This morning while I stood at my back door sipping a cup of tea I watched a squirrel sit in our tree. We only have one. The squirrel seemed to be awaking with the morning. It rubbed little saucer eyes and stretched where it had laid huddled for a long night nap. It scuttled up a branch, tasted the fattening buds, and proceeded to the whole way to the top most place it could be in the tree.
At that moment, I felt I had a lot in common with that squirrel. We are all just climbing a tree, and just like that squirrel I find myself still sitting at the base where the tree splits and extendeds many different ways. We've all got a goal, we've got to get to the top.
But at that serene moment, my three year old screamed and my five year old yelled "MOM!". A saw a flash of red go up the stairs and very unhappy five year old chasing after. I looked back at the split of the base of the tree. Above on the hanging branch the squirrel sampled his new found fare. I sighed, put my tea and trodded off to bring peace back to the house.
Life is like a thousand branches, some thick, some thin, some snap at the slightess pressure. Whethere we are hanging by a limb in our career, climbing to reach further in our social ranking, or lounging between splits, our base continues to be our foundation. My base is my family, and my branches have become my many interest. I'm learning to prune them and rake away the dead leaves.
This week I realized my accounting degree may be great for doing the family finances, but writing has really more of whom I am. Details bore me, creativity adores me, and clocks just don't like me. But I manage to arrive, late, to everything. Perhaps that is why it took me until now, the last few months of being twenty - something, to realize what I am supposed to be when I grow up.
Not that being a mother and a wife, isn't three full time jobs and the center of my life already, mind you. I signed up this week to go back to school. I'm going to start by taking an english class. You'll probably make a few notices by end of summer that some of my grammer and puntuation, and spelling will have improved. Now only if I could get the arrive fifteen minutes early routine down. LOL, I guess we'll just have to see.
The past few months I've spent putting our new home in order, and continue to do so. So far I have painted my office, green, and my bedroom, blue and silver for my wedding colors. There is so much more to do, and along the way I have been decluttering. By May I expect to have a grand yard sale. I met a woman today who has no tv, and lives without it in harmony. I grew envious for I shall miss my WILDFIRE series soon when it ends this season. With that being said I probably don't need a tv once it's not on anymore. It may give me more time to write.
Part of living "green" is decluttering our homes. What can you live without? What can't you part with? When my kids toys seem to be everywhere, too many for the box they are stashed, I sort them. I hide away the excess and after two months if a particular toy is not requested, then I donate the excess toys to my local thrift shop. What can you hide away for a month or two? Then go back to it and decide if you really need it after all? I think my closet needs a little more cleaning this week. I'll let you know.