friends but our income doesnt allow for us to do much outside home. Glad you took the chance and I really like your painting.
ReplyDeleteOh you will love Brenda's post! I should have added that the Paint Nite was my daughter's treat; otherwise, I would have had to say no. Finances can be a big problem with saying yes.
DeleteYour painting is fun to look at and a reminder of a great evening with your daughter. My tendency is to say no and I've been working on changing that in the past few years. Now I say yes much more often.
ReplyDeleteThe paintings are beautiful and what a fun thing to do together. WOW...your daughter is very talented! I say YES...you probably knew that. My Dad used to tease me that if someone said GO...I was ready. It didn't matter where are when. I say YES!!! Happy weekend! Hugs, Diane
ReplyDeleteIt depends, Vee, whether I say yes or no....I love your paintings--I would gladly hang them. Blessings
ReplyDeleteOh, I am definitely a "no" person. It must be the introvert that I am. I have to say that I love the idea of being asked ~ to be included ~ but I still generally say "no". If I say "yes", I usually am planning my retreat once we arrive. I do wish I could or would say "yes" more often. My hubs is the "yes" person and so are my 2 kids and their spouses. That makes me happy ~ that I haven't marred them for life!! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'd say the paintings look pretty good from here!
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is definitely an artist, her painting looks like a photo.
I say I'm right in the middle on the yes or no question
I LOVE the paintings, and I bet you're glad you went. Glad you get to keep both of them to remember the fun night. You daughter's ocean painting is stunning, such talent. Thought it was a photo at first. This reminds me of Lysa Terkeurst's book "The Best Yes". A good read for those who have trouble saying No, or even for those who never say Yes.
ReplyDeleteWell I probably am still looking for that balance. But what a lovely thing came of your saying yes to this event. Wonderful, both of them. And I love your new header.
ReplyDeleteFirst if all, I think the paintings are very pretty, and personal art means so much more than the store bought kind! I think you will grow to love these as you remember a fun night out with your girl :) As for saying no, I have to sometimes remind myself that I do not intend to be an old stick in the mud and I need to get out more and have fun while I'm still young enough to get around! When I remember to give myself that kick in the pants, I say yes a lot more often ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't know which one you painted - they are both colorful and cheerful! Her oil painting is amazing! So glad you had a fun night out together. Finances can get in the way but its fun to take a ride along just to run errands, etc. I am with you on the little red golf cart things! wow! fun!
ReplyDeleteDeanna
My problem is that I often say YES-when I should say NO! I do too much for others TOO much of the time. I don't know why I do that -but I need to go the opposite way and say NO more often and not feel so GUILTY about it! lol xo Diana
ReplyDeleteps- Those pictures are just darling. That will be fun to hang them together.
ReplyDeleteHi Vee!
ReplyDeleteI love this post . . . and YES you do need one of those little side-by-side four-wheeler, you would have a ball!
I would love to say yes more often, I wish you lived in my neck of the woods, oh the trouble we could find together... ;0) I tend to be a "no" person, but it has backfired on my a few times, so I would love to say yes, given the opportunity.
The paintings are amazing - I love the fact that they are the same subject matter, and yet you made them your own - wonderful! Your daughter is a really great artist, you must of given her some of your artistic genes! I think Tom Sawyer had them too! I can't wait for you to show us the pictures hanging on the wall!
Hugs,
Barb
Well, now you have me thinking. Am I a nay-sayer or a yay-sayer. I tend to say 'yes'...and then sometimes find myself with far too much on my plate. A balance is good!
ReplyDeleteOf course you will hang those paintings. They are lovely! Laurel's Cape Elizabeth painting is fabulous! Hey...we were there...just south of Portland. Good memories!
Wonderful memories are often the result of saying yes. Even when it takes a week to recover! -;)
ReplyDeleteI've always said "yes" way more than "no" but in time it sometimes can catch up with you. I recently said no to something..and have felt bad ever since. How you deal with the regret of saying "no" would be my question.
ReplyDeleteI've felt regret ever since.
That is good you said yes to some fun adventures, and now you have a pair of paintings to remind you of the painting adventure. I sometimes remind myself that saying no can mean saying yes to something else, by freeing up time and energy.
ReplyDeleteI say yes most often but have learned to say NO at times too.
ReplyDeleteThe paintings are lovely and look nice together. : )
Nice paintings Vee! I did a paint night too though my results were not as good as yours! I have zero talent with a paintbrush! It's been that way since I can remember! In 7th grade art class I used to sit at the table and shield my work with my arm so no one could see it. It was very embarrassing for me. The picture that your daughter did of the ocean--I seriously thought it was a framed photograph! Amazing! Oh, and I am a "yes" gal! Have a nice weekend Vee!
