Live Simply, Simply Living

I don’t know if it is age or just our experiences but my husband and I are sick of all the baggage in life on many levels. As a society we are over obligated, over spent, over burdened, over stuffed, and over sized. We purchased our house less than a year ago and so we have been trying to partially unpack and partially sift through all our STUFF. I often laugh when I think I moved to San Antonio in 2002 with nothing but me, the dog, my Explorer (stuffed), and a U-Haul trailer filled with everything I owned.

Now? My God we have LOTS of stuff! I will say this though, we have seen many of our neighbor’s homes and they have WAY more stuff than we do which blows our mind!

We are working hard at minimizing, at living simply. I look at my kids and we don’t buy them lots of stuff. Granted Nana does but we don’t. The most we splurge on (aside from clothes and diapers and food of course) is books and small stuffed animals. The stuffed animals are great because they are perfect size for them holding onto but not overwhelming. The books because they love to look at them and so we can read to them.

We have a small area for their toys and books and I love that. It is simple. While they have a few large toys that Nana gave them, for the most part, they have very little in terms of stuff. The awesome thing though is that they don’t care about the stuff (unless it is Dora the Explorer ugh!!!) they care about the experiences we give them when we take them to the playground or when we take lots of pictures and they get to relive those experiences. With few exception, and depending on how things have been recently, you would not know too obviously that we have kids because everything in our home doesn’t scream kids. We like that. We like the simplicity of our home not looking like a school. We like the simplicity of experiences rather than stuff.  We are working on getting the rest of our lives to align that way but at least the kids live simply thus allowing them to simply live and more importantly, live free! 

Simply,

Michelle

Generations

The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.  ~William James

What really matters in life? What message are you giving yourself? What messages are you allowing into your life and the lives of your family? What are you spending your time on and investing in?

I found this picture of my kids:

It reminds me about what is important, about what I am spending time on, about what will outlast me. Becoming a mom changed me a great deal. What used to be pointless and empty is now full of passion and purpose. Looking at my children I see that the decisions I make, the things I say, and the actions I take have a lasting impact for generations.

Today we went to a friend’s birthday party and I put some effort into getting dressed up. My daughter looked at me and said that I looked very beautiful. Even though I didn’t feel it, I happily said thank you. I wanted her to hear the appreciation from me rather than the “no I am not, I still haven’t lost the 20 pounds I gained from your brother”. The messages I give to her will impact her as she grows up. The issue is will they be positive or negative, will they lift her up or tear her down, will they make her a better person or contribute to the “downs” she will experience in life?

I am not perfect but I am keeping in mind that the things I do, the words I say will impact more than just me, they will impact my next generation!

Speak Kindly,

Michelle

You Have The Power

We live life often in the reflection of our own needs and desires, worrying about our own issues and objectives that it’s hard to look out the window to the needs of others; yet that is often where we can find the greatest fulfillment. The following quote is simplistic but powerful:

Find a need and fill it.  ~Ruth Stafford Peale

No matter if we see a homeless and think “I have no cash” or see a stranded motorist and think “it’s not safe for me” or if we see our family members struggling and we don’t know what to do so in the end we do nothing. What we fail to do is ask the question “what is it that I can do?” where is that need that I can fill? You may not have cash but can you buy the person lunch? You may not feel safe stopping but you can call roadside assistance, you may not know what your family member needs but you can offer a hug.

Sometimes speaking kindly really has to do with our actions speaking for us, not our words. Opening our eyes to possibilities can bring many needs to the forefront and opportunities to bless people. It’s not about the things you can’t do, it’s about the things that you CAN do.

Keep your eyes open and ask yourself throughout the day, what can I do to help someone? That very well may be the very thing you need. As you fill someone’s empty bucket you may be surprised to find your own bucket filled.

Be Blessed.

Forgiveness

Life can sometimes hammer you. There can be lists of things that need to be done that wreak havoc on your life. You need to forgive yourself for setbacks and celebrate the progress. The last week and a half have been rough for me. We have had a print deadline that has caused me to be up for nearly 24 hrs a number of days in a row (meaning only naps). Everything has gone to the wayside in pursuit of this deadline.

The kids found a red crayon (thank God it is the new washable kind) and managed to color our entire white buffet, the kitchen floor, and parts of the walls. I felt like Cinderella on my hands and knees FINALLY able to clean late last night. That aside, the house is a DISASTER, I have not made it to the gym (oh the confession!) and I have eaten way too much to stay awake. Can you hear me beating myself up? It’s crazy not only in reality but in the words going on in my head.

Breathe.

Life goes on.

Time out for a little haiku

My hiney hurts me bad

Full is my belly, oh my, yes

Speak kindly to me

I feel better….sorta.

So all this chaos for what? My husband and I have taken a complete leap of faith and have put all our money, time, and heart into our new business. Talk about living on the edge. I am scared, I am stressed, I have faith. Instead of listening to all the “should’s” in my mind, how about I listen to all the people who have come up to us and said “this is a great idea, we so need that here in San Antonio” or how about all the amazing people that have no reason to help us but they do because they believe in what we are doing? Toes on the edge, holding my husband’s hand, my breath, and onto God.