Pullin a SaV

Hope you enjoy the new background and header!


love Trina!

After the first week of 2009

It is an encouraging beginning to the new year. Results are really the only thing that ultimately means anything when it is all said and done so I gave up making New Year's resolutions a number of years ago. Too many resolutions are temporary and garner no results in the long run so why waste the time. With that in mind, I am encouraged because so far the areas that I need to see results in are off to a pretty good start. 

If I had to give an idea of what I need to be focused on this year, it would have to be simplification. For anyone who knows me well or has followed this intermitted blog, I am not motivated by stuff and am not a pack rat by nature. In fact, the opposite is more likely true. It is pleasurable for me to go through my life at times and discard the articles, items, clothes, and habits that no longer are beneficial to me. I joked with my wonderful husband that for Christmas I wanted a dumpster dropped in the driveway and the family's permission to go through the house, all of the spaces in it, and clean it out without worrying about anyone getting upset about what I discarded! 

Simplification is a interesting process that impacts life greatly when taken seriously. It adds to peace and contentment because less time is required to take care of the unnecessary stuff! I love it! Simplification will help you to focus on what really is important to you. Rather, for me it helps. 

My mornings have changed a bit and I am so thankful for that. Up earlier, read my Bible, work out and get started with the rest of my day and then in the evenings escape for solitude and my journal. Theses things are vitally important to me and as I am shedding things and activities that no longer fit in my life, these important activities continue to rise and claim their places of priority.

Each room in my home is getting a revamp - I am not waiting for spring cleaning. It is helping to reclaim order in areas as well. Multiplicity is a wonderful thing. 

Order, order, - who has the order?

Order, as in probably not what immediately comes to your mind. The order that I am referring to is order in life. For those of you who know me well, you already understand what this word represents in my world, and for those of you who do not know me, by the end of this short missive, you will.

Have you ever awoke one morning and surveyed your existence and loathed the appearance of it because of 'piles' that have crept into your serene world? If you are the proud possessor of an 'order OCD', as I am, then you have likely experienced the scenario I just painted at some point in your life. If you happen to be wed to an individual like my wonderful spouse or have children wired like my wonderful spouse, then you will also appreciate what is to follow.

This morning upon opening my eyes, I was forced into a rerun of this horror satire. Not even a cup of coffee was enjoyed before the chaos hit me fully in the face! How cruel! I scanned the room and was pressed upon by the mess....my lover's clothes on the floor in several piles on the floor near and distant from the hamper, sweaters on the top of the cedar chest in several piles, shoes in disarray and out of place, and this is only the bedroom! Upon emergence from the bedroom the unkempt nature of  the surroundings escalated to the point of screaming and thus my course was set.

The first place of attack was the bedroom. It did not require much time to set things to some semblance of order and restore a bit of peace to the room. Next was the laundry room because that is where much of the bedroom's chaos transferred to. Start a load of laundry, crush the mountain of shoe boxes that have mysteriously accumulated, bag the piles of clothing that have been slotted for the Rescue Mission drop off for months, and of course, vacuum both rooms for a finishing touch. AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I feel peace and order flooding my soul!

Next, the dining room....which appears as if the attic had a bowel movement of Christmas decorations on. For those of you with busy lives, you will empathize with the beginning of projects that get interrupted and unfinished for days. It takes only a short time period and those unfinished projects turn into piles that multiply and migrate and multiply and migrate. So!!!!! The intent of transforming our normal dining area into a place of holiday cheer was revisited and conquered today. The table looks lovely and the remaining decorations have been removed so as to eliminate the migration process! Success!?!? Well almost....

The living room still housed the holiday decoration totes from the tree decorating activities and random articles that are designed to add holiday cheer to a festive season were only adding to my lack of order nightmare! To rid my space of the presence of the totes without returning them to the attic space, they were transported to the garage alcove and out of sight until after the New Year. A little rearranging and viola' !!!!! peace and a lovely serene living room with a lovely twinkling tree and sparce decorations adding to atmosphere. Wonderful!

And there it stopped because my loving spouse arrived home and spastically blurted.....'Why are you here?!?' The reclamation process had just come to an abrupt halt. As you probably can tell, this has set you up to revisit because there will be a sequel!

Musings of a Concerned Mom

How do you take the most wonderful, exasperating, exhilarating, challenging, heart breaking and rewarding job in the whole of existence and reduce it to a few meager sentences? It simply is an impossibility. 

God and life have given me four wonderful, unique individuals  (children) that I love dearly. Each one is special and wonderfully part of my life's story. Some write more colorfully upon the canvas of my existence because they choose to make daily brush strokes while others waltz through occasionally to add their splash of color to my life. These are events that I cherish. It is a heart's desire that in some way I add value to each of their lives as well. 

Parenting is most likely one of the hardest paths to walk. There are so many hopes and dreams that are held within a parent's heart for a child. A parent may recognize the seed of potential, talents and giftings, intelligence that point toward a destiny. This is a wonderful, painful dual edged sword. It is impossible to perfectly guide a child into his or her destiny, through the process of self discovery and to a place of knowing, appreciating and embracing who they are as that unique individual. What a bitter sweet gift given to parents.

Unfortunately all too often another phenomenon occurs... The journey of developing and finding who they are as an individual is short circuited or derailed by the desire to be in a different stage in life. Headlong they rush into the place of serious relationship and a portion of their journey is lost never to be recovered. I cannot fathom how many parents have experienced this dilemma; standing by and watching, attempting to offer sincere guidance out of a heart of love and concern only to have it misunderstood and rejected. Our wonderful little ones have to find their own way, make their own decisions, make their own mistakes, live their own lives and yet as a parent it can be so challenging to allow them to hurt. Why did God give us this divine mission knowing that it will be such a place of mountain top joys and valley lows. 

Grow into who you were created to be and thrive on your journey. Discover who you are and my greatest hope is that you will not look back when you are my age and reflect with regret. My love goes with you always, no matter where you roam, who you are with or how often we communicate. 

MUAHhahahahaha

Hi! This is Trina, the oldest daughter and rightfully the queen of the family's blogginess. I now dub this blog officially open and ready for blogging!