Home Sweet Home

I've had writer's block for a couple of years, I think. I've countless posts started and unfinished sitting in my drafts. Ten years ago, the Internet was a different place. People didn't see every single meal or workout or happening in real time. There were still some folks who would enjoy sitting down and reading a post with several paragraphs about nothing at all. Now, we're all so busy we think, "Just give me the bottom line." So, it's likely that no one will read this, but I still want to write because my happiest times seem to be when I have catharsis working in my favor.

Happy Sunday, y'all. I'm looking out my large picture window from my chair on the opposite side of the room and I have already seen deer, squirrels, and an array of Fall colors revealing themselves. I have a single cup of coffee, all that could be scrounged up here at the house. My phone sits beside me where a book should be. I think we would all be a lot happier without that constant notification and distraction. There's a chill in the air because I refuse to use heat in October. Our house is sitting around 62 degrees and I wouldn't want it any other way. The room I'm in is clean and nothing makes me feel more cozy than a tidy space with a hot beverage and words to consume or pour out. Home is a good place to be.

Had you asked me this some months ago during the time when we were told to stay home, my reaction might have been different. It has been a brutal year for so many. Some of those people don't have a safe place to call home and that's not lost on me. It's something I've had on my brain in some form or fashion all year long- whether it was the adoption or the pandemic or creating a loving home for my own family. Also, what is home? Can I truly build a home anywhere and stoke the fires of education, spirituality, and connectivity wherever we go? We've been home in Tennessee for seven years now- in this house for five years. It is the longest we have been in any home or any other state during our marriage. It has been good to us. We've had family down the road. His and mine. We've had a real sense of community as our kids have grown, faced a diagnosis, battled infections and illnesses, and figured out what life was like outside of the army community. We've made friends here and lost friends, too. It's almost been a refining process this year. When life is really really good you recognize it because at one point it was very very hard. 

I guess that's all I mean to say today. If you're in the midst of a storm right now, please keep pushing. Joy comes in the morning. If you just got out of a storm, celebrate. Let's not be so busy in this life that we forget to intentionally prioritize and savor a slow morning at home curled up in a blanket with our people around us. Life is too short to ignore your blessings and not shout them out when you see them and today I'm thankful for this day that the Lord has made.