Sunday, May 08, 2016

Getting There

For the past three months, I've felt like I've been climbing a mountain and instead of getting closer to the top, I've actually slid downhill. With buying a house, my health, my husband's stint in the hospital, my dad's stroke, moving, work, a history conference, and then the latest - jury duty! - I've been swamped. Life usually isn't this busy for me.

But things changed today. Jury duty is over (and that is a whole 'nother post for another time), school will be out soon for my daughter (which means I won't have to do the school drop off and pick up ever again since she will be driving next year!), and the busy season at work is winding down, as well. May is always a busy month no matter how you slice it and this one was no exception.

Yesterday, after an early morning meeting, I came home and took a nap, then took the rest of the day to do whatever I wanted. I read, I surfed the internet, I watched some movies with my family, took a walk, and I relaxed.

Today I took my mother out for lunch for Mother's Day, and when I got home, I was seized with a sort of motivation I haven't had in a long time. There were several projects around the house that had fallen by the wayside for too long, and I felt it was high time they were addressed. I vacuumed the stairs, cleaned the washer and dryer, did laundry, went through the stack of paperwork that had accumulated on my desk, finally found a place for those books that had been sitting on my floor for forever, and found a spot for some of those items floating from one place to the next because I couldn't decide where they needed to go.

Best of all? I finally unpacked the last box sitting in my room, clearing a large amount of space in my already snug bedroom. That simple act unleashed a flood of relief within me. Who knew unpacking a box could be so freeing?

When I finished all my tasks today, I sat on the couch and at last felt as though I'd reached the top of the mountain. My soul is settled and at peace with my home and my life. For the past few months, I felt like a boxer on the ropes, taking the punches life kept doling out and trying desperately not to go down for the count. Now, I'm on my feet, standing my ground with my fists up, ready and alert.

I'd say that's a pretty good place to be.


4 comments:

  1. I loved your quote, "Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed how much more life she had time for." It's so true. Enjoy your reprieve. Your story inspires me to start cleaning out closets. It's amazing how much that frees up your brain. Thanks for sharing your experience. I can't wait to hear more about what happened with jury duty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that quote, too, and I probably need to get it tattooed on my arm or something so I remember it! I get caught up in the "busyness" of life far too much.

      Delete
  2. It's such a good feeling to finally get one's house in order, isn't it?

    That said--I moved into my house 12 years ago and there are still a couple of boxes in my basement that I haven't unpacked. I suspect I could just toss them at this point, since I clearly haven't needed whatever they contain. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Before we moved, I went through every box we had - and boy, did I end up tossing a bunch of stuff. I thought more than once, "WHY did I keep this???" It was so freeing to get rid of it!

      Delete

I love to hear from you!

THERE IT IS

 It's back.  And who knows for how long? But for this day, for this moment, all is bliss. I'm happy, excited for the future, ready a...