From Where I Sit………….
From where I am sitting I can see behind me, a favorite window seat. A place to perch, read a book and catch the afternoon sun that pours through the witches balls my family has gifted me each Christmas. A view of the garden my husband and I dug the first year we moved here. I can see the door most used by friends that stop by to visit. From here we often watch neighbors, strangers and dogs coming and going on their path to the park. The same path that I ran so many times in the last several months.
To my right is a buffet that holds linens used by both my Mother and my Grandmother, two shiny silver lights that create just the right ambiance when lit, clay pieces my children have made and a drawer that holds bits and pieces of the past year in review.
To my left is the kitchen; the often messy and most used room in our home. Countless meals prepared and shared here. But my view from this seat only allows a glimpse of that chaos. My eye is drawn straight to the window that overlooks my back yard. From here I can see trees and beautiful summer sunsets. I can hear the band play on crisp Fall mornings and the baseball team usher in the beginings of Spring.
And in front of me it is like a wide angle lens. The dinning room table scattered today with colored pencils, drawings, stuffed animals. The book shelf, full of knowledge; of books waiting to be read, project ideas jumping off the pages various markers and blank papers waiting to be filled. A notebook recording 2009′s days, pages scrawled and lists and appointments checked off. Then there is the basket of clean laundry for five folded and waiting to be put away.
But again my eye is drawn past the chores. Now into my warm and comfortable living room. The room that holds so many possibilities. There are plenty more books in this room. There is music both recorded and waiting to be thumped out. There is a fireplace, art that I have shown in this past year and family photos preserved. The furniture is comfy as is the floor covered in an old family rug. An often joked about, over-priced, coffee table where games are played. This room is inviting and both calm and busy at the same time. My living room is eclectic. There are disco balls hanging in front of an antique mirror that seems to pull me forward into the future yet reflects all that is behind me. Plants full of life and treasures picked up in places both near and far, serving as memories of past experiences. And just outside the set of double windows there is the tree house that our family and friend built together, a new trampoline and the sounds of happy children gathering in the sand box.
I am surrounded on all sides by beauty and comfort and the encouragement brought on by this past year. But when I look beyond all of this, there is the future. One that fills me with anticipation. 2009 was a year of progress for me personally. It was a year that I stretched myself in ways I never imagined. It was a year that I took time out for myself. Because my children are a little older, I was able to move my focus away from the all encompassing parenting of the past 14 years. It was a nice year, a busy year.
2010….sounds sci-fi almost. Hard to believe it is here. It is the now. I have plans. Plans to really embrace this year in a new but familiar way. Simplify and return to what I know. A year of comfort and focus. A year free of judgment and of what is “supposed to be”. A fresh yet reminiscent outlook. I am very comfortable where I sit but I plan to get up and move around little. Maybe venture out more and choose a new seat from my familiar surroundings, because where I have been is also where I am going. Welcome 2010!!!