I’ve finished repairing a piece of furniture, and this will go on my list of great accomplishments in life. 😉 Fellow furniture revivers, you know what I mean.
My blistered hand is healing after disassembling, cleaning, reinforcing, and reassembling an upholstered ottoman, collapsed from the weight of teenage boys in our basement. This job required two years of gathered courage and then some ingenuity. It turned out better than I hoped, and it’s all fluffy-puffy goodness for your feet now.
It’s our 14th anniversary of moving into this house. As I focused on this reality today, a parade of events marched through my mind, awakening gratitude. This beautiful house is about 50 years old, showing its age in the creaky floors and some other funky features. It’s seen many residents and many events beyond our’s, but I think we’ve inhabited it well.
It’s a house of faith, learning, and revelation. It’s a house of music and gathering; love and work.
This house has been a protection for us in every way. We are surrounded by kind people. It’s a basic, pretty house with a stunning backdrop of mountains and trails, and I’m glad it is our home.
I care about having a welcoming home. I have studied design concepts and worked hard to create a home that reflects peace and comfort. Plus, I clean a lot.
In a video I watched recently about home decor, the narrator said that design principles matter, and cleanliness matters, but there is an intangible quality you find in an inviting space. It is the influence of the owner that creates the final impact of a home. It’s their presence. Think of your grandma’s house, or a friend’s house where you feel loved and accepted. These people and their spaces are the magnet for your heart.
Think of the House of the Lord. The decor and lighting are serene and lovely, but this is only part of the story of why you feel good here. The presence of the Lord is behind the stillness, the light, and the ideas that come to your mind.
Think of the room where you spend the most time, or even your desk. What do you learn about yourself by looking at the objects you choose to display? What messages do you convey in this room or space? Can the Spirit of the Lord dwell there?
I want each person who enters our home to feel loved and welcome. I want the Spirit of the Lord to be here. His presence is the piece that makes all the difference.
Perhaps you’re like me and can think of something that you lost in childhood and never found. I recall a few things that my children lost, and I found one this week as I moved some shelves in the basement. It was a very satisfying moment to reunite this piece to the set.
As I revamp our home after raising children, I remember and remember.
The words, “dismember” and “remember” can be considered opposites. To “re-member” is to be complete again. Recalling the past and reflecting on the fruits of my parenting adventures brings a wholeness to my life that I didn’t expect.
Remembering is also a religious theme. God wants us to always remember Him. It’s a key to being one with Him, complete and whole.
So, how can I remember Him (be reunited with Him) today?
We decided it was time to take out the last two big Cottonwood trees from our backyard. It wasn’t easy to say goodbye to their rushing leaves, shade, and the privacy they offered, but now we have a mountain view. The yard feels bigger, too.
When Mark was young, he liked to set up our little carnival pieces during the first days of summer vacation from school. Now I set them up for my own delight…and for our grandson.
Since the USA celebrates its 250th birthday this year, I included more bunting than usual. 🇺🇸
I’ve tried many times to purge the children’s art from our storage room. It’s been 20 years and I still can’t throw away this rendering of a cookie factory by a very young Daniel. (And many other masterpieces by our kids.)
Other things that I find difficult to remove, but should:
high school awards and yearbooks
unused recipe books
extra mugs
books I will not read again
plates we never use
old sleeping bags
unused picture frames
power cords collected over 30 years
cast off cell phones
old pillowcases
baby blankets
extra throw pillows
We don’t keep our clutter in the open. It lurks in our storage areas and closets. Decluttering is perpetual for me, but it really ramped up when the children left home. People don’t notice a difference when I clear a closet shelf or storage bin, but I notice that my mind is a little more free.
As I phase out the Christmas decorations, I need to remind myself that I am not the villain of the house for taking down all the joy. It always makes us sad to see them go.
Here are the things I am telling myself,
The decorations will be back again. They are special partly because they are a novelty.
I need to simplify my lines of sight and reduce the number of objects requiring attention. It’s time for me to hibernate, read, sew, and be cozy for a few months without all the extras. It’s okay to need a break.
The tang of cool evening air has signaled to my brain that summer is coming to an end. I have taken down the summer decor and replaced it with some autumn things. It always makes family members sad when I pack up two seasons, summer and Christmas, so I try to make the changes when when no one is looking.
This will be the season that Tim gets married. We moved furniture to his new apartment this weekend and seeing his room at our house without a bed was jarring. There are many endings in life. The children leave for college and they leave for missions, but when they get married, we experience a more definitive end to the years of being together. He won’t sleep under our roof many more nights.
I don’t mind decor changing, in fact, I welcome it. But it really makes me pause when I see those empty rooms once inhabited by our children.
I remember dates from our history, and if I am not careful, this blog could become a log of old memories. Today is another special one. August 13th was the day we moved into our current home 13 years ago. The move had a significant impact on our children’s lives and who they chose to marry.
Paige was introduced to Michael through a friend from our Sandy ward.
Daniel met McKenna in middle school.
Tim met Queenie in high school.
The house has adapted to many configurations of family members, in and out through their college and mission years. Lately we can count on weekend visits from Tim because Queenie lives nearby.
Today the corners of our house hold Queenie’s wedding dress while I finish some alterations, settings and centerpieces for a wedding luncheon, storage for Daniel and Tim’s belongings, and Mark’s old crib in his room for visits from Paige’s family. Most of the time I am alone in the house now. It has been a good house for our family in all our seasons.