We went to the beach yesterday.
My sister and my mother and the kids and I. And they said they found it hard to just sit at the beach, they preferred to walk.
While I love to take long walks on the beach (I can never get enough of them in the summer), I can also just sit. Usually, I need to be busy. I always have a book or a magazine, or I’m knitting or working on some other project. I can’t even just sit to watch tv.
But at the beach, I can.
It is the only place that I can just sit.
The evenings are beginning to be warm enough to enjoy our screen house now.
I curled up in the papasan chair with my Oprah magazine last night. With the sun on my back, the warm breeze, and the sounds of the birds, it was a moment of pure relaxation.
When fall arrives, I get the bug to knit.
The colours and textures of all the different yarns entice me. Patterns are possibilities.
It is creative and meditative, drawing me into the moment. I love the contrasting feel of the soft yarn and the wooden needles in my hands.
Since I can’t sit still without keeping busy, it helps me to be still.
One stitch at a time, the knits and the pearls come together to make something that will keep me cozy in winter.
There is something about a new magazine, pages all glossy and unread, that I just love.
I start by flipping cover to cover, page by page. Then I go back and read each article while I sit with my coffee.
Some are better than others.
But even when they are shallow and fairly useless, I enjoy every page.
(Pictured is a snippet of the article, “How I Got Over My Empty-Nest Syndrome” by Ann Bauer – neither shallow nor useless – from Ladies Home Journal, September 2013.)
Sitting on the patio with a glass of wine on a warm summer evening.
Need I say more?
A respite from the bugs, a room for conversation, a place for an after-supper cup of tea.
This is my screen house.
We have enjoyed many moments in it. But a spontaneous cuddle with our children at sundown tops them.
The evening breeze, the stars above, and the people I love the most in all the world.
This is happiness.
Sitting down can be a welcome relief.
As I often do in the evening, I grabbed my book, a few cushions, and a throw and tucked into the couch for an hour of quiet. This is all the more satisfying knowing I have had a productive day: The final coat on the doors is done, more deck has been stained, and the house is slowly returning to a state of order (having two little tornadoes living in the house wreaks havoc on order!).
In the morning, more things will need to be done. But for now, I enjoy the simple joy of sitting.
In a Snap 