A Simple Kind of Life

Friday night Dave was gone at the Father/Son campout and I couldn't sleep.  I decided to re-read my Grandma B's life history.  I stayed up into the early morning reading. I couldn't put it down.  I wish I could share it here on my blog.  I am so inspired to begin writing my own story.  I've thought about doing it before because I have a very bad memory and as time goes by I will forget more and more. I want to write down the things I remember now.

 Reading her history brought up a lot of feelings for me.  These are some thoughts that came to mind:

*Hers is a very simple life story.  It doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to be a year by year listing of events and things you did.  It's ok to not cover it all.  Her story simply paints a picture of her life with a handful of personal, specific stories and thoughts.

*Write about feelings.  She mentions that she felt she had a happy childhood. She doesn't tell everything that happened to her but overall she remembers being happy even though she was a "depression baby" and things were tough for their family.

*Life was so much simpler back then.  On weekends when she had to work until 6 (she went back to work when her kids were in middle school) her husband (my grandpa) and their kids would clean up the house for her, go and pick up hamburgers, pick her up from work and head to the local basketball game.  That was the fun they had on the weekends.  Getting a burger was a treat, they were together as a family.  It wasn't about planning the next vacation to a warm destination- they hardly vacationed at all.  It wasn't about running everyone around to all their different activities or going to a fancy restaurant alone.  It was about being together as a family and enjoying simple pleasures (after the work got done).

*Traditions.  I think traditions can make life more simple.  It's doing the same thing year after year, or week after week.  You don't have to work to plan something new, and you don't get caught up in the "let's do something exciting" mentality.

*I want my life to be more simple.  I've been leaning in this direction for awhile. More on this later.

*My Grandma was thankful. Many times in her life history she mentions how blessed she is... she said she had a charmed life.  I often feel this way as well, and I want to make sure I write it down so my children and grandchildren will know that I was thankful for the life I had.  There is nothing better than being thankful.

*Family is everything.  This belief has been handed down for generations in my family.  Our family tree is full of good, strong marriages.  Husbands and wives who truly loved each other, loved their children, and put family above all else.  I am so blessed to have that heritage.  It means so much to me.  Reading about my grandparents love for each other, seeing my own parents love for each other and knowing where my dad gets his devotion to my mom (his own dad was the same!) Watching my aunts and uncles hold hands and dance with each other even to this day.  I have so many examples of what family love should and can be, and it is a wonderful thing.

* There is nothing better than appreciating the little things in life.  A husband that gets up and works hard every day to support his family.  A mother who serves in the home because she loves her husband and children. And children who feel safe and loved at home and in turn are grateful and helpful. My Grandma had an appreciation for the little things.

So, I am going to start writing my story.  Not on the blog, because I am not a writer and no one needs to read it until I'm old or gone.  But I am excited to get started and paint my own picture of what my life has been.  To collect the memories I have into one place and make them last. And I am thankful I have this blog- a record of the last 7 years of my life.  When I started it, it was for fun and to be silly and to keep in touch.  I never knew that it was really a journal and I would be so thankful for it.

And since this post is already ridiculously long, I'm going to keep going.  Back to the simple life thought.

I have been wanting a more simple life for awhile now.  It's a thought I just can't shake.  I know it's just part of having 4 kids and all that comes with school, church, sports, and work, but things have been too busy for too long!  Something needs to change.  I think I often make things more busy than they need to be because that's what life has become and that's what I'm used to.  But I don't want to look back on my life and remember the running around, or the calendar days that are full to the brim.  I want to look back and remember the relaxing in the back yard, playing games and going on walks (my favorite thing to do).

A huge part of the reason we are moving to Walnut Creek is to take the first step in simplifying.  I'm done with the driving.  My family and Dave's work are both down there and we find ourselves on Hwy 4 heading that way TOO much!  I want my life to be slower, more simple.  I don't want to have to drive so far to be where we need to be.  I want Dave to get to work in 5 minutes (or less) and come home at the end of the day when he's done with work (he shouldn't have to travel great distances in the car after putting in a day at the desk!).  I don't want to have to pack a bag just to go hang out at my parents house.  I don't want to have to block out an entire day to go to the temple.  I want less driving.

I also want a smaller house and less stuff.  I know many people can't wait to get into a bigger house and maybe I'll be singing a different song after living in a smaller house for awhile.  But this house we are in, although I LOVE it and I'm so thankful for it, has been overwhelming for me.  I need organization and cleanliness.  It makes me a better mom and wife when things are tidy and neat.  But when you live in a large home with a lot of stuff, that becomes more difficult and time consuming to accomplish.  I have been de-junking and donating bags full of stuff lately and it feels so good.  I'm hoping to find a smaller home in Walnut Creek and see if it changes my life for the better.

I could keep going on this subject but I would love to hear how you have simplified your life.  I know it's all about little steps and that's what we are trying to do.  Our first step is big (moving) but I hope over time to do some little things that will make a big difference.  I want to slow down, stop running and enjoy small simple moments instead of thinking we need big moments/memories all of the time!

 Share with me what you have done.

This post has been all over that place but I feel so much better getting all these thoughts out of my head.

Happy Sunday!