I Almost Forgot There Were Horses

When we first embarked on our country adventure, our spot was just a corn field.   The country offered so much promise.  The house slowly went up brick by brick, window by window.  My husband impressed me with his skill and craftsmanship.  Our neighbors down the way have horses and I noticed at 4: 30 every afternoon they would run, from one end of the fence down to the other.  I couldn't help but think of how fortunate I was.  Time went on and there was work to be done.  The babies came and the draw on my attention was never ending.  Little by little I took less notice of the horses that once caused me to marvel.  Oh sure, I knew they were there, but I was too busy to really remember.  Why did I forget?  After all...wasn't it my responsibility to fix the world?  To send out ultra responsible, productive children into society?  No, not really.  I mean ..yeah, we all need to raise our children to the best of our know how,  but I'm pretty sure there must be some kind of delicate balance.  Lately, I'm becoming slightly more aware of my fleeting youth, it bugs me a little.  At the same time, I feel like a part of my mind is opening to remind me of whats really important.  It's not the immaculate house or the perfect kids or even the perfect marriage.  It's learning to love those that are placed in your life and to embrace the beauty of the journey.  It's looking past yourself and the imperfections of those around you.  Its remembering the horses when you have kids arguing in the background and there's clutter at your feet.  I sat there today and watched those horses being carefree this morning and it just reminded me, that there is greatness, when you choose to find it.

wanna be happy?...lower your standards!

STANDARDS...such a lofty word..presses us onto greatness.  Raise the bar on excellence, set your standards high!  High enough so that you're a miserable mess trying to attain excellence.....hmmm...  How many of us live at that place in life?  Oh my gosh,   house cant ever be a mess,  kids gotta be primped and preened,  meals hafta be perfect, mans gotta be freshly loved( wink, wink).  Good Lord, can we give ourselves a break already?!  What kinda fairy tale existence is the above described scenario?  Is there anyone who can do it all and not need a Tylenol drip at the end of the day?  Not only are we hard on ourselves, we are hard on each other.  Snarky comments made behind the backs of people,  about their homes, their kids, their whatevers....My thought?  Lets lower the bar, lets let go of the vanity, lets have love and support for our fellow girl  and lets love ourselves a little more.  You cant fold clothes today? Who cares?  You cant clear up the counter today? so what?  you wanna dance to the beat farmers with your kid instead of wash the dishes? do it!  you wanna lay on the floor and pet your 11.5 year old dog? do it! cuz you're not gonna be able to when he's gone.  What?  afternoon delight  with messy hair and bad breath?  go for it! That man ain't looking for a playboy model, he wants you!!  Not one single person has it together, but if we can just get real with each other and ourselves, I believe that would be a great place to start!

Of Dry Shaves and Traveling Laundry Piles...

I love Christmas.  What's not to love?  The twinkling lights, the holiday movies (over and over and over again) etc.  Everything is spectacular and pretty.  I liken Christmas to a great meal.  Preparation leading up to a fabulous meal is time consuming yet exciting.  Finally, we serve up this feast or in this case Christmas joy.  We wait for that look...the twinkle in the eye.  You know somehow by that look, you have raised the bar on Christmas (or on meal prep) once again.  Okay...that is all an exaggeration, but I think you get my point.  Here's my issue with Christmas...December 26.  "But that's the day after Christmas..."you say.  Exactly right!  What does this all have to do with dry shaves and laundry piles you ask?   I'm getting to that.  Just like a great meal ends, so does a great event. What you are left with is mess....you know what I'm talking about...dirty plates, pine needles, wrapping paper and the like.  Little pieces that kids leave on the floor inviting you to step on in an oblivious stupor.  This scenario tends to zap my mental motivation, somehow in the recesses of my mind, a sign flashes....you will never get this cleaned up, the counters are filled with hardening Christmas cookies and questionable pies.  I switch gears and get into survival mode...I lower my standards and shoot for keeping the dishes clean, vacuuming and doing the laundry.  If you have read my blog at all you probably know that actually folding the laundry is not my strong point.  Oh sure, it eventually gets folded, but this is actually a process that involves me laying on said pile, daydreaming and eventually having kids run through any progress.  Somehow,  in the midst of all this, you must find time to shave, lest your husband think he has resorted to nesting with a porcupine.  I resort to dry shaving....sure, it burns for about a day and a half and you might get a couple of nicks but it will suffice....oh well ....I'm beginning to think the true meaning of  Spring cleaning is for people like me that don't actually finish winter cleaning 'til Spring......