Life at times can be rather busy. I find that when I am at my busiest, I am also the most unhappy and unsatisfied with my life and my family’s life. When things are busy around here I snap easier, the kids bicker more and Dadzoo is irritable. While some degree of business is normal an unavoidable in a family of 7, a lot of it is business by choice. By limiting outside activities to those that are most important we leave time for building family relationships, when family relationships are strong peace and harmony in the home are easier to come by.
The afternoon right around our evening meal seems to be prime time for a lot of activity. Everyone is home and going here or there, playing with friends or each other and I am busy preparing our meal. It would be easy to get ornery (which I often do) but I have found that if I look for the beauty and peace around me it helps to calm my frazzled nerves.
The other day I stepped outside to pick peas for dinner, I then sat at the kitchen table to shell them. It was nice and relaxing to sit and slowly prepare food for my family.
I couldn’t help but notice how pretty the bright green looked in my white bowl. The afternoon sunlight streamed in my kitchen windows making for a peaceful scene.
I also got a handful of green beans out of the fridge from when I had picked them the day before and snapped them too, to go along with the peas.
There is something so satisfying about providing your own food.
The Pea Pods and the Bean ends will be fed to our compost pile, to later become nutrients for future vegetables.
The Peas and Beans will fill our tummies!
I love our slow lifestyle. Once I was caught up in business–it nearly killed me. Like you I now try to find joy in small things. Thanks for this lovely post.