Yesterday while at work I just kept thinking how much I needed a vacation. But not the tropical island sit on a beach somewhere or travel and have great adventures kind; I've just been craving time off. You know, to just do nothing; not cook, not clean, not take care of someone else (I live with two very needy boys). I've just been tired.
When I got home from work yesterday the two needy boys were both gone. Okay I LOVE my child. I'd rather bring him to any sort of outing or event with me then leave him with someone. Half the time I avoid any sort of venture that would exclude him. I'm just that crazy sort of mother that wants to be with her kid as much as possible. BUT arriving home to an empty house yesterday was the exact sort of "vacation" I'd been craving (this arriving home to them gone thing pretty much never happens). I had no idea how long they'd be gone but I could tell they'd left for a walk since the car was here. I chopped up some of our tomatoes, half an avocado, a clove or garlic and a little onion. Made a fresh bowl of guacamole out of the veggies (or is that mostly fruit?) and got a little bowl tortilla of chips. I sat on the couch with my snack and a book and I just read, in silence! No one wanted me to get up to get them juice. No one interrupted to ask me if I could put a load of his work shirts in the wash. The TV wasn't on in the back ground nor the lovely piano music that plays for two hours each day during little Abe's nap. Just a book, a snack (that I didn't have to share with anyone) and silence. Now that's a vacation!
Today offered an equally lovely moment. I took the country road home from work because there was a lane out on the highway due to construction. This particular highway is heavily traveled and often gets congested without the closed lane. I was not about to drive home in that mess. I hadn't thought however before deciding to take the country road how revitalizing and gorgeous my drive home would be. I drove past several small family farms. There were large tractors clearing fields. There were people tending tables in small road side produce stands. Country life is so inviting, in that these are hard working people who know what needs to be done, they do what needs to be done, and in my mind they live pretty rewarding lives. And despite all the hard work there's a beautiful simplicity that envelopes everything about the country/ those rural areas where farmers live.
I witnessed the first real signs of fall on the back roads drive home as well. I saw a flat trailer loaded up with pumpkins and gourds off all shapes, colors, and sizes. The leaves may not be quite ready to change their hues but a trailer set in front of a barn covered in pumpkins, well that's as autumn as any forest filled with colorful foliage may be. There were these lovely fields as well that were showing their fall colors. The green plants that fill these acres and acres of fields are now a gorgeous yellow with only green at their base. (I have no idea what plant this is but may have to look into it now just for curiosities sake) These yellow fields, surrounded by long grass (I love the long grass of late spring and fall. It seems the road side grassy areas are really only mowed once or twice in the summer allowing for that extra long grass to be all around in the late spring and fall time. I love the way the extra long grass with seed pockets at it's tips dances in the wind and gentle breezes and how the seed pockets sparkle in the sunshine), and lush green trees as far as the eye can see, harvest set alongside back country roads and the occasional pumpkin display made for the most wonderful drive home today.
I may not have any sort of vacation slated anytime in the relatively near future but these moments in time that offer up so much pure simple beauty and loveliness sure do wonders at filling my cup back up. Ahh, my cup overfloweth!
Spending rundown today: $4.78 on lunch for me. $11.42 on lunch for my boys. Yeah today was a bust financially BUT I'm still very reasonably within budget so I'll let this one slide. I really REALLY need to plan out a very strategic shopping trip for tomorrow though. I bought some groceries yesterday but our food situation is in poor shape right now.
My budget for the month is $513.62 which leaves $219.99
Average daily spending for 2015: $18.01
Reading about the leaves changing colour reminded me of something - are you going to make a Thanksgiving Tree this year with Abner? I so much enjoyed it last year!
ReplyDeleteI've started thinking about that too. I really do want it to be a tradition. This will be year number two. I'm excited to see what things he wants to write on the leaves this year compared to last year. Every night before bed I ask him what he wants to thank God for today and he generally says the same-ish three things. Every once in awhile there's something new or kind of funny. The leaves are great since we will do it for 30 days and he/ we get to come up with 30 things we're thankful for. I'm really looking forward to it!
DeleteWhat a beautiful post. You really know how to paint a picture with words. Thanks for reminding me to take a breath and appreciate the small things. I think I'll take the back roads home tonight. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank-you so much for the kind comment! I hope to hear if you did take back roads and if you had a lovely ride home as well :)
DeleteSometimes it hard to remember as moms, we need "our" time too....which makes us better moms in the long run!!! There is nothing wrong with wanting a little time to yourself every now and then!!! ENJOY IT!!!
ReplyDeleteI just love how you can find peace and beauty in the little things - makes me want to do the same and not take anything/everything for granted!!!
"our" time: I'm very bad at finding that for myself. Since me and the hubby work around each other's schedules and since he's gone at work a lot more then me I always make sure he gets at least two days a week out with friends or at band practice and such. I know he needs the time away to just relax but that doesn't really leave a window anywhere for me to have alone time.
DeleteThis is going to sound silly but the ONE thing I've been asking him lately is if I can get away to the library to do some ancestry research. My husband's family moved here from the Chicago area in the early 1900's and several of the boys started businesses. So even though my husband seems to know nothing about them I'm pretty sure I'll be able to find some really great stuff in the local genealogy room at the library. So I've actually been advocating for myself to get some ME time at the library doing research. haha! I haven't gotten away yet but I'm super looking forward to it.
The leaves are starting to turn here. My pumpkins are orange but I haven't picked most of them. I think you were looking at soybeans in the field. They turn yellow at the end when they are drying and ready to harvest. I love living in the country and can't imagine living in any town again because I would miss the beauty and peacefulness.
ReplyDeleteI've just recently started watching the leaves. I haven't seen any here turning yet but it always seems to start so slowly and if you don't watch for it one day every leaf appears to have changed colors. It's like magic.
DeleteI half wondered is maybe they were soybeans. I was thinking, "whats another big crop, not corn, that farmers would be growing acre upon acre of?" I hadn't the faintest idea what a crop of soybeans would look like but wondered if that might be it. Thanks for the comment because I bet you are right.
I lived in the country for not quite ten years, after my parents got divorced. It was a bitter sweet situation as I too LOVED the beauty of it but that was also when we lived in the disgusting, basically hoarder house. I definitely miss the beauty and peacefulness of it. We don't get along with our neighbors on one side AND we live about three houses from and elementary school. Peaceful is not how I would describe my neighborhood.