My Word

During the church service on Sunday, our pastor talked about the concept of knowing your "word." As my husband and I saw Eat Pray Love just the previous night, this was not an unknown concept for us. But answering the question itself is difficult, I think. I believe that if questioned, many people who I know haven't settled on their "word."

The idea, according to Liz Gilbert, is of knowing the one word that truly describes you - not what you do, but a word that represents your life, or your life's purpose.  For Liz, she arrived at attraversiamo, or "let's cross over" as her word. It was appropriate, descriptive, and also something that English is not--a single word to describe a complex idea.  English just doesn't do a good job of being concise and encompassing like some other languages.

Like Liz in the book, I think it is hard to not start defining your word in relation to what you do.  She initially thought writer was perhaps her word. But through a long, soul-searching, transformative journey, she was able to really find the right word for her.

I'm still thinking about what my word is.  Some that I have been tossing around include "engagement," "choice," and "discovery." But the still small voice inside is not yet satisfied.  I think I have more work to do before deciding.

I can't wait

In about two weeks, my family and I will be taking a vacation.  It is a trip that has a reason - to go to a wedding - but we have also planned for this to just be some family vacation time.  We have cleared our calendars and designated this as time away.  And I can't wait!

As we started thinking about and planning for this time away, I was at first daunted by the number of days and distance it would take me away - from home, from work, from our normal daily lives.  But when I really sat down to think about it, I realized a sad fact.  I haven't really taken a vacation - time that is completely away and free of work and other life commitments - in eleven years. I realized that meant that I haven't taken this much time for myself, my husband and our family since my husband and I said our "I do's."

What a sad statement that is - to think that a decade has gone by without a true bit of "self"ishness. For to take time where you really commit to not doing anything that relates to your day-to-day life is freeing, refreshing, and rejuvenating. And necessary.

That's not to say that in eleven years I've never had a vacation, it just has never been a time to truly relax and be away.  As I look back on the past years, I realize that all the time off I have taken in that decade plus has been to visit family, have children, and attend other family events.  I remember taking one week for just myself, but it turned out not to be a full time away, as I stayed home and puttered around, unfortunately checking work email too often.

So, this time, I am committing to taking the time - to be with my family, to be in the present moment, to see and enjoy the sights, the sounds, and the scenery.  To really see everything and to enjoy it.  To revel in having no commitments, no deadlines, no alarms and no due dates. To read what I want, when I want.  To make memories. To just relax and have some fun. And maybe I'll come up with some blogs to share about all we are exploring and engaging with.

Let me say it again, I can't wait!

Top 10 things I am thankful for after camping for a weekend

We spent the weekend in a tent, in Iowa, on two of the hottest, most humid days/nights that I can remember.  Here are the top 10 things I am now thankful for because of it:

10. Bug spray.
 9.  Air conditioning.
 8.  Not living near soybean and corn fields with grain dryers.
 7.  Outdoor pools, within walking distance.
 6.  Family, who are camping with you and brought their campers with air conditioning.
 5.  Better bug spray - Deep Woods OFF - with 25% DEET.
 4.  Flush toilets.
 3.  Showers where you can control the water temperature.
 2.  A mattress that allows your feet to hit the ground first.
 1.  Air conditioning (did I say that already?)

Relinquish and Receive

Letting go is not easy; it's not easy when it is your own flesh and blood; it's not easy when it is your things.  But, over the last year, I've been learning how to let things go.  And in the process, I've been learning a powerful lesson.  Letting things go doesn't leave a void. Instead, it is opening me up to new things - new possibilities, new experiences, new room for more in my life.  And this is a good thing.

Earlier this year, my husband and I made a decision to starting letting go of some things.  The first thing we let go of was our pride.  We admitted to a close group of friends that we needed help getting rid of some of the clutter in our lives.  And we let our pastor in to see the mess that had become our basement - a dumping ground for all the things in our lives that we no longer had room for "upstairs."  And our friends and pastor stepped in, helping us to be ready to clear out and relinquish the clutter.

The next thing we let go of was a lot of physical objects that no longer served a purpose for us.  We consciously let go of things - deciding that some was just trash, but that others would have usefulness to families in need or could find a new loving home elsewhere. We discovered a wonderful service that would allow us to "recycle" objects that others needed and released those things to them.  Score a save from the landfills! 

Eventually, as we let go of so much, we found that there was room for more in our lives - more time with family, with each other, and with friends. We have space to be a family in, to work in, to think in.  And the more we have let go of things, the more time we have to engage in what matters ... our lives with each other