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The Update

1/27/2018

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One of the winter projects at our house is updating the powder room. As we look to the future and the time where we sell our now too big house, we realize we have some work to do. What was once a perfectly good decorating decision is now what people strolling through the house at some date in the future will look at with dismay. I watch enough HGTV to have figured that out!

I have the task of stripping off the wallpaper. As I get into ripping  the top layer off, my mind wanders back to the time when the wallpaper was first applied. The kids were all little. This house was an upgrade from the old farmhouse we lived in previously. I was busy working full time and raising a family - where did I ever find the energy? The bright flowery print matched the teal tiles perfectly and was a quick and economical way to brighten up a room that has seen a constant stream of family running in and out. Some of the family faces are the same, although changed with age. Some belong to sons-in-law and grandchildren barely dreamed of when the paper was applied. And some family faces are now absent marking just another phase in the passage of time. 

For just a moment it seems a shame to rip that paper off and change it all. But it isn’t the absence of the paper that makes the change. The changes have already taken place and the powder room is just catching up. Getting ready, as we all should be, for the next phase of life. Getting the update for the next 25 years.
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The Difference

9/19/2017

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This week I finally got around to a task that I’ve meant to do for years. I hemmed my living room curtains. Maybe this doesn’t seem like a big deal. After all I had cut them off years ago so they weren’t dragging on the floor and although the cut wasn’t perfectly even, there is furniture in front of them so you really couldn’t see it that much. But I always wanted to finish them off with a hem.

I lost count of how many times I must have walked past those curtains and the thought of hemming them came into my mind. But other things seemed more important. And I continued to walk past. But here is the truth. Once I stopped and did the task it didn’t take very long. It looks really nice and gives me so much satisfaction each time I walk by and realize it’s been taken care of. The difference was just taking the time to actually do it. 

​And so it is with what I choose to do each day. People look at the amount of crafts in my booth at a fair, a handmade gift I give or the size of my garden and comment “How do you have the time to do this?” The answer is not that I have more hours in my day. Or that I have some magical formula to get things done faster than anyone else. I have no minions working secretly in a closet in my house. The difference is I just do it. And that, at times, is what defines success. So whatever you’ve been walking past and been thinking about doing, just stop. Do it. You will feel better. Just a small change can make a positive difference in life.

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Sunday Morning

7/8/2017

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Sunday mornings get off to a slower start. Usually my better half makes breakfast. I get to sip coffee, maybe walk out to the garden or do a quick chore while he cooks. Sunday breakfast food is also something more special. There is actually time to cook something as we are not running off to daily work in opposite directions. 

I looked at my plate last week and it was so pretty. The food looked delicious and I was really hungry. But it is more than just the food. It is taking the time to relax and move at a slower pace that does me so much good. Out of necessity I have often worked multiple jobs, looked after kids and shared household responsibilities. When life is so full of demands for so many years it is possible to forget how to just be in the moment. And that would be a tragedy. So I am grateful for Sunday morning and the chance it gives me to be mindful of how small slivers of time are meant to be enjoyed.

​So this weekend take some time to find your “Sunday morning” moment.

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