Sunday, December 11, 2011


One of my favorite things to do at the end of our very full days, is make my way to a small little desk situated inside of one of our closets.  Hidden away; this is the space where we keep our computer.  It's here each day that I love to come and reflect on the time that seems to be so quickly passing by us. Last week I wasn't able to make it into this space to write or reflect at all.  As a result, I was feeling uneasy and unbalanced.  A few more days without finding myself in this space passed and I noticed I was starting to get a little hard on myself and a bit cranky.  It occurred to me to shift my awareness.  If I hadn't been taking time to write and reflect on our days then what had I been doing?

When I stepped back with a deep breath to look around our kitchen, I could see so clearly what had been taking place.  Through a mound of pots stacked up next to the sink and flour sprinkled liberally all around, I was reminded that my family is on a journey towards planting ourselves more solidly in line with the things we believe are good and right for us.


Scanning around this messy kitchen of ours, I saw:

::  Bread rising near the fire.

::  Three little people happily playing together and apart, weaving in and out of each others play and space    learning how to get along and, equally as important, learning the right way to not get along.

::  A chicken.  Our very own chicken that we lovingly raised and "harvested," being thoroughly picked clean of meat and all the bones carefully laid aside for a nice bone broth.

::  Beautiful green onions just pulled from the greenhouse that morning nearly ready to join a handsome piece of chuck roast that found it's way into our freezer after being separated from its happy grass fed owner.

::  Some homemade yogurt trying to stay warm while doing its thing under some towels in the corner.

::  Kombucha, doing whatever it is that kombucha does in that lonely week or so it has before its ready.

::  And, our sourdough starter.  The beautiful new addition to our family happily bubbling away on the counter and smelling quite wonderful.

This, all going on in just that one small space in front of me.   These few things were enough to make me smile and allow me to gain a new perspective on what I should be doing.  Each one of these things for me requires time, patience and usually research!  There is no one to call up for a quick, "hey this dough isn't rising right, what's the deal?" or "This kombucha mother keeps sinking to the bottom should I.....?"  Instead, it's almost always getting out 5 books to figure out what's going on and then trying to find a second to sneak into our closet to Google something.

And so, this is where I've been.  Sometimes muddling my way through the things I'm not sure of and other times taking confident strides.
Either way, this is where I've been.  
And it's here where I will happily be tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!


2 comments:

  1. Sounds like you are Nourishing Traditions! Brings me back to a simpler time when I just had little ones at home. Now we are in the rush rush rush of older children moving out into the world. Middle schooler and high schooler have to develop their talents and find their place in the world, learning how to function in society. Someday maybe I will come full circle and maybe come back to the quiet of home, who knows? But reading your blog makes me yearn to go back. Sigh.

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  2. Lynn-You are exactly where you are supposed to be. I suppose we all are. And yes, we are Nourishing Traditions! You know it.

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