ReplyDeleteLinda
mysewwhatblog
Well, I try to say "yes" a lot, especially when I'm asked to go somewhere. Why turn down something fun?
ReplyDeleteYour paintings ar wonderful and so colorful!! I'm impressed with your daughter's oil painting...so beautiful!!
Happy weekend to you, Vee.
First off, may I commend you on saying yes to some fun things - saying yes aids our fun in life, it's important. Second, your paintings are awesome. They're great - seriously I cannot paint ANYTHING well and that's just the truth of the matter.
ReplyDeleteAs far as your question - I used to always say yes to everything, and I am happily balanced now. I have fun, but pick and choose, finding long awaited solitude of these happy years are very good for my peace of mind. My working life was very stressful, and I like the peace of these days now. I have just enough quiet alone time and just enough social fun time as I need.
Anyway, you have a wonderful weekend buying your John Deere tractor thing or whatever that was, not.
LOL. Big hugs.
It is a difficult balance to find. Seems as though you did pretty well with finding it though this week, and creating some great memories in the process! I hope you keep enjoying it! xx
ReplyDeleteIf it involves a road trip, day trip, shopping trip....count me in. I don't get asked much though. But. This week 3 of us girls are going to Woodstock to visit another friend for the day. My life is pretty dull I think. Living outside the city doesn't help when one doesn't drive at night as well. Your painting is great Vee! I'm not sure which one is yours but they are both beautiful. I hope you have an enjoyable weekend with some 'yes' moments. xo
ReplyDeleteWow! I think the hair on the back of my neck stood up with this post. Through the years and reading between the lines I have sometimes wondered if you and I could share a few traits. Perhaps those which might explain the "no" when "yes" might really be more fun. This painting story really, really hit home for me. On Mother's Day my nephew's wife was telling us all about doing this with her sister. She showed pictures of her paintings and her sister's paintings. Inside I was thinking how I wished I had what it took to do that as I'm sure with the right mindset it could be a lot of fun. I'm super glad that you said "yes" and went for it. Your summation of a fun mother daughter memory hits the nail on the head. As much as I know this to be true, I still hide behind "no" much too often.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I know it is entirely possible that I have missed the mark entirely. In either instance, I love that you said yes and have the painting to prove it :).
You know, when I was younger I would say "yes" to everything even when it was something I didn't want to do. Now that I have a family and I tend to say "no" more often....maybe too often - I'll have to think about that :) And my, what beautiful paintings!
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend! Hugs!
Well this is interesting .... I probably have not learned to say no often enough and get myself too busy sometimes because of it. I do love to be involved with community, church and family so it's hard to say no sometimes. Perhaps I should say no more often?!
ReplyDeleteYour painting is so cheerful - you must hang it! What a fun thing to do with your daughter!
Blessed by the thought of a mother/daughter evening of painting, amazed at your daughter's oil over acrylic painting of Cape Elizabeth. The water...awesome! Vee, I accidentally deleted your sweet comment on my blogpost today. Cut and pasted it from my email notification so it is there under my name instead of yours...don't want you to think I'd rejected your comment. It was beautiful and supportive, thank you.
ReplyDeleteGOOD for YOU!!! Yes answers can be wonderful if they involve loved ones and FUN things!! WHY in the world do we say NO to FUN and YES to burdens and things we really don't want to do?? When I have to make a decision - I ask nyself - 'Do I REALLY want to do this?' Life is way too short to do things we do NOT want to do - other than our regular life duties - you know what I mean! We only have so much time and energy so it behoves us to spend it wisely!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your paintings!!!!
That's just it, Linda. "No" people, like myself, are content to stay within their comfort zones and rarely, if ever, FEEL like doing even the fun things. Thereby, we miss out on way too much. BTW, one Paint Nite was plenty. LOL!
DeleteI am back today and I will try to make my comment. It was probably just as well that my comment went <> yesterday because I was rambling and overthinking (and what's new?). :) But after I left Blogland, I read a passage in Elisabeth Elliot's Keep a Quiet Heart which settled my rambling thoughts. She was talking about being brave and she said this: "Courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to do the thing we fear."
ReplyDeleteSaying "yes" and saying "no" requires balance. Both are the right answers at different times. But a "no" spoken from fear may not be the right answer. (Eek! I am talking to ME!) I'll stop here before I start rambling again...
