Monday, September 24, 2012

Wall Words for People Like Us

If you are not living under a rock and decorating your house with moss and acorns, then you know that Wall Words are all the rage.

"BELIEVE," you are instructed in vinyl letters in a bold script above a bookshelf as you step inside the front door.
"Be kind, be silly, be honest" waltzes down the wall of the hallway.
"Create joy" says the sewing room.

If you automatically do everything you're told your whole life, like me, it can be a bit overwhelming.

I have been just a bit sniffy about wall words, mostly because when you have no talent for decorating or being up on the trends, you can kind of salve your ego by being lofty and superior.  "Well.  THAT will soon show up at garage sales next to the ceramic geese with blue bows."

But then someone gave me a wall plaque with SMUCKER in the background overlaid with "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," and I really liked it.  It is hanging in the kitchen.

I am considering buying some wall words, especially since someone is selling them as a fundraiser for a mutual friend.

So I have been going through the online catalog, and oh dear, I am getting sniffy again.

A lot of the words are about families.

They are beautiful words, in dreamy arrangements, balanced and flowing and artistic, in appropriate script.

And to me they seem to apply to dreamy, balanced, appropriate families.  Not to us.

"In this home we are family, we give hugs, we do love."

"The love of a family makes life beautiful."

"Family memories are treasured heirlooms."

Don't get me wrong.  We are a family, we love each other, but somehow we do not do dreamy and mushy and follow our example to get it right and wander arm-in-arm across the meadow picking daisies.

I give you, as an example, a bit of today's supper-dishes conversation:

Jenny: If you can't think of things to do at my funeral, quote this line from Walk Two Moons.  It's in the book at least twice.  You can alter it if you need to.  It's really sad: [soft mournful dramatic voice] "It can't be dead.  It was alive a minute ago."
Steven: I'll remember that.  I'll remember to call you an 'it.'
Jenny: I SAID you can CHANGE it to fit the OCCASION!!!


Maybe I need to design some wall words just for us.

In this home
we are family
(even those who lag behind so no one will think they belong)
We do snark.
We do glares.
we do hugs and hugs and HUGS until
we say GAAAAHHH!! Knock it off!  I'm feeling trapped!
We hijack facebook accounts
and send wacky texts on sisters' phones
and eavesdrop from the porch roof.

We interrupt
We yell
We tell how it ought to have been done
and how it really was
(not like THAT, believe me)
We dawdle.
We honk.
We go to church mad now and then.
We laugh a lot.
And in our own way
(flawed but uniquely us)
We do love.

28 comments:

  1. Oh, what joy! I've discovered another normal family:-)

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  2. you could probably make a lot of money off of that "normal family" version. better copyright it, quick. :) "We do snarky." that made me laugh.

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  3. Love this post! Sounds a bit like my family.

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  4. That's great! I totally agree...but I have recently given in and bought some wall words...the words of Zephaniah 3:17 are now above a doorway. :-)

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  5. This gave me a chuckle and I agree with LaRonda - your version of "We do" would be a hit I believe. I don't so much love the dreamy stuff but I love the scripture wall words. And by the way - moss and acorns ARE all the rage, at least they were the past two years....;)

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  6. So funny. Word art is really in. In different forms. You should really print your version of your family.

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  7. Well! How pleasant to hear about your "normal" family! Sounds like us! I loved this post, Dorcas! My daughter says to tell you she designs custom wall words, in case you want to print yours! Lol.

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  8. Market this please! :)

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  9. Ahhh. I get yo on this one. However, if you have ever been in the Halsey church nursery, there is a wall word thing that I rather like. Enjoy life God has given us these times of joy. I hung it over the changing table. Yes, I really did. =D But you can have wall words made to say absolutely ANYTHING! Use your own favorite quote. Then spray paint a canvas and put the vinyl lettering on that so you can take it down when you want. Or when company comes.
    Jessica in B'sville

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  10. http://www.leenthegraphicsqueen.com/enliwade.html

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  11. This would make a great column. :)

    Rhonda Schrock

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  12. I love the Scripture word art--that's one trend that I think Christian families SHOULD be embracing. I see it as a way of writing God's Word "on the doorposts" of our homes, and thus hiding it in our hearts and the hearts of our children.
    However. I have a bone to pick with that oh-so-common "BELIEVE" command. I always want to ask the homeowner, "Believe? In what?" just to see what they say. ;-)
    I've used WordArt from this site http://www.papercraftmemories.com/ around my house: I print it on seasonal paper & frame it, then change it out every few months.

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  13. This is great! I love it! :) :)

    Thank you for the link to that Word Art blog, Joanna!

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  14. I love this! Give me REAL because I'm so tired of the fake, air brushed, neat and tidy images of family! -Danielle B

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  15. Thank you for being so humorously honest,Dorcas! It reminds me of a plaque in our local coffee shop: As far as everyone can tell, we are a nice, normal family.

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  16. Amber Miller9/25/2012 2:57 PM

    I really enjoyed this post. I know exactly what you mean.

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  17. Thank the Lord I'm not the only person who doesn't like Wall Words.

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  18. I just found your blog and I love it! Especially this post, as a mom of 7 soon to be 8 unique individuals, I can appreciate this :)

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  19. Jenny's comment made me laugh out loud. So funny! I love your idea of wall words; I think that it's wonderful, although I'm not sure that you want to have it on your wall, or it might be used as an excuse to send texts on sisters' phones or something. :)

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  20. Ha! Since I'm the one with the mutual friend that you just bought your wall words from, Thank You! And I will be submitting your new design idea to our home office. I'm sure they'll enjoy it. And who knows? Maybe it will show up in our next dreamy catalog! ;) Cuz your words sound so much more like our family than the design in the current catalog!

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  21. I was just thinking this week, in the next generation, will they be taking down wall words with a grumble the way we take down wallpaper when we remodel a new home? (cause I was taking down wallpaper wondering why they thought it was so great, and pondered what am I putting in my house that the next person will think is such a bother).

    I believe wall words should be inspirational, more than just "feel good" phrases. It's a good way to display Truth. Renee S.

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  22. Wait, what?

    Ceramic geese with blue bows are out??


    Lol

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  23. Yes! I so get this....I couldn't really find any words that "fit us" either, so I had to design my own. I like your "real" version. Been laughing at your blog ever since meeting you guys in Thailand. :)

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  24. I do not like the "Believe" or their cousins, either.

    But you can use a Cricut machine and get creative with your own phrases. I posted a Bible verse on the gable end of our garage. It can easily be seen from the road and I get comments from people who pass our house (we live on a corner lot with a three way stop.) You can also cut/paste verses, cute sayings throughout your house using your own imagination, not other peoples' - this is the fun.

    Using a Cricut machine and buying your vinyl off of eBay is relatively inexpensive.

    Sandra

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  25. Not that you need another comment, but I love this. I would order one of these.
    Sarah

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  26. Love the saying you put together about family. Much more true then all the sappy things you usually see in wall words and house signs.

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