Happy Spring

It's the first day of SPRING.  

I didn't get every single thing checked off my Old Man Winter list- but just three shy of doing so, ain't bad.  

I really had to push myself to do these tasks- it wasn't something I wanted to do- but I have to say, having checked some of these long neglected chores off the list has made me much happier.  (AFTER they were done, mind you.)   

My life had gotten pretty frayed around the edges and I didn't realize just how much until I started forcing myself to look closely.    The grime was real, my friends.

But, as I knew it would- much of the work that I have done has already been undone.  The dust continues to settle, the toys become unorganized, lincoln logs roll under couches, mail gets tossed on top of the fridge, and those drawers with all the utensils facing the proper way? Yeah, that stopped being a thing the very next dishwasher load.  

Life never stays tidy.  Not when you are truly living.  

Finding the balance of taking dominion of my domain while also embracing Proverbs 14:4 eludes me most days.   But it is a necessary paradox.  

I'd rather have a whole disorderly house full of joy and chaos and dust-bunnies (and INCREASE and STRENGTH!!) than a disordered house full of bad attitudes and grumps about the chaos and mess. 

It's pretty clear the Lord would too.

A few observations I've made recently:

~ Perhaps canned dill pickles from 2015 are something worth dumping.  Yes, even if the seal is still good.

~ I'm not certain but I may be a recovering cotton yarn addict.  I haven't bought any in a long time. (years?) But I still had two HUGE baskets worth at the end of sorting my yarn this past month.  (That's it.  EVERYONE is getting a dishcloth for Christmas this year.  THE END.)

~ I discovered THREE overdue library books that I had to pay replacement fees a few months back for... and I DIDN'T find one book that is currently racking up those charges again. (Woe!  WOE!)

 ~ I picked out the dusty A Year In Provence that has been patiently sitting on my bookshelves for year, awaiting its' time to shine... and shine, it does. After a lot of heavy reads lately, this was just what I needed.  Peter Mayle is such a good storyteller.  A bit foreign, a bit foody, a bit memoir, a lot hilarious.  It scratches all my itches.  How many more happy moments are awaiting me on my shelves?!

~ I recently picked out Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell (from said bookshelves) and was thoroughly underwhelmed.  Which led me to wonder... how many more unwhelming books are using up valuable real estate on our bookshelves?

~ If you sneak Things-Which-Nobody-Cares-About into a donation bag, you had better do it in a BLACK garbage bag because if it is seen, it will immediately become The-Most-Important-Treasure-One-Can't-Live-Without.  This is true of little children AND husbands.

~ I began a crochet project... which I haven't done in forever.  I started a baby bonnet to give to one of the many new babies coming into the world.  I did this knowing that it was dumb... because who will want a yarn baby bonnet in the summer?  (I have no illusions that I would finish it before then.) But also- baby yarn bonnets are darling.  And it will use up the rest of the yarn I had used to make a matching one for little baby Moses.  And... baby bonnets.  And... babies.  And.... waaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.

~ Homemade sourdough crackers are delicious.

~ Hard relationships are hard.  But God is merciful and gracious and kind to those who persevere.

~ Moses makes the cutest four year old doodles ever.

~ If you wait for months for the perfect time to make soap, just as you reach the critical moment of emulsifying fats and lye, you positively WILL get distracted with More Important Things...   

~ Judah makes the best reading nests ever.

~ The smell of lilies in March might be the best smell in the world.