I wrote a nice LONG comment on this post and then somehow lost it....have I mentioned the dinosaur computer I am on....and was going to just skip it, but said YES to coming back and re-typing what I want to say,. lol I am giving this too much thought, lol. I honestly think I say YES to more then what I should. Yes to things I shouldn't be that is. YES to way more sweets then should ever be crossing these lips, and yes to every single kind of chip there is....those without gluten anyways. And YES to opening up those same lips and saying things that maybe I should just keep to myself. I also think I say YES to things like many of my sewing projects in my attempt to make myself "seem" active and busy when really I should be saying yes to knee surgery and instead giving that a big old NO....or NOT yet. I say YES to dropping everything I am doing when my daughter or my sisters call as they are the ones with all the time restraints, and my time is easily rearranged. I want to say yes to exercise and helping out more at church etc., but remember I am still saying NO to knee surgery. I say YES to getting in the car and driving LONG distances, but a big old NO to flying anywhere. I say yes to loving on and spoiling my grandkids, but NO to babysitting full time. I usually say yes to anything that might be fun, but NO too much of the time to cleaning house. I always say YES to church and hearing a good message or reading a good book or going to a women's study, but say NOT NOW to personal devotions at least 2 or 3 times a week. So I guess I am a big old contrast. Which one am I Vee? Is it a balance that we somehow all have to find? That can change as often as our circumstances or situations do? I am sure it does. Today I am saying yes to lunch out with hubby, cutting his hair, and an afternoon movie, when I really should be saying YES to washing the car, washing the windows in our house, and organizing my sewing drawers..goodness such a mess...probably because I almost always say NO to that...while almost always saying YES to sewing. I think what I might be proving with all this rambling is that I say YES to what pleases me. Scary thought....maybe I better say YES to giving this some more thought. Enjoy your week-end!
ReplyDeleteI think your paintings are very charming. Your daughters Cape Elizabeth painting is beautiful! I am a yes gal. In fact I think I might say yes a little to often....
ReplyDeleteBrenda's post (and now yours) caught my attention to and demanded a bit of introspection. I think I say "no" too often--sometimes just automatically! The more I think about it, I believe that the REASON I say "yes" OR "no" is probably more important fundamentally than what I finally say. Does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteI don't know which painting is yours, but I like the cheerfulness of them both! You should say YES more often. YES to participating in life and a few adventures. I say YES whenever I possibly can. But I say NO to people who take advantage of my good nature and have no intentions of ever reciprocating. I have found out who are my true friends over the past two years. The the fake ones only get NOs from me from here on out.
ReplyDeleteI was invited to a painting studio with my daughters last year and had a great time! I usually say yes whenever they invite me to do something. Next up is pottery painting!
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is quite the artist.... and you are getting there. It is FUN, isn't it? I used to paint in oils but haven't in years.
ReplyDeleteI too need to say YES more often. Great art work!
ReplyDeleteSmiles,
Carol
The pictures turned out wonderful! Your daughter is quite a talented painter! Wow! I use to paint a lot too, now it's in craft projects with my girls ;-) Have a lovely day!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Jill
I think I need one of those contraptions too, although I'd settle for a golf cart!
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is quite talented and the pictures you painted together are delightful.
I had a long comment but must have left without hitting "publish". Oh, dear. I think you are right about trying to say "yes" more, even though for many of us and I am one, it is not the immediate impulse to go out of the comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI have worked so long on saying no (because I so often say yes to requests for help) that it is getting a little too automatic. But it sounds like you are talking about saying yes to fun?? Yes, sometimes I'm too much of a homebody, and should get out. Those paintings are fun and colorful, and a great memory of what can happen when you say "yes!" I'm due for a visit to Brenda's; I'll check out that post. Happy Sunday Vee,
ReplyDeleteHmmmm! I had to think about this one, I guess I am a yes person, but can and will say no! Though I am always late in my visiting, I never tire of reading what you have to say, the paintings are so lovely, two very talented ladies, hanging them side by side is an excellent idea, a great memory for sure!
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you and yours, I am still so busy trying to catch up from when I was staying up at night. ~smile~
Love you bunches1
Sue
I just think you are terribly clever to paint so beautifully! I have no artistry at all and that is why I started to blog.
ReplyDeleteI think both paintings are beautiful and that's not a line of bull either.
ReplyDeleteI tend to say yes, when I feel guilty. I'm trying to break that habit.
xo,
rue
Yes, I say No frequently. I like the painting. You paint like I do. I always tell people I'm going through a Picasso stage (that has somehow lasted 50+ years ... lol). ~:)
ReplyDeleteNow those Poppies are great Vee, especially for someone who has not painted since school. Bright and cheerful, well done. That's one that it was worth saying yes to.
ReplyDeleteYou are obviously back to lots of posting again. As I'm trying to catch up I'm going to continue looking and reading but wont comment on all. Thank you for all your visits and comments.
My daughter and I did one of these paint nights together once, and it was a lot of fun! She likes to do them with her hubby, too. Your daughter is quite and artist, Vee! Is it a hobby for her or part of her profession?
ReplyDelete