Sitting at my kitchen table
Still in pjs
Drinking coffee
Blue on guard in the backyard
[quietly]
Boys voices drifting up
[talking over video game sounds]
I took a long hot soaking bath with a light book yesterday
Had a good day but was tired and fried
That helped
A lot
I’ll do it again
I forget to
Best of all woke up early [4:40a] but fell back asleep until 7a
Bliss
[PAUSE]
Dog woofed
He jumped the crooked bent ineffective wire mesh garden fence and got stuck
Out of leash but also the leash clasp was caught around the edge of the fence
Stuck
Unclipped him
Bent fence down enough he could jump
Loved him
He scared himself
For today anyway
He followed me in
Muddy paws which he hates having touched
Got a layer of dirt off
My house is nowhere near spotless
Ever
A little garden dirt won’t hurt
Poured the last of my coffee
Not rushing anywhere today
I am so thankful for lack of rush
October 26, 2014
A diary of my Sunday morning moments that occurred between 8:18a and 8:51a today. I can pinpoint the timing so exactly because this is an excerpt of an email reply I sent to my cousin. On a wild whim decided to share this snippet from my life here too. I’ve been quiet in my public writing spots. Have needed to be. Still do. ~Janean
Turquoise Tangles 
“Got a layer of dirt off
My house is nowhere near spotless
Ever
A little garden dirt won’t hurt”
A nice touch, Janean … our grandmothers used to say that a child should eat a teaspoonful of dirt before he’s a year old. Some sort of spirit-guide wisdom, I suspect, since it sounds like nonsense on its face, but it’s obvious that the immune system can’t build up any immunities if it’s not confronted with challenges. Of course, our grandmothers had no idea that there WAS an immune system, which is why I suspect that some friendly entity on the Other Side was whispering in their ears.
It also accounts for the number of auto-immune diseases, the propensity for athsmas, colds, etc. that we see in modern kids … we’ve over-sanitized their environments to the extent that their immune systems are underdeveloped; they are all “the boy in the bubble”, to a degree.
So tell your kids to get their butts out in the garden and eat some dirt. LOL (Unless it’s old horse-country … that’s dangerous. Get ’em a tetanus shot, first.)
BTW … nice little ramble.
Thanks for your note, dW. When my boys were much younger I used to say, “You know it was a good day if the bathwater is dirty.” Backyard tag, swing set climbing, sidewalk chalk drawing, sandbox digging, bubble blowing. Good days. Those. A few days ago I raised the rings on the swing set as my sixth grade son and a friend congregated there again. He’s gotten taller since the last time he did upside down flips. Made my heart happy to see them there, brief a moment as it was.
As for the over-santized-ness you mention, I agree. Just soap and water for me. I greatly dislike that hand sanitizer stuff. The texture, smell and sting.
We try not to purposely eat dirt here. The plates, silverware and glasses we eat and drink from are clean. I do try to encourage my boys to get their hands outside and busy with things other than xbox and then of course to wash them before they eat.
Oh … BTW, take all the time you need … we can wait.
Thanks, dW. Truly.
“Muddy paws which he hates having touched
Got a layer of dirt off
My house is nowhere near spotless
Ever
A little garden dirt won’t hurt
Poured the last of my coffee
Not rushing anywhere today
I am so thankful…”
This is what I copied to comment on: can so relate and love how you articulated… then, I see dW copied much the same!!! I’m like, “WOW.”
Blessings, Janean.
Smiling in reply, Jill. I know you know. You’re welcome inside my cluttered, chaotic, dusty, rambunctious, garden dirt tracked in home anytime. Your kind eyes won’t see the dirt, they’ll just see a friend who hugs hello and offers a cozy spot to sit for an in person heart to heart. The dog fur on the cushions won’t deter you and neither will the dog, who is likely to curl up beside you. BONUS is that I always have chocolate on hand and will share it. Hugs and love to you, beautiful creative woman who I’m so glad to know. May blessings abound in this time of Thanksgiving.
Love,
Janean
Oh, Janean, you did my heart good. Thank you for sharing and being willing to share with me!
God bless you and the boys this Thanksgiving. May you see and feel the blessing of all the little things that sometimes many of us overlook in chasing big dreams. You are one who is able to be in the moments of life, big or small. You have vision. You inspire. God bless your home that is a haven this Thanksgiving and always!