Our Real Life Now

                        

            We are home from another big weekend with our children, grandchildren, siblings, in-laws, and parents; a wonderful ingathering for Thanksgiving in Nebraska. Even though we love all of our family immensely; it is great to be home to our own little home in the north woods.

I’ll admit immediately that it feels hollow and lonely inside. But, as I am sure Mom is saying this morning in her home out in Idaho, “real life” must resume.  Thanks Mom for showing us how to bless each others’ lives by celebrating home-going as well as getting together.

Elv and I talked late last night about it. I hate the let down thud of transition from visiting children to our life at home.  And he is so glad to be home and to return to work. It is like a huge relief to him.  He snores in his recliner, while I moan inwardly, silently bleeding over the loss of the life-giving togetherness I enjoyed all weekend.   

At the same time I love our life at home. Small family life is nice, too. Brad and Amy are quite spoiled because of it.  And so am I. Tidiness is easier to maintain. Dishes are nothing to keep done. Meals seem pathetic and skimpy with only four servings each of meat and vege to put on the table, created in no time at all.

            And then there’s our dream that we have nurtured for years. The dream to putter at off-the-grid living in a cabin in the woods has given us a happy project to always work on together. It’s been our get-away on weekends. It’s been our get-away in our heads when life seems too heavy here at home. This has been our real life now in some ways. It’s like we get through the days and work of our life here in Hayward by looking forward to our get-away times and our future of being able to potter about feeding birds, building decks, and sitting by the fire with our memories.  And I wonder if we’ve maybe been wasting our real life by straining at the future so intensely. Of course, I don’t want to admit that. I just want to wonder about it.

            So we talked about enjoying our real life now. Re-evaluating is rewarding for us. We do have a wonderful life now. We cherish our together times each day: morning coffee, daily texts, prayers, plans, and as always the project of maintaining our house and home. A dream is good as long as it is kept firmly tethered so that it doesn’t rob us of enjoying today. A dream out of hand can make today’s duties seem pointless.

            And we talked about living in today with intention. Not letting work or money run us. But enjoying what we do. And about choosing to be content. 

            So, I potted three geranium for you, Amy, within the first hour of being home last night. There they sat on my sink in a dirty flowerpot, ugly and hopeless- looking, right where I’d left them last week in my haste and flurry to go to Nebraska. Until I looked more closely they seemed ready for the garbage. Tiny new leaves are coming out down close to the bottom of the stems. This is part of our real life now. Re-potting geranium that will be lush and budding by Christmas time.

            Changing the tablescape this morning is our beginnings of Christmas/winter decorating. Mopping and dusting to follow. And I saw a collection of white pitchers full of pine bough bouquets yesterday in my perusal of simple winter décor on Pinterest. That’s coming up, too.

            We want nice suppers at table and quiet evenings of home projects this week. Must spend time preparing accordingly in the kitchen today. What happens on Monday at this house makes or breaks our week. THAT, at least, hasn’t changed.

            Yes, about being content. To those of you young moms straining at the “boring” of being a mom of little ones, please choose contentment in your real life today. But this is another subject. Later.