End Life Pollution

Photo courtesy of makelessnoise on Flickr

The other night, as we were settling into bed, we turned out the light.  Just then, we noticed a faint glow coming from downstairs.  We had left a light on, and one of us would have to leave the warmth of bed to trudge back downstairs and turn it off.

It’s so easy to overlook one small light when all the other lights in the house are bright.  Our lives are like that, too.

If we’re ever going to see the light, we need to turn on the dark.

Sometimes, You Really Need a Belt

The other day, as Steve was getting dressed for a meeting with a client, his one and only black belt ripped right in half.

I glanced over to see him standing in the closet, holding up the two severed halves, a look of bewilderment on his face.  It had been wearing down for a while, but I guess I didn’t realize how desperate the situation had become.

The pants he was wearing wouldn’t stay up properly without a belt, and so one needed to be procured – ideally, in time for his client meeting.

{Smudgy Eyes}

It’s been a while since my last post.  I need to apologize to Jessica and also say “thank you” for carrying this blog over the past few weeks.  Life sure has been busy, in good ways — but busy.

As the year continues to roll through, our family is finding frustration in this challenge.  Can we stretch the rules a bit here?  Find a little wiggle room there?  The temptation to collect is strong; so much stronger than we realize.  And yet, at the very same time, on so many days, I just want to sell it all.  Everything.  Living only with the mere essentials, life would be lighter.  Easier.  Right?  In some ways, yes.  But honestly, I enjoy many things that bring simple joy.  Yet, Nothing New confronts me daily and asks, “Do you really love this?  Is it worth the real estate in your living space?  Does it bring happiness?”  As I type, my husband asks,  ”How can people love a lamp or pillow?  That’s just stupid!”  Yes, so many commercials tell us that we should love our stuff.  I’m sure that I’ve loved a pillow somewhere in my life.  Love may be too strong of a word for something that can’t love you back.  Just a thought.

Filling the Empty Space

As I add less “stuff” to my life, I create empty space.  Hallelujah, now I’m free!!  …right?

There’s room in the house that might have otherwise been taken up by more toys.  Valuable real estate in the closet I would have filled with new clothes.  And, most importantly, time I might have spent shopping for more stuff.

Unfortunately, we must all face the scientific truth that “nature abhors a vacuum.”  When you create a space, it wants to get refilled.  In fact, it’s nearly impossible to stop this from happening.

Fortunately, I can choose how to refill that space.

Is it Sentimental or Just Stuff?

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. It also would have been my Grandma Jo’s 85th birthday. Because she was born on St. Patrick’s day, we have always assumed that this automatically makes us Irish.

Every year, I make sure to wear green, and my outfit is not complete without my little shamrock pin, a gift from Grandma Jo. I honestly don’t remember when she gave it to me, but every year when I pin it to my shirt, I think about her.

It’s a cute, goofy little pin, and it’s not my usual style. But I know I could never get rid of it.

What is it that makes something sentimental? Why is it that, of all our possessions, there are a few that we hold onto not because of their intrinsic value, but because of the memories they evoke?

Well, Maybe Just One New Thing This Year…

Hello, little peanut!

The “Nothing New” challenge is about to have an interesting new twist for our family.

Sometime around the first of October, we will be welcoming something very new into our home…a precious new life!

That’s right:  I’m pregnant.

This year we will become a family of four.  Henry will become a big brother.  I will experience the joy of motherhood doubled.

{Free Love} Laura’s Last Thoughts

The art of love… is largely the art of persistence. ~Albert Ellis

Is it possible to fail at love? After day 23, I feel like I gave up on our 28 Days of Free Love challenge. Maybe I just got tired. Maybe I just felt like my way of showing love was not enough. Before the month of February began, I made a list of all the things I wanted to do. Writing letters of reconciliation, meeting a new neighbor, helping a stranger, hosting a dinner party, calling long lost girlfriends, standing in the middle of a shopping mall offering free hugs. Sounds like great ways to spread some love! Did I do any of these? Does the thought count?