Today, I got up with Mr. Handsome, knowing I needed to be ready to go to town when he headed in for work. Both he and our second-born work in our beautiful downtown on the bricks 3 miles from home. What a blessing.
You may or may not know that we have 4 drivers living at home and we have 2 working vehicles. 3 of those drivers have jobs and school. I'm the extra with neither. This puts me in the delightful position of being available to help everyone get where they need to be when they need to be there. So last night, 3 of my girls spent the night about an hour away. Kath, (second-born with a down-town job) had to be at work this morning, so she was home by midnight last night. We sat up to chat for another hour, btw.
The original plan was for me to ride to town w/Mr. Handsome so I could pick up the car Kath drove to work earlier so I would be able to meet the other 3 girls halfway on their return home. I followed that plan, and enjoyed spending some time chatting with Kath and her boss for awhile before taking the car. I bought some groceries and just reveled in having my own wheels. Then I got a text telling me that the girls had secured a ride home from the sleepover. Cool. Now what?
I decided to continue my plan of the year to take back my cluttered spaces in the house. I think it will take a year to complete the task (can it really be completed?). I cleaned out the 'fridge. I organized things, putting the condiments together, the salsas together, the oriental sauces, the Greek Yogurt and sour cream, . . . . you get the idea. I got a little OCD and turned all the labels forward. I wiped the sticky spots off the shelves. I felt so accomplished!
I moved on to the cupboard below our butler's pantry. It's a glorified hallway where there are cupboards, a counter, a small bar sink, and our coffee station for the house. It's where we keep our tea, cookbooks, vitamins, cereal, chips/crackers, "battery" drawer, and zip-locks and parchment paper. I focused on only one space, the cupboard below the sink. Do you know, we had no less than 8 sunblock, suntan, and skincare bottles there? I found tye-dye powders, trash bags, multiple vitamin bottles, thermoses, water filters, Kleenex tissues, cleaning supplies, and thermos mugs down there. No wonder it was such a mess! Now the freshly cleaned shelf liner can actually be SEEN! That's a beautiful thing.
It was 2:45 when I set out for my power walk. I really am determined to keep up with walking 4.2 miles in an hour or less three times a week. I don't enjoy it really. It doesn't energize me, it kinda drains me, but I KNOW it's good for me, so I take solace in that knowledge. I got a call from my Sweetie before I reached the halfway mark that he was off his lunch shift and headed out to run some errands. I knew I didn't have a hot meal prepared for him, but I could make a killer sandwich when he got home. I did. I made a turkey pastrami, oven-roasted turkey, romaine, avocado, red onion, Tasty-Lee tomato, provolone, on rye with mayo and spicy mustard amazing-wich. So yummy!
I can't say how proud I am of the fact that I arranged to get together with friends for drinks and snacks at Sweetgrass Dairy downtown tonight. We met with two couples we've known for over 20 years at 6pm in a noisy happinen' place. We shared laughs and stories and fun for nearly two hours. I happened to be set between the guys, and since the environment was so loud, I missed out on most of the ladies' conversation, and, instead, got in on the guys'. I actually enjoyed it. Men know how to shed the deep and important relational stuff and just enjoy life. Call it shallow if you like, I'd rather think of it as freeing. I kept reading the lips of my girlfriends as they talked, and I knew they were speaking of family and relationships and gatherings and such, while the guys talked about beer and memorable trips and work experiences and jokes. I have to say, I really enjoyed the lighter side of life for a change (even though I really wanted to hear about my friends and their kids and parents).
So what did I do creatively today? I "followed my heart," to coin a phrase. I had the house to myself, and I still worked to clean it up. It was what I wanted to do. I am on a mission. A mission to re-claim my home and my life. I've been stolen from through unfortunate experiences and circumstances, and I'm not going to play the victim any longer. I finally have the energy to do more than survive. I'm taking back the lost and stolen ground. I'm moving forward.
And that's something to celebrate. Here's to moving forward!
