The Overstuffed Chair

There’s a continuing thought pattern that goes on in my head, and it relates to joy. Simply that. Joy. Just now I was reading some Twitters online and found one referring to a yarn shop. The photo was of a wall shelf full of colorful skeins of yarn. A wonderland of wool. An emotion sped through me of pleasure, and I realized, once again, of how often I deny myself of that. I work in my head all the time: figuring out meals, planning the children’s schoolwork, fitting in cleaning, and still I feel guilty about having fun.

I have to remind myself that it’s okay to play. If I have to schedule it, that’s fine. If that makes it work into my day, then so be it. But it is necessary.

Tragedy seems to surround me at times. I hear stories of illness, death, accidents and the breaking up of relationships. So easily, even when we think we’re paying attention, the life we’ve built up can appear to fall apart.

Don’t take any of it for granted. Savor the day. Hug your husband and children. Just do today, and even if it’s unbearable, be thankful. Tomorrow is another day to work on it, but for just this minute, be grateful for the time to make it through. If you’re reading this, there’s a fresh start of some sort around the corner. Just hang on.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”–Thoreau

This quote has been ringing in my head this morning, and that’s a long time, especially considering that I woke up at 4:30am. My eyes opened and there I was, bingo, completely awake. Not my choice, especially considering the things I want to accomplish today, but there it is.

I became overwhelmed last night at the habits I’ve become used to. I mindlessly complete tasks, hurrying onto the next one before I’m even satisfied that the current one is complete. The rushing mentality has got to go. It’s not making me happy.

So, have begun to dig into Brother Lawrence’s reading again, and will dust off my copy of The Pace of a Hen by Josephine Moffett Benton, which is a wonderful read for women at home. A search at Amazon for this book, just now, found several copies, but they aren’t cheap. The lowest was in the $12 dollar range before shipping. Still, well-worth the investment. That book is like a much-needed breath of fresh air, let me tell you.

Anyway, that’s where my head is. Many of you are likely shaking yours, remembering the countless times I’ve said almost the exact same thing as I’m writing here. Life does tend to repeat itself, but fortunately the Lord is very forgiving of our foolishness and is always open to our attempts, no matter how feeble at reconciling them.

Have been out of touch for a bit, and I blame my desperate need for sleep. Hard to attempt to hold up others when you’re sleep-deprived yourself. But with our homeschooling year now at a close, I’m a bit excited at doing new things, having more energy and relaxing a bit. Summer brings change and I’m glad of that.
Anyway, not much to say since I’m not placing any demands on myself today. Don’t want to think too hard!

Just popping in to say I’ll be around more frequently.

“Housekeeping done incorrectly still blesses your family.”–Flylady

When I wrote last night’s post, I wasn’t expecting any comments about it, but have had several. Guess that’s what I get for being absent from this list for so long!

I want to tell you my motive here. By sharing about my neighbor, I wanted to stir you up. To see life from a different point of view. It’s not meant as chastisement by any means, but I think it’s good to have our comfort zones wrenched out from under us from time to time.

Now, I don’t have housekeeping down pat. The area under our kitchen sink is atrocious, our bedroom closet is stuffed full, and the oven is way overdue in needing to be cleaned. Way overdue. But, my point was that there has to be a level of care in a house that shows that we seek to please the folks we live with. I hear about women who don’t greet their husbands when they come home from a long day at work. They go on about their business, and it might as well be a stranger coming in the door for the greeting he’s given. True, some marriages are suffering and a hug and kiss is the last thing anyone wants to give, but still….isn’t it worth a try?

As life on the outside gets more challenging, it seems wise to build up our own homes. To go to a little extra trouble. I’m not asking for anything outlandish, but for you to care. It’s easy to get into the habit of letting things go. I was sharing with one of you (you know who you are!) about how I try to tidy up the house (just surface stuff) after dinner and right before bed, in case things have gotten messy in the meantime. It always has. That’s my trick for maintaining some sort of order. And you see the Flylady quote up above. She teaches getting things straight before bed too. I’ve found that the mental strain of waking up to mess seems to drain my day. It makes sense too, if you think about it.

Just try to maintain some sort of order. That’s all I’m talking about.