Gratitude and Thankfulness-Day Six

Good Morning Friends,

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Today I'm grateful for home. Notice I didn't say 'a home'-which in these cold temps I'm ever so thankful for a warm place with four walls and a roof to keep me and my family snug as bugs. I'm talking about 'home'. A place where I am needed and presence is required.

When you have children it's easy to say "Oh sure, I have home. I need to raise my kids blah blah blah". But am I always present? As a mostly Stay-At-Home-Mom, this new calling and my required presence took some serious adjustment. Don't get me wrong-nothing is more amazing than watching your little beans grow into bigger beans. But sometimes those little beans drive you bananas and staying engaged is just too darn hard. Some days there is a tiny part of me that dreams of living out of a backpack for a year while traveling around the world and not having to watch the clock because you have babysitter/bedtime/school deadlines. Often times I dream of just having two days by myself in the woods in a cabin with just my knitting, books, coffee pot and a warm bed. Ahhh bliss.

In a fast paced and hectic world with crazy schedules and knowing that more nuttiness induced by the holidays is just around the corner a place that requires you to be present is a good thing. My challenge for you is to think about ways to be present and to create 'home'. No life partners or children required. First you need a place where you feel safe and happy. A big budget or a space that looks like a Japanese Spa is unnecessary. Your current space may drive you crazy but say a prayer of thanks that you have a place to hang your hat (or to store your yarn stash) and focus on the positive. If you need to, spend some time creating and tinkering to create a space that will give you peace of mind but then move on. 'Home' rather than 'a home' is the focus. What will require you to be present? Seriously consider adding something that requires your tender care and attention. It could be a plant or a small container garden with herbs or veggies, a rock garden that you rearrange every day, a fish or go crazy and buy a farm and get some chickens! If the thought of caring for anything living makes you weak in the knees consider cultivating a hobby and commit to spending some time on it every day. This could be something as simple as writing (take the NaNoWriMo challenge), or learning a new handcraft or lighting a candle and committing to 5 minutes of morning and evening meditation or committing to reading a spiritual text every night for 20 minutes. Find something that requires a little humble effort on your part and that requires you to be really present. I promise it will give you joy in return.

Buon Monday!!