Celebrating the Ordinary...
There is something so satisfying about going to bed totally tired, isn't there? Accompanied by the sense of tasks completed, of things being put in order, of the newness of fresh paint and old things cleared away, or simply re-ordered. It seems to put life into a different perspective, to renew an appreciation for what is, to bring a brightness and clarity which had been lacking somehow.
This was my experience last evening as, bone-tired and aching, I stretched out on my comfortable bed at 8:30, preparing for a good night's rest. All week long the house had been disordered, disheveled, as painters performed their house magic, doing tasks which I was unable to perform myself- repairing ceiling cracks (the bane of old houses) and painting inside and out, here and there. My dining room had become the repository for items from my study while the painting was taking place and the upstairs hallway's photos and furniture had been relocated into the spare bedroom. Things were a mess, but I knew it was all temporary and the results would be worth it all. As indeed they have been.
A lovely, fresh, unbroken hall ceiling...a beautiful sea-foam study...
freshly sanded and painted back porch steps...a water-sealed deck...
and a bright yellow front door and stoop. Friday found me putting my study back in order, rearranging furniture, reshelving books, re-hanging only a few of the pictures which had graced the walls, replacing only some of the items which had filled shelves. More spare now, and oh-so-clean and lovely. A wonderful workspace...the white plantation shutters on the windows complementing beautifully the freshly-painted walls.
Saturday became another workday, this time filled with a variety of wonderfully mundane tasks: cooking homemade applesauce, cleaning the upstairs bathroom, painting woodwork in the upstairs hallway, doing laundry, and making a luscious casserole for dinner. Late in the day found me re-hanging some of the photos which had long graced the walls of the hallway and replacing the previous trunk with a small cabinet and chair from the spare room. The look is now cleaner, sparer, and I love the difference. A tiny thing, I know, but along with the fresh woodwork, the entire feel is different. And as I cross this landing countless times each day, feel matters.
Tasks remain to be completed...the dining room curtains laundered yesterday need to be ironed and rehung, the spare room vacuumed and reordered. And I promised myself to cook stuffed peppers today.
But I carry with me that sense of total satisfaction of an ordinary day spent putting this nest I call home back in order. And as my surrundings are ordered so, I find, is my inner self; my breathing slows and becomes deeper, my sense of appreciation grows and overflows, the feeling of rightness in my world sinks deep, and bedtime last night found me burrowing into the pillows, breathing a prayer of thanks for every ordinary thing which filled my day, which fills my life. Thanks be to God.
This was my experience last evening as, bone-tired and aching, I stretched out on my comfortable bed at 8:30, preparing for a good night's rest. All week long the house had been disordered, disheveled, as painters performed their house magic, doing tasks which I was unable to perform myself- repairing ceiling cracks (the bane of old houses) and painting inside and out, here and there. My dining room had become the repository for items from my study while the painting was taking place and the upstairs hallway's photos and furniture had been relocated into the spare bedroom. Things were a mess, but I knew it was all temporary and the results would be worth it all. As indeed they have been.
A lovely, fresh, unbroken hall ceiling...a beautiful sea-foam study...
freshly sanded and painted back porch steps...a water-sealed deck...
and a bright yellow front door and stoop. Friday found me putting my study back in order, rearranging furniture, reshelving books, re-hanging only a few of the pictures which had graced the walls, replacing only some of the items which had filled shelves. More spare now, and oh-so-clean and lovely. A wonderful workspace...the white plantation shutters on the windows complementing beautifully the freshly-painted walls.
Saturday became another workday, this time filled with a variety of wonderfully mundane tasks: cooking homemade applesauce, cleaning the upstairs bathroom, painting woodwork in the upstairs hallway, doing laundry, and making a luscious casserole for dinner. Late in the day found me re-hanging some of the photos which had long graced the walls of the hallway and replacing the previous trunk with a small cabinet and chair from the spare room. The look is now cleaner, sparer, and I love the difference. A tiny thing, I know, but along with the fresh woodwork, the entire feel is different. And as I cross this landing countless times each day, feel matters.
Tasks remain to be completed...the dining room curtains laundered yesterday need to be ironed and rehung, the spare room vacuumed and reordered. And I promised myself to cook stuffed peppers today.
But I carry with me that sense of total satisfaction of an ordinary day spent putting this nest I call home back in order. And as my surrundings are ordered so, I find, is my inner self; my breathing slows and becomes deeper, my sense of appreciation grows and overflows, the feeling of rightness in my world sinks deep, and bedtime last night found me burrowing into the pillows, breathing a prayer of thanks for every ordinary thing which filled my day, which fills my life. Thanks be to God.
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