I hope that most of you are now enjoying a break from the rhythm of the school year. I know that I am. It has taken these wonderful little packages of a few minutes snatched here and there, peaceful moments in which to realize that it was a pretty stressful year in the Dean house: serious health concerns, busy days with a routine that some times wants to eat me up, the ups and downs of living in a family, the challenging tightrope walk of trying to integrate business with family and still maintain normalcy and to keep my priorities straight.
We have already enjoyed a lot of much needed break time, recovery time, after a very busy conference season and have felt very refreshed but do you, like me, find that even the breaks takes a lot of work? It seemed like a week of camping required 10 days of intensive prep and now, several days of recovery.
Yesterday, as we unpacked, cleaned and did the laundry, I was enjoying the return to my simple place under the laundry tree. I love snatching these moments with you here “Under the Maple Tree” but I feel like my laundry line is my measuring device for balance in my own little life: when I can stand under the blossoms of the crabapple tree and hang and take in our fresh garments I feel like time has slowed down. That is when I am not living at the pace of technology.
Yesterday, as we unpacked, cleaned and did the laundry, I was enjoying the return to my simple place under the laundry tree. I love snatching these moments with you here “Under the Maple Tree” but I feel like my laundry line is my measuring device for balance in my own little life: when I can stand under the blossoms of the crabapple tree and hang and take in our fresh garments I feel like time has slowed down. That is when I am not living at the pace of technology.
It is when life is rushed and there isn’t time that we throw a load in the washer and then the dryer (and then more often than not, deposit it in a heap on the landing upstairs waiting for some magical laundry fairy to come and fold it). When there is time for the details, time for the catching up and for keeping up, a margin for error in a marginless world, it is then that I find myself fussing over straight lines of lights, brights and darks. While little streams of light peak around and through the branches to gently caress linens that flap in the breeze.
So while fun busyness of beach days and visits and play helps to refresh our school year busyness of a different sort, I am so happy too for the “unbusy” moments when I can just peacefully hang out the laundry.
Wishing you restful, peaceful moments this week, Friends!
Blessings,
Cori
Oh I so understand hanging up laundry as a slower paced moment! I 'guard' my laundry line and enjoy hanging things in the breeze!
ReplyDeleteAfter surviving a busy VBS week, I'm hoping for some laundry line moments this week!
ReplyDeleteLadies,
ReplyDeleteI think I have moved from practical to obsessive as I was out at 10:30 this evening hanging things on the line in hopes that I can get through the laundry before we go camping for the weekend. Silly me. I would have been done earlier but I decided to restring the darn thing today thinking it would take me half an hour but it actually consumed two and a half hours. By the time I was half way through I was ready to scream and curse and at all the tangled, kinked,twisted line all over the yard. When it was finished I'd used up 200 feet of line and was 4 feet short! Sigh, story of my life.
(By the way, Vicki, we just survived VBS last week, too! I actually didn't have an integral part but enjoyed the chance to get a lot of Awana prep done for the new school year.)
Blessings Ladies, I hope that you enjoy your long weekend.
Cori