Sharing my quilt with a few grandchildren.
Wendell and I don’t own a house anymore. This still feels strange to me, even after several years. We bought our first home together before we were married, and we’ve owned six homes since then. Some of my friends still live in the homes where they reared their children. They now welcome grandchildren to yards with mature shade trees and houses with spare bedrooms. Occasionally, I envy this.
Right now, I am planning our upcoming Cousins’ Camp, wherein a dozen grandchildren and some of their parents will come stay with us for three days. I’m having a bit of trouble figuring out where to put them in our two-bedroom house with the cottage-sized living room.
Mostly, I love our snug home. It is perfect for the two of us. But during Cousins’ Camp, or Christmas, or most Sunday afternoons I briefly long for the five-bedroom house with the wrap-around porch that we left behind when we came to this little town.
I don’t linger in that frame, though. Instead, I remember that living here – in this community devoted to helping people – lets me enjoy other perks. For instance: sitting on a quilt beside a quiet lake while more than sixty people are baptized. Including two of our grandsons.
Maybe I can’t give the grandchildren a family estate. But, I can give them this.
I’m terribly fascinated with minimalists these days – true minimalists who live with very, very little stuff and only if it’s truly functional to their lives or meaningful and beautiful. (Definitely no broken toasters or mismatched socks). I’ll probably never go that far. Well, I definitely won’t. But they have convinced me that less is definitely, definitely more.
Seasons….it seems to be about seasons, and the beauty of you Kathy, is that you always seem to have the ability to flow so willingly and gracefully through them, showing the rest of us it is possible…I love you for that.
Seren: I’m intrigued by minimalsm, too. By small house would be way better used if I could adopt that!
Andrea: You are too kind. And, of course, you are one of the grandmothers I tend to envy when I allow such thoughts :)I am thrillled, though, that you have such a great place for Sam.