When I opened the front door and saw it I thought "NO WAY!" and began to plan to drive instead. Our house is about four blocks from Portia's elementary school and we usually walk or bike to school. I plan enough time to stop and dawdle and look and chatter on the way to and from each day. Today it was pouring rain. Not light misty but deluge. I automatically defaulted to the car. And then I didn't.
I may be occasionally short tempered, but I am not a Wizard of Oz witch who will melt in water. All three of us girls have rain boots and rain coats and adorable umbrellas. Even wet pants will dry. Eventually. So I talked myself back out of the car idea and we geared up.
The girls and I enjoyed our stroll, waded through two inch deep puddles, and breathed deep breaths of rainy weather air. Our walk to school made me feel alive even with awful rainy day hair. (A hat would be good. Maybe a big old rain hat in slicker yellow?) I delighted in watching my girls marvel at wading through streams in their waterproof boots. It was wonderful to enjoy the rain with them. It was the best part of my day.
I think I have grown so comfortable I forget that conquering even the slightest challenge can refresh me completely. When I bicycle places instead of driving, I feel like I am embracing a deeper way of living. Walking in the rain even though I certainly do not have to made me feel wild and free. Like camping in a tent, crossing a fallen log or cleaning the whole house at once. I am in charge of my life and I am living OUT LOUD instead of passively.
Making dinner tonight feels like that too. Truly tonight I would rather order pizza or reheat leftovers. That admitted, when I give myself over to the process of "Making a Home" as the Daily Connoisseur Blogger says, I come alive. I slow down, I relish, and I even enjoy the process. Tidy home, healthy meal and rain boots drying in the front hall. AMEN.
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Oh boy! we are chatting now!