To Simplify

Over the years I have learned that you must simplify things in your life in order to be content with life (I say this as if I’ve had many many years of experience—but what I can say, I am a quick learner). I feel sorry for some of the people that I admire the most because they seem to take on more than is necessary and much more than they can handle. It makes me feel even sadder that they are taking on so many good things. Because that isn’t bad in itself but can taking on too many good things be bad? I tend to feel extreme guilt if I am not doing EVERYTHING that I should be doing. Over the years, I have made the conscious decision that there is a time and a place for everything and I can’t do everything at the same time. For example, I often feel guilt that I am not the Martha Stewart wife for Neil. He doesn’t come home to a house filled with the smell of delicious homemade bread. He doesn’t come home to a 5-course meal waiting for him to savor. Instead, he comes home to a busy wife who works all day and rushes home to just get something on the table to eat. His laundry gets done but he may have to help fold it. I imagined being a wife like my mother. She got up at the crack up dawn to fix my Dad and kids breakfast. She packed up lunches for everyone. Plus, she had dinner on the table for my Dad when he got home from work with fresh baked bread. But I now realize that there is a time and place for everything. One day, Neil will have a lunch packed by me instead of the other way around (yes, he packs a lunch for me at least once a week).

I guess this all stems from the stress of trying to get everything done before we leave. But this morning, I woke up feeling stress free and calm. I got almost everything done that I needed to last night. And the things that I didn’t get done, well they will get done later. I am so grateful for Neil who mopped the kitchen floor last night even though he didn’t understand why it needed to be mopped since we were leaving. I am grateful that my mother volunteered to help organize the book I have to make for church. I hate to simplify my life and give my clutter to others. But, I suppose that because there is a time and a place for everything, perhaps someone else’s clutter will become a part of my life at some time.

Finally, to end on a less than contemplative note, I am excited to go on a vacation to Washington DC! I am looking forward to immersing myself in the history and culture of this great Nation. I am keeping my fingers crossed that our flights will go smoothly and that all will go well. I promise to take lots of pictures and only show the ones that I look at least half way decent in.