Catching Up

Well, we did it. We are officially in Texas. The trip went well--uneventfully, even, thank goodness--and we are established in Mat's parents' home until he has a job and we have an apartment. But I don't want to talk about that now, as I am sick of looking at apartments and the neighborhoods they're in. It's hard to work on a hypothetical budget. Anyway....

In my last long rambling post, the working smarter vs. working harder and incorporating simplicity, I talked about homemade workouts. Then, in the last post, I joked that I would be packing boxes as my homemade workout. I wasn't kidding! It was a workout that drove me to exhaustion and didn't bother to offer me a ride back. At the end I was throwing things out left and right--old temporary refrigerator dishes, half-full bottles of salad dressing and a used tub of butter--and giving away things that I couldn't bring myself to throw away. Thanks to those who accepted my offerings!

A couple of posts ago, in the comments, Anna brought up this excellent point: "I have always wanted to instill the "hard work" ethic in my children. I think there are times in your life when you just have to suck it up up and work hard. If you are already used to it, then life won't get you down in the dumps when things are hard."

SUCH A GOOD POINT! I completely agree. If you're used to pulling your weight and some, when it comes time to really dig in and work, your muscles--spiritual, emotional, physical--will be conditioned. This is the reason that I don't always jump up to solve my children's problems (though sometimes I don't jump up because I'm lazy). For instance, at this very moment Afton is struggling to open the back door. It's not locked, it doesn't get stuck, but it's just a *bit* more than her three-year-old hands are used to doing. But I know that if she works on it, trying until she gets the hang of it, she'll be pleased with her success and be willing to try other things that are a little bit harder than she's used to.

Sometimes I need to practice what I preach.

Other times, I wonder if my dreams are bigger than the work I'm willing to put into them. I daydream of having a big garden, of having my food storage in order and rotating it. In my head, I will be growing corn and tomatoes, eating them and putting them up to make ketchup or spaghetti sauce or whatever else comes to mind. Then I remember that such ideas usually involve hours of work over a hot stove with a pressure cooker or boiling glass jars, and I wonder if I'm up to it. Would it just be smarter to stock up on tomato sauce that someone else has harvested and prepared? What would be better for my family? If I struggle with it, will I be able to enjoy some success? Will it be easier the next time I do it? Probably. The bread-making certainly was. But, as my mother-in-law pointed out, "working smarter should not preclude working harder. If one is working smarter then one has opened up time to accomplish more." If I'm working harder, what other, important, things am I cutting out?

Also, I realized as I was packing, we have a lot of *stuff*. I got rid of most of our furniture, some of it a few weeks before we left. Things I can definitely live without: a baker's rack. It was bulky and took up more room than I had in the kitchen. We restructured our storage plan in the kitchen and survived just fine without it. On the other hand, I've learned that having two couches contributed to peace and harmony in our home--fighting kids do better if they have separate places to sit. Re-evaluating, I think I have a better idea of what furniture and other 'stuff' we need to live, even live simply. The biggest effect of doing all the packing (not alone, of course--Mat helped while he could and Marta came over when I just *couldn't* pack another thing) was resolving not to buy another thing unless we ABSOLUTELY need it. If I would have to get rid of it to move, it's not worth buying. That's my motto so far.

It's a lot to think about, but I want to be more careful as we develop our permanent selves here in Texas. I want to establish a solid work ethic, to provide a healthy, wholesome household for my family, to take more walks (!), and to live more simply, only acquiring things that I love and that will help my life run more smoothly. Those are my new life resolutions.