Start with peace

'Twas a good week and a busy week. 

Routines got neglected. 

Stuff got messed up. That's life. 

And yes, I'm aware I'm speaking for more than just myself...

So where do we start? 

• There's that pile of "new" things that came in from the storage unit last week and didn't find a home yet. Most of it doesn't deserve a home - at least not here. Surely someone else could make better use of it. But that takes time - to sort and to haul away.
• Then there's that stuff that got pulled out of that tight spot in the closet where it was stored away - and that’s right; it never got returned to its spot - so it is piled up somewhere else.
• There’s the pile of fresh laundry that I so energetically got washed and dried - and even folded! - early this morning, but is still waiting to be put away.
• There are the books from the library who do not yet have a temporary home - because this was the first time we got books from this library. 
• There are groceries waiting to be put away. There's a fridge to clean out. 
• Then there’s the closet that I have been wanting to organize. Things have been going in there since we moved in but I have yet to set it up the way I want it. The same is true of my desk drawers…
• Oh, and our storage cage down in the dungeon! That needs major attention!
• There are so, so many things that I need/want to get done. Makes me tired just thinking about it. 

How about you?
Have you had a busy week?

Has anything been neglected around your house?

Which things need your attention?

Do you have a strategy to tackle them?

For me it starts with my attitude. Will I let the piles discourage me? Will I give up? I do have a choice here. I could choose to pick one thing and get 'er done. But which one thing? And will it really make a difference?

For the sake of my emotional health, I know that I need to make a pretty big dent in the way things are. I need to find some of my good routines and get them back in action. I really need to tackle those desk drawers. But sometimes you just gotta’ go for the obvious. In this case, I think that means the visible. 

I need some visible peace. I need to focus on the things that I see every day. To create some visible calm. That means getting stuff "hidden" behind closed doors. Yes, I need to open those doors and do the real work behind them. Yes, I know the danger of putting things out of sight which may lead to them never getting done. But I also know that I have to start somewhere. And I know that feeling overwhelmed is not a very effective motivator. So for this moment I believe it is time to banish the visible clutter.

So here I go to create a bit of beauty. Or at least a point of peace. To transform at least one spot of chaos into calm...

And you?

Is there one task that would create a bit of peace and calm in your life?

Would that make it a better day?

Or is there another strategy that will work better for you?

The first month back

Once upon a time we were driving along rice paddies and rows and rows of tall palm trees on a palm oil plantation. It had been a good winter in Las Galeras, a little town at the end of the road in the Dominican Republic. We had adjusted to the heat and humidity and maybe even the mosquitos. We were happy with our decision to live closer to town this time. How fun to be able to walk into town each day - for groceries, for French pastries or just to walk the beach. Many days I made more than one trip to town and sometimes accomplished all of the above. But on that particular day we were enroute to the airport to fly home to the good ole’ USA - and had already turned our thoughts to the new happenings on our calendar and especially to our family. 

Once back in Michigan, the first week saw us both sick with whatever stomach bug was making the rounds and surviving an ice storm in our little RV but we also had time to hang out with our kids and grands and both of our moms. We also checked out an apartment that was immediately available to rent - and we decided to take it! Somewhere in there, life got  busy. Soon we were choosing a few things from the RV to take to the new place and moving things from our storage unit. Many of the bins and boxes have not been opened since we moved out of the big house four years ago. We succeeded in emptying the storage unit well before the deadline. Major accomplishment.

And THEN we cared for grand-kids for five days while Mom and Dad attended a conference out-of-state. That week brought great fun, much laughter, lots of hugs, AND total exhaustion for Gramp and Gram.

But, oh what fun to be available to do that! This is exactly why we made the decision to stay put for awhile - to help out with these little guys and just to be near enough to enjoy special occasions with them. Events like a super-hero race!

So here we are - entering a new phase of life. Looking forward to good times ahead. Enjoying the chance to settle down and stay in one place for awhile. Having fun exploring our new community. But no, we are not abandoning travel. To the contrary Bob has already been studying maps to plan the next adventure, but this time with a small home base to come back to in between.

And yes, we will continue to wander about here and there. Now and then.

…

In many ways living in Las Galeras is quite different than living in Michigan. And yet some things are actually pretty similar.

• While in the tropics, I was always hot and sweaty; here I can enjoy wearing sleeves and extra layers.
• While there our schedule was pretty simple; here things can get hectic if we let them.
• Down there I could walk along the beach every morning. Not here.
• Down there we did not have a vehicle - so we walked wherever we needed to go. Here we can jump in our truck and drive pretty much anywhere.
• Down there; I missed my grand-kids badly. Now I can get to them within an hour or two.
• Down there I hauled the laundry down the stairs to wash it and then back up when it was clean. Here in our new apartment, I do pretty much the same routine.
• While in Las Galeras, we could seldom get ice cream; here we can find about any flavor we want.
• Down there we didn’t drink the water; here at our daughter’s house in Flint, Michigan, we don’t drink the water either. At least we try to remember not to…

Settling in - it's time

In the couple weeks since we returned from the tropics we have survived an awful stomach bug and an ice storm - both while camping in our little RV. We have also enjoyed reconnecting with all of our kids and both of our moms.

And now we are moving into a new apartment. That's right; after being nomads for a couple years, we have signed a lease. We are making a commitment to stay in one place for awhile.

Why?

Because it's time.

It’s time.

Time to settle down for awhile.

It’s time to settle in and stay put for a season - for a year at least. 

Time to enjoy the four seasons. I’ve missed them and it’s time.

It’s even time to hibernate through a winter after being snow birds for four years. 

It’s time to unpack.

Time to gather all of our stuff in one place so we can finally finish the sorting and organizing and down-sizing. We began the process nearly five years ago and we have made some amazing progress, but still there is to much to deal with.

After living in the big house for 40 years where we had 2800 sq. ft. of space AND several out buildings we ended up living in a 28-foot long RV - with the rest of our stuff crammed into a 10x20 storage unit.

When we made that tumultuous move out of the big house, we had run out of time and energy. Rather than finishing the down-sizing process, too many things got stuffed into bins and boxes and got hauled to one shed and another and then the basement at the log cabin before landing in the storage unit.

It’s time to finish that process. To wrap it up. To go through those bins and boxes and to get rid of more stuff. To let go of the stuff that we don’t need and that holds no real value for us. 

It’s time to stop shuffling and shuttling boxes here and there. It’s time to open them up and really deal with the stuff. It’s time to pick up an item and actually make a decision about it  - and then another. Hopefully it’s time to realize that the entire contents of some boxes can go - to a new home or to the trash - with simply a farewell wave from me. Oh, wouldn’t that be nice?!?

…

It’s also time to be near the grandkids and to be available to babysit on the spur of the moment or to pick them up from school or daycare when needed.

...

Two of our original reasons to down-size and sell the farm were so that we could be free to be near our grandkids and so that we could travel and explore a bit before deciding whether and where we might want to settle down. We have done both - not enough time being near our grandkids yet but more than enough exploring for now. So it’s time.

…

And it’s the right place. We are just a few minutes from two of them and less than two hours from the other. We can get there easily.

There are lots of other reasons why this is the right place for this time - some of which we are only beginning to realize.

But it’s time and we are settling in with big sighs of satisfaction and contentment.