Life in the Slow Lane

Here we are living this modern life, only we're trying to do so at a different pace.

We spend a lot of time at home reading, doing art, talking, laughing and playing.

We aren't involved in outside activities.

So why is it that most days for me often feel like a blinding whirlwind? It's as if I'm on constant overdrive, sinking in the quicksand of daily to-dos.

When I was a young girl I thought I'd never grow up to do housework.

"I'm going to have a maid," was a constant retort to my parents scolding about my lackluster dusting and bed-making skills.

Fast foward to 34; I still don't have that maid.

So I make beds - much better than I once did - and clean toilets and showers. I attempt to dust and then fold endless laundry after it piles up for days on the couch.

The housework alone, especially all the papers that are part of homeschooling that litter every floor in the house, can be downright maddening.

I often think if I lived in some glamorous city I would have the money to have that maid. She would be there to clean that Park Avenue penthouse and would travel with us to our sprawling country estate. And if there were others around to clean and cook then I would be able to take a breath and enjoy it all more fully.

Maybe I would, but that's not my life.

In the constant busyness that comes with being a mom, I still strive to provide a slower pace for these children that have become my life and have made it so much richer.

I think I've said this before, but it bears repeating. Our pastor, once commenting on the daily grind of life, offered this quote: "I may get tired in the work, but I never get tired of the work."

My life is here, in this house that I have a love-hate relationship with. My life revolves around these blessed children almost all day every day of the week. My life has become about attempting to create a spirit of adventure in them through the love of good books, delicious food, interesting and often impromptu travels and solid family relationships.
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My life looks a whole lot different than I thought it would as a young girl. It certainly looks a whole lot different than I thought it would when I was a 20-something that filled each day with endless activities and plans, even though I was stressed beyond belief by it all.

Now I know it's this pace I was seeking all along, even though it comes with lots of messes and loads of housework.