Thursday, September 23, 2010

Life Defined

Fall is such a crazy time. The first week kids went back to school, I was utterly exhausted. Dance lessons, horseback riding and play practice. School lunches and fall cleaning. Jam making! I have a crabapple tree. It is a blessing and a curse all mixed in one. I love the soft blossoms which announce the arrival of the long awaited spring. It provides a temporary sanctuary for bees in the spring and birds in the winter, and for the girls all year around as they climb and see the world from the higher ground. I have never been afraid of heights. I actually like it. There is something quite pleasing about being up high. You are free from the hustle and bustle of this world. Free from worries and it even smells better up high! Every fall, I get up on the ladder to pick these beautiful little jewels to squeeze them into jars with lots of....I mean, just a little bit of sugar and they make the most beautiful jelly. Pink tartness bursting in our mouth. We enjoy it all winter long......longing for those warmer evenings and sunshine. But oh the mess. The apples are in abundance. We leave the ones on top for the birds in the winter, but we cannot help the law of gravity. There are always more than I can put into jars....so they fall. and they freeze. and they turn into this mush. With my crabapple tree and an ornamental apple tree (with pink blossoms) and three huge poplar trees, raking is a full time job around my house. As I mutter things under my breath which I am not allowed to say, I rake and rake. But the irony is that those 5 trees are the most beautiful features of my home.

The dust is finally starting to settle around here. We are sliding nicely into our new routine. I even have a few moments to breathe and catch friends for a cup of tea some days.

I am learning that it really is about the perspective and our attitude that define our life. I often hear people say, "I am going on a trip. Husband bought me a Tiffany ring......THUS life is good". No, Life is good, all the time. Life is good even when I am picking up the dog poo in the yard, because I took the time to scratch the dog's ears and throw the ball as he chases it down with his tail showing the obvious delight. As I watch him, it makes me laugh and I am inhaling a lungful of fresh crisp fall air. Taking a little break to bounce on the trampoline with my 3 yr old. Take time to savor the moments. Because this is life. The mundane-ness. Boring tasks. But I have to do it. So I might as well make the best of it. I do not want to live in a series of lost moments because we'd rather be else where doing something 'fun'. (thanks, Ashley for reminding me this!) If the presents and special events are what make our life 'good', I am gonna need lots of presents.

I am even going to take it a step further and say life is good even when things are bad. Even when tragedies come our way. It is often in the middle of trials, we see hope, we see grace, we experience peace. We see that we are not alone.

3 comments:

Carolyn said...

Beautiful...just like you.

Ashley @ Root And Twig said...

Hear, hear!
xoxo from Ashley

Alicia said...

I like that you took it a step further to say that life is good even when..and there can be peace in the middle of trials.