Where to begin, indeed….
In my second post, I imagined my years of overwhelm as being tossed in a storm at sea. I’m ready to put the storm behind me: to escape survival mode and start building the life I want. My oldest just started college in September, and while he’s still living at home, I know that he’ll only be under our roof for a year or two more. The urgency to cultivate a joyful, life-giving family culture that he- and all our children- will want to return to has never been stronger.
In my life I have experienced a number of literal storms, both while living in the Mid-Atlantic (tropical storms, even a couple of hurricanes) and the Midwest (windstorms, ice storms… though fortunately I was never directly in the path of a tornado!) After extreme weather, neighbors would always be found the next morning cleaning up storm damage, and making the most urgent repairs to their homes. Utility crews would be working overtime to clear roads and restore power, while state and federal agencies would mobilize to provide shelter, food, and clean water for folks who had been displaced.
So while I have a lot of lofty goals for this year, I have come to realize that there’s some “disaster recovery” that needs to take place first: clearing away the storm debris (decades worth of clutter) and restoring essential services. The first part (clutter) is easy to visualize. But what are the essential services provided by the homemaker/primary caregiver? Many days it seems to be… everything. However, one wise lady counsels overwhelmed homemakers to simply begin with food and clean laundry. So this is where I’ll start.
A Year From Now 