Living mindfully are the two words that I awoke to …. precisely at 2:09am this morning. Ugh..... And while at the time I didn’t know what they
meant, I just wrote them down and tried to go back to sleep.
The last couple of nights I’ve been restless in sleep and my
taste in music seems to somehow intuitively sense a story that was in the making.
And so tonight I put on Rascal Flatts as
this band has such powerful lyrics that permeates my soul, poured myself a
glass of wine and opened the laptop.
While I never exactly know what words are going to start
pouring out, I had an inkling that the beginnings of a story had started last
week when I attended a women’s wine night at Adrian’s house, which just so
happened to be my folk’s old house. While the house itself wasn’t where I grew
up, it was where I learned about true family love and fun. The house was where I transitioned from being
a single young woman, to being married, then becoming a mom, and then becoming a grandmother
myself. That house has seen so much, it’s
almost like it’s a diary. It was a place
that was safe, even magical for me for so many years. And when the wine night invite
came, I was nervous to attend, as I didn’t know where I would be on the
emotional scale. But the event was held
in the new shop so it was a neutral spot, but I asked permission to take a peek
inside the house. And surprisingly, the
interior was almost the same as when mom left to begin her new life after
leaving “The Ranch House”. The place was
sold furnished and the new owners had kept almost everything the same and I almost
felt like I’d see my step-dad walking into the kitchen to grab his favorite snack,
raw onions and a hunk of cheese. The
memories of holidays and countless hours of pure family fun crept in and it
made me smile. One of my favorite
memories was when I was eight months pregnant with Jennifer, my oldest and it
was December. My mom, step-dad and I had
spent the better part of a Saturday making Christmas decorations from fabric in
the shapes of trees and bells that we sewed
and then stuffed. Today I still have all those ornaments and they are as
special now as they were back then.
And the term “living mindfully” made sense as today I read
one of the most heart wrenching but beautiful obits from a young woman whose
life was cut short by cancer. Her words were powerful about living life to the
fullest, making memories and not sweating the small stuff. She cautioned to not
collect stuff, but rather collect cherished memories by truly living. Her words were hauntingly beautiful. And the memory of witnessing the last rights
being given to my step-dad floated up. I remember
sitting in the hospital room and thought to myself that when you get to that
stage of life, that all you have are the memories. Material stuff isn’t
important, it’s the memories that are the precious keepsakes. And as I begin
this new year, in a new farmhouse in a new town, I’ve started making the
storyboard of a beautiful life. In the short
10 months that I’ve lived here, I’ve hosted 3 work events, a neighborhood get
to know you party, a Christmas gathering
of family friends as well as Christmas itself. My sweetheart and I have spent
some cozy evenings together with many more in the works. And I can
see where more gatherings are on the horizon when I gather family and
friends to celebrate life here in my little piece of heaven on earth. And for me, the everyday goal will be to enjoy the beautiful moments of each day and live that day as if it were my last.
And as I close, it is
a privilege to me that you stopped by. I hope that somewhere in these words and the emotions that get poured out in the blog, that you will find a way for you to live mindfully in a way that makes your heart and soul sing.
As always, nothing
warms this girl’s heart more than comments if this particular blog resonated to
you. Feel free to leave a comment on FB page for S-Wheatfarmlife or post a comment on the blog.
All my best, Gayle
Here are some photos found and I had to take a picture of the picture.... so please forgive the poor images
My sweet step-dad holding the new grand-baby. He was terrified of holding babies RIP Grandpa Doug 11-30-2011 |
Winter fun on the farm hills. The Ranch House is in the back |
Summer fun during one of our crazy croquette games at the ranch |
Horse fun with mom, daughter Jen and my step-dad |