Month: April 2014

Getting It Done

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I have continued to write about having time with family and friends.
I am getting it done this month!
Last weekend, I spent time snuggling a newborn and hanging out with a three year old. I was privileged to be allowed to keep my great nieces for their parents to go to an event.
I also had his birthday dinner combined with our daughter’s at her house.
Our children and some of our dearest friends in the world were with us for supper. Homemade lasagna and home baked cupcakes were the menu features.
The upcoming weekend will be spent cooking shrimp gumbo, ham, green beans, cheese “taters”, yeast bread and some pies. I have told all the children to come whenever they could and stay as long as they want.
The next weekend will be more birthday time with my daughter on her actual birthday. She has requested a special menu.
It is what I want to have happening. Making and taking time to gather and laugh and talk. We will play some, too. I am not sure what all we will get into, but fun will be the prerequisite.

Doing, not just wishing and hoping. Acting, not just planning and scheming. Savoring, not just rushing and pushing. Loving, not just surviving and struggling.

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Things to Do

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What really important thing am I forgetting to do?

I have that question written on the icebox. There are so many levels to the answers for it. From simple chores to life purpose fulfilling goals.

The forgetting part is the tough one.  I feel I can’t quite remember what I am supposed to do or I haven’t quite found the answer. It seems like I am looking through a veil. That if I could ever get the veil open or if the fog would lift I could see clearly.

If I could ever get to the top of that magnolia tree, I could see the answer:  What really important thing am I supposed to be doing? When I was a kid, there was a huge magnolia in the edge of the woods near the top of the hill overlooking the river valley. I never was big enough, strong enough, or brave enough to climb further than the lowest limb. I always believed that if I could get to the top and look out, I would have the answer. I am not even sure of the question. It may not be what am I supposed to be doing. Maybe it is something completely different. Maybe there isn’t really a question, just a clear vision.

I am not talking about finding a cure for cancer or making a major discovery of some sort. I am talking about my life here in my world of Town Bluff. Right here at this place I call home. Maybe I’m not really forgetting. Maybe I am doing most of it. Maybe there is no clear vision to be had, but rather a learning to seek without fear and without reservation.

Gardening, canning, cooking, reading, writing, growing houseplants, painting, coloring, cleaning, mowing, raking, tending flower beds, making a pretty garden, raising cows, tending to dogs, cats, fish. Spending time with my family and friends. Entertaining. Movies, games, fishing, hunting, swimming. These things are my life, now.

The magnolia tree is gone. There is no longer a place to climb to see the answer. I will have to keep seeking the answer from right here on the ground. What am I supposed to be doing? Am I doing today what will grow me rather than crush me? Am I creating today the life I want to lead? And then tomorrow, I will have to create it again, building on today. One beautiful present time. One beautiful moment connected to the next. Living is what I am supposed to be doing.

Living, loving, giving.