Friday, June 25, 2010

I find joy in little things

I've come to realize that I find joy in little things. Our screened porch is one of my favorite features at our house. 
Whenever I get writer's block the porch is my retreat. I put classical music on the stereo, switch on the porch speakers, grab my laptop and head for the porch. 
Even on warm days, it's comfortable out there because that side of the house is situated under a giant water oak and it stays about five degrees cooler than other parts of the house.
I can sit out there sipping sweet tea with a gentle ceiling fan breeze tinkling the chimes and inspiration always comes to me.
The screens are a bit shabby now and I could never find time to replace them while I was working. Today, I picked up some screen, a few lattice boards for trim and I spent the afternoon repairing the porch.
The afternoon was as still as a tomb, and the humidity was just slightly less than glass of water, but I took my time.
I collected all my tools and set up a work space. I put on the music and planned my work. By the time Jilda got home from work, the worst part was fixed. I have two small places to repair tomorrow, but that will only take a few minutes to finish up.
It feels good to do things where you can see immediate results. When I worked the day job, I'd work for weeks on projects that had no end is sight. It can be frustrating when you can't see light at the end of the tunnel.
But today, I found joy in the simple act of repairing the screens. Maybe it's a function of age, or maybe it's just that you have to slow down a little so that you can "be here now."
There's power in that. Not sure folks will believe it unless they experience it, but for me, I know it's true.

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