Archive for the ‘think about it’ Category

Is it too late to wish you a Happy New Year?

This first full week of the New Year has been nothing short of Heaven here.

The snow has been falling and the evergreens outside my window are hanging heavy with the snow.  The whole world looks soft and white.  It’s been a great excuse to stay snug and warm at home.

I don’t ever remember feeling more hopeful and happy to see a new year.

January is always the month that I love to deep clean most of all.  This year my home needs it more than ever.  It feels like it has been neglected and needs a fresh coat of paint – literally and figuratively.

This week I’ve been deep cleaning our master bedroom.  I emptied every last thing out of our master closet and dresser drawers.  I scrubbed it all down ’til it was fresh and clean.  Then I’ve put back only the things we will REALLY use and wear.  So far this week I’ve filled an embarrassing number of bags to give to charity and more for the garbage bin.

I’ve been using and repurposing what I already have to organize.  Isn’t this ceramic eggs carton sweet and perfect to keep my most used jewelry?

This year I’ve also chosen my One Little Word.  Or it might be more accurate to say that one little word has chosen me.  This year my word is:

FULFILL

It’s a word that, once in my head, I could not let go of…

I’ve been exploring what the word means to me, and the meaning I want it to “fulfill.”

I can’t wait to see what 2014 will bring…

The other morning my friend and I went on a walk.  Since it was good exercise, we climbed the streets that go up into the foothills above our homes.  It was a long climb that left us both gasping for breath as we made our way to the top.  As we walked we talked because, we are never too out of breath to talk!

When we reached the top, the valley lay out before us, a patchwork of orange and yellow and red.   Both of us stood quiet for a moment, marveling at the beautiful place that we live.  It is such a simple thing, but our walks, and more importantly her friendship, love and support are such a blessing in my life.

In the past few weeks I’ve been finishing up my canning for the year.  Oh how I love seeing the rows of jars lining my shelves.

I’ve been working on my yard, putting it to bed for the winter.  There are pots to empty and put away, chairs to store, flower beds to weed and cut back, roses to prune.

The weather has been so cold, I’ve been making soups and bread, and cozy cold weather food.

Everyday is filled with helping my kids with homework (thank you Khan Academy for getting me through 6th and 7th grade math!)  There are always things to clean, work to do, volunteering for my church, volunteering at my kid’s school…

Everyday is full.

But I’ve come to realize that in these full and ordinary days lies the heart of my life.  If I wish to cultivate happiness, I need to seek it there.

The extraordinary days, days sitting on a warm and distant beach, celebration days, even new sofa delivery days… those kind of days are just too far and few between to build a life of happiness on.

Anna Quindlen said it better than I ever could,

“Life is made of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement.  It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won’t happen.  We have to teach ourselves how to live, really live… to love the journey, not the destination.”