Thankful a Few Days After Thursday: Spring Cleaning!

Spring Cleaning has had me distracted this week. Something about this weather turns me into a ball of energy and determination. I get this overwhelming desire to declutter and clean...to make wide open spaces in my home, to open windows and let the fresh air in. I have a lot to say about this practice because it's such a refreshing time for me.

Our basement seems to become a disaster every winter...it starts around October when I go on my Fall decluttering rampage, culling out the children's old toys, getting ready for the Christmas overflow. My intention is to make a few trips to a few local donation spots or to save up for a Spring yard sale. I'm usually a good one for hauling loads over to Goodwill but this year it just didn't happen, so yard sale it is! Anyway, I digress....cleaning out the basement.
Another Winter phenomenon for us is mice...we have been searching for a few weeks among the mountains of clutter near my husband's computer stuff for the mysterious cause of a terrible odor. Well, Tuesday I hauled 5 huge rolls of insulation up to the attic to make space in the basement for organizing the keeping stuff. Let's just say, dead mice: zero; crazy Spring-cleaning lady: 3; foul odor: eliminated. Pow!

I sweep my floors barefooted...it's practical and nostalgic for me. A close friend of mine once shared her secret of sweeping barefooted to assure all the crumbs made it out from under foot. Youthful memories of our friendship always surface when I sweep. I haven't seen her in years and only talk with her on the phone occasionally, but after all my sweeping yesterday, she made an appearance in my dream last night. I don't usually remember my dreams, but I was glad to remember this one. :)

Wednesday and Thursday were my Rearrange The Furniture And Make A Bigger Mess Before The House Looks Great Day. Which by the way, brought to memory these words I wrote in a letter to another old friend, which ring out so true in my life right now, "You can't de-clutter a room without making a big mess first. So don't be fooled if things look really good on the outside. On the inside it's still a big sloppy mess...but it's my big sloppy mess and little by little the clutter is clearing and my room is expanding." Hmmmn...deep inhale...okay exhale. Feels good, huh?

And....thank you to another sweet, sweet friend who came to my door with a box of Bigelow Vanilla Almond Tea. I am savoring a cupful this morning before going on a golf-outing with my husband...my first time on a golf course without castles and windmills...should be interesting.
Today is my sweetheart's birthday, so he's teaching me to golf! And thank you to Grandma who makes it all possible!

Because it Matters...

When you have some time, take a few minutes to check out the great links under Because it matters... find out how you can make a difference in this amazing home we share!Mother Earth

by Gaia

Thankful Thursday: The Park, People and Happy Kids

I did it. I left my dishes in the sink, my laundry all over the living room floor, and I took my kids to the park to run their little hearts out. I watched them climb and swing and slide and laugh...and fall. And when we got home they were covered with dirt, hungry, wound up and happy. But now they are clean, full and sleeping peacefully. My house is quiet and so is my heart. The dishes are done, the laundry is folded. I'm wearing a content and grateful smile.

At the park today I not only watched my children, but I watched my community...those people with whom we share this park...each with their own lives, their own story. I sat and visited with interesting people and opened my eyes to the beautiful network of individuals who make-up a community. Hmmmn, I like the park. I think we'll go more often.

After we were done playing and I had chased a three-year-old under a playscape doorway too low for anyone over three foot (ouch), we went for a quick grocery run to ALDI. Do not take children grocery shopping at six o' clock...especially after playing for 2-hours at the park. They were extraordinarily loud and interested in everything edible in the store. But they were also cute and sweet and lovable...and happy. Really, is there anything better than happy kids? As we were walking down the produce isle, Sophie was enthusiastically oohing and aahing over the califlower and tomatoes. I noticed an older lady in the cart next to us smiling. I said, "Can you tell my kids are hungry?" We laughed. Then we chatted briefly, bagging our groceries while the kids talked excitedly about the contents of my cart. We turned to leave and wished her a good evening. "Thank you,," she replied, "Enjoy your children!"

That pretty much says it all.

Yes, I am thankful today.

"Dwelling in this moment, I know this is a wonderful moment."

~Tich Nhat Hanh~

Hello!

Hello all you friendly-type readers! Thanks to Jen and Marisa for missing Thankful Thursday and making me feel loved. The kiddos and I are feeling much better. We spent last week in Wisconsin Dells enjoying some much needed family vacation time. We all had a lot of fun! I'll try to post some pictures soon.

Spring is always a good time for me to step back and evaluate, try to find some fresh focus and get priorities in line. I love this time of year, and although we've had snow for several days now (weird!), I'm anxious for the warmer weather that brings with it outdoor play and gardening! I'm also excited with the anticipation of embracing spiritual growth along with all the green growing stuff outside.

Mid-Winter I purchased two books by Gunilla Norris on seeing the sacred in the everyday, Being Home and A Mystic Garden. I savored the beautiful words in the first through the Winter, bringing them into my own moments of daily contemplation. But I happened to save the second to begin reading in Spring, thinking it would be good reading as I start my own gardening. When packing for vacation, I slipped this book in my bag with hopes of stealing myself away for a few minutes of quiet reading time on our trip. Fittingly, as I sat by the window of the house we were staying in, watching the snow fall and listening to the wind whip through the trees, I read these words about the Winter seasons of our lives:

"How full of invisible life is the garden you've been given.

At this very moment, you are in company with everything.

Trust does not need visible signs...

Everything is dormant in the cold. My spirit, too, is spilled and scattered. I seem to be at a stand still. Do I know that? Or is it that, connected to God, one somehow moves forward, even in sleep, in confusion, in turmoil, in cold? Benumbed, we may wonder if perhaps it is in quietude, in seeming deep freeze, that God enters our depth without interference?"

Yes....even in the dead of Winter, something is happening. It's in the Spring that life stirs and breaks through the surface...and we know it's been there all along. Sometimes God's work is quiet, but always, it's there.