Blessed Life

 This is the time of the year that amps up for the boys but slows down for me. I am not needed to be a Mom Taxi every day. There are times that I'm by myself at the house, surrounded by quiet as the boys are at work or deer camp or golfing or fishing or hanging out with a friend. Part of me relishes in the slower pace and quiet. Part of me isn't ready to be an empty nester sooner rather than later.

But, the quiet gives me time to reflect. This morning I woke up before the sun and enjoyed hearing the creatures wake up after me. We don't live in the city so I fall asleep to crickets and frogs doing their nightly thing and wake up to birds chirping and our chickens laying their eggs. Once the sun was up, I got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen to make P breakfast before he left for work. I stood at the kitchen window, filling the coffee pot, admiring the view of the massive pine tree that borders our property. I love standing there, watching the sun come up, our neighbor walk her dog, Rob drive up, or the boys playing ball in the yard. My kitchen window and the sunroom window are my favorite views from inside the house.

After P grabbed his breakfast to rush out the door for work, I walked out to the front porch. I watched him drive away to work and I stood there, counting our blessings. His truck isn't new but it's nice and it's paid for. In fact, none of us have new vehicles, boats or side by side but they're nice. After he drove down the road, I walked around to my okra patch to cut fresh okra to can later. I absolutely love gardening and I have enjoyed canning the abundant crop of okra that has been growing for the past couple months. On my way back in, I stopped to admire my beautiful roses and the crepe myrtles that add color to our landscape.

Our house is not new and needs more repairs/updates that we can afford at the moment (Thanks Trump!). It's outdated and very few things in it are modern. But, I LOVE our house! It's my favorite house I've ever lived in. Every time I drive down our little road, a sense of pride hits me when I see it. 

There has been laughter, yelling, tears and some really hard moments in our house. It is our home inside of a beautiful house. To say we are blessed is an understatement and I do not take our house, our neighborhood or our community for granted. I love it all and thankful for the blessings that they are!