I miss having a garden. I miss going out to forage through the leaves and vines to find the treasures glistening in the sunlight. If you haven't ever been blessed to eat a tomato still warm from the sun, you truly won't appreciate that statement. And if you haven't... what in the WORLD are you waiting for?
There is nothing as wonderful as picking produce that you have grown, nurtured, and patiently guarded against every other critter in nature to savor at that perfect moment of ripeness. Not the slightly green, slightly unripened fruits and veggies that you gather at the market complete with directions on how to ripen them at home in either a paper bag or on the counter or window sill. I get it. I understand that the shelf life of truly fresh produce is short. Which makes the gift that much sweeter.
While Hubs and I were dropping presents off to our grand daughters this morning, our daughter gifted us with a bowl of fresh from the garden yellow cherry tomatoes! Heaven!
I would love to go and get some fresh fruits that I pick at the farmers market and make up some jams and such. My free time is so limited now that I have to pick and choose my passions.
Sitting with the girl this morning as she is talking about making candles, painting, maybe even doing something with t-shirts, I was feeling envious. I know this pace won't be going on forever. I know it is a temporary blip in time.
Maybe it's genetic, tied back to generations before, the need to gather, get ready for the cold, to be prepared for whatever my family might need. All of the season changes cause different feelings that go far deeper than simply memory. But the change from summer to autumn has the strongest pull. While everyone is going nuts about pumpkin flavored everything (no thank you by the way!) my soul feels the need to start cooking, creating, lining my nest with treasures to prepare for the winter ahead.
Yes, my brain completely understands that it is 2017 and if I need something I can go to the store, pick it up. I don't NEED to create warm blankets, can my own food, knit my own socks and sweaters I can run to any 24 hour store and get them at any time of the day.... but....
yeah... but... where is the joy in that? What type of satisfaction does that bring. My DNA refuses to move into this century. Where is the love that is careful put into every handmade stitch, each stir of the pot? The quickest way to my heart is to present me with something that you put time into creating, designing, cooking, etc. Why? Because to me it screams that you had to think about me the entire time that it was coming into existence. It's almost impossible not to.
I'm on call today, so I can't go far from work. I am thankful for this day. I just loaded a quilt on my quilting frame, I have the paint to paint my front door trim, I will soon be cooking a delicious dinner for the Hubs. I will make a grocery list to complete a few other "projects" that I am working on, surprises for loved ones. And I will simply enjoy the day.
Feel like I should be dusting off my bonnet and aprons. Getting the fishing poles ready to go and catch supper. It feels like a little house kind of day.
Oh I am beyond grateful that I have no need to wash my dishes or clothes by hand. Trust me, I do appreciate the modern "gadgets". But there are times, I long for a slower pace. I long for the busy work of the day to be replaced by meaningful work to care for my family and loved ones. I understand those were hard times, that we have it easier now.
Then I question... do we? Has all the "easier" ways of doing things fed into "idle hands are the devils workshop"?
I cherish that my daughter keeps her daughters (even the baby) and their friends busy. That they are always creating, doing, exploring and expanding. I am fairly sure that I will never hear that they have harmed someone. That there actions have lead to a crime. Honestly, she doesn't give them a chance to get that bored. They have chores, they are always creating something, and despite her loathing of messes, I did see the cookie kits that I bought for them sitting ready on the kitchen counter this morning.
I read the other morning of a child that was my mini-me's age when she started planting gardens to fed the hungry in her community. I have read of young men that go around their neighborhoods mowing lawns for elderly neighbors - not for pay - out of love and respect.
I fear that in making life too easy, we've taken away the joy that laboring can provide. That escape. Most of the people I know that are filled with love and happiness in life have "hobbies" (yep, that is what we seem to call what used to be life skills) that somehow tie back to doing for others. Even the simplest acts.
Well, I guess I've allowed my brain to wander around these thoughts too long. I need to get busy with the things that I want to do, the things that keep my hands from being idle, my brain from being stagnate, and my soul filled with the love and beauty that it needs. I really have spent the past week refilling my own bucket.
I've needed it. Are you a doer?
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