The Simple Life

This morning I was lying in bed thinking about today's entry and I thought, "I'll do something about simplicity." I got up and as I brushed my teeth I could hear the 2 older kids in the kitchen downstairs up to something. They are often 'up to something'. Being very creative minded (which I love), they are always coming up with some sort of pretend play, that unfortunately ALWAYS involves about a million small pieces of something (which I don't love). Tiny plastic animals, tiny dolls, tiny gems (anything that sparkles they call a gem), tiny rocks, tiny bits of paper...you get the picture. They are always arranged in an elaborate manner, covering a large expanse in a high traffic area, like directly in front of the bathroom door or the refrigerator. One may not disturb the set-up without bearing the penalty of a loud wailing sound.


"Mommmmmmmm! You just stepped on the queen and they're having a party for her and all the loyal subjects are dancing and making cakes and eating candy and now they have to bring the queen to the hospital!!!" Which then gets them excited about the idea of creating a hospital. "Mom, do you have a box?"

So the 'mess' stays for a while and we all just navigate around the party. Unless I'm in a bad mood. Then the party gets booted to the next kingdom. It's the price I have to pay for having creative minds around me I guess. I was always a total slob growing up and now I want to marry my label maker, but that's a whole different entry onto itself.

Anyway, back to simplicity. I equate simplicity with peace and tranquility. I don't get much of those things around here these days as you can gather from the whole 'tiny pieces of stuff everywhere' thing I just wrote about. Tiny pieces of things are clutter to me, and clutter makes me crazy. I hate it. I can't focus. It is definitely NOT the embodiment of simplicity. Yet I often live with clutter around me. Not just from the kids, but from my husband and even myself. We moved into this house a year ago last week and I STILL have boxes, full of god-knows-what, sitting on the floor of my office next to me right now. I don't even want to go into what's up in the attic.

Thought/fact of the day:
Grab your simplicity in moments
and savor them.

What I've come to terms with over the past 10 years is this. It will be a while; years most definitely, before I'll be able to sit down and, for example, write a blog entry without getting up 13 times to break up a fight, make some oatmeal, dole out a time-out, or wipe someone's behind (boy I can't wait until I can stop doing that!) So for now, I try to recognize the MOMENTS of simplicity. Alot of the time they're less than a minute and easy to miss, but I try to recognize them and remember them later amid the chaos. A moment drinking coffee and watching the birds and rabbits out my kitchen window. Waiting for the bus in the afternoon on a gorgeous day. Watching a worm burrow into the dirt with the kids. Looking at my spotless kitchen before it gets trashed again. (OK, that one is a real rarity, but wow, it's a memorable one when it happens!)

So find a moment of simplicity today and savor it. That's the good stuff in life!