Summerlin and I ran a few errands this morning while Justin and Jackson played putt-putt. We rushed around from store to store, looking for a few items that everyone wanted, but (besides the milk and lettuce) no one really needed. We came home hungry, tired, and a little cranky...plus I'm fighting a summer cold and feel like crud. Justin and Jackson took life in the slow lane and had a blast. It was a reminder to me in why rushing, wanting, and buying do not bring happiness. I used to spend at least two to three mornings a week running around doing errands. Then I realized that I was wasting so much time. If I would just slow down and savor life, I could do without most of what I was rushing around looking for, and life would be so much more enjoyable.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the pace of life a large percentage of people live these days. Everything is so rushed. Two working parents, busy activity schedules for the kids, jam packed weekends. No time to cook dinner at home (much less from scratch). No time to craft and create things for those you love. No time to spend outside, just for the sake of being outside and soaking up some sunny goodness. No time to snuggle up with your spouse (and/or kids) at the end of the day to talk or watch TV together or play a game...or just be together in the same place at the same time both physically and mentally. Life has become a rat race for so many.
But not in this house. We are purposefully choosing to turn away from that lifestyle and embrace our beautiful, simple little life together. We garden. We play in the yard, all day, most days. We make and eat dinner as a family nearly every night - and the nights we don't eat as a family are the nights we sit with the kids while they eat, put them to bed, then have a special date-night-in dinner. And when I say we eat and make dinner together, I don't mean frozen meals from a box. We make real food around here for every single meal. I sew and create clothes, toys, and things for our house with my own two hands. Justin fixes and creates things with his own hands - that man keeps this house running. We dream of the day when he will build us our very own farmhouse (high on a hill with chickens running around in the yard). I am very conscious about how many social engagements (playdates, classes, etc) I arrange for the kids. I think it's important for them to play with others (and for me to talk with other adults), but I think it's even more important that they have plenty of time to run around half naked in the backyard.
Yes, all these things take time. Yes, being a one income family can be make things tight at times. Yes, we go without a lot. Yes, sometimes I forget why we are living life this way and I have a morning like this morning to remind of what is really important. Yes, there are days we fall into bed exhausted from all the digging/gardening, creating, or cooking we've done. Yes, yes, yes. But there is a peace that fills all of us from living life this way.
You're a wise woman, Emily Ruth.
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