I was talking to one of my NY friends yesterday and told here I would be staying in MI for the next two months. She seemed horrified at the thought of this and asked me what I was going to do for two months here in the "wilderness". I assured her I would have plenty to keep me busy.
So today, as I'm sitting in my reclining lawn chair in the shade of the big maple tree, I got thinking about just what I would be doing this summer here in Gladstone, MI. I came up with the wonderful answer of NOTHING !!!! That is pretty much what life in the country comes down to when you don't have a job, crops to tend to, cows to milk or pretty much anything else that HAS to be done on a daily basis. Every morning The Man and I get up and figure out just how much energy we have for the day. Some days we/I am fired up and ready to take on the world and then on days like today sitting in the shade is about all we are capable of doing. The occasional moving of our chairs from one spot to another is EXHAUSTING ! We sit in the sun until we get too warm and then move into the shade until we get to cool and then move back into the sun. It's a tough life but someone has to do it !
I've been talking with my children every couple of days and all three of them keep telling me just how HOT and HUMID it is in Florida and Georgia. They think I'm insane for even considering returning to Florida before December. (But once it starts snowing up here, probably in October, we WILL be racing south to warmer weather.). It is hard to even imagine sitting in my house in Florida where it is too hot to even walk to the mailbox. The weather here is just too perfect so although I miss my kids and grand kids I really do not want to return to the sticky, sweaty South. Up here I am outside for hours every day. Some days are spent gardening and some days we just sit back and enjoy the beauty of this place.
Since we got back here a month ago, (how is it possible I've been here a month already?) we have attacked the various flower beds that have been neglected for years. I've gotten into cleaning out stuffed closets that have been sitting untouched for years. Then I have branched out to the cellar and the garage. The problem being that one small closet flows into cleaning out another closet which flows into cleaning out a room which flows into cleaning out the cellar which flows into making room in the garage. It is a never ending cycle that I don't see ending any time soon. But the great thing is there is no time schedule or need to do any of it so when we hit a beautiful day like today we can just sit back in a lawn chair and tell ourselves we will get back to work tomorrow.
After living with The Man for four years he is finally comfortable with letting me get into my "little" projects. At first he was hesitant to make any changes in his Michigan home which I totally get but he has mellowed and is actually supportive in getting rid of the massive amount of stuff that fills this place. His favorite saying to me as I'm pulling things out of various spaces is . . .
"O H I O". . . ONLY HANDLE IT ONCE . . . which is wonderful advice that he just doesn't follow. I will find something in a closet and ask, " Trash? . . . Donation? . . . Yard Sale? " There is no "Keep" category here because everything we are going through has been sitting unused for over 10 years so if you haven't needed it by now it really needs to GO !! The ultimate question is,
" WHERE is it going to go?"
The answer to that question remains a mystery especially today when it is just too beautiful to even think about doing anything except sitting under this wonderful big Maple tree and watch the birds fly past. The "Stuff" has been here for ever so what's another 24 hours ?
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