My favourite time of day

I had a couple of important jobs to do this afternoon as I returned from op shopping for that perfect 80s rockband outfit.  Fill the car with petrol, fairly important when the empty light is on (and has been the whole trip and you live 5ks from the nearest fuel stop) and collect that form you've promised the committee you'll post off on their behalf. Yet I found myself turning off, heading for home. I'd been arguing with myself for the last 10kms, do what's expected of me or what intuition says I need. Intuition won out, once it never would have, but these days things are different. I'm learning to listen to what I need, not what I SHOULD do. The interesting thing is, often by doing what I need things turn out better!  Instead of rushing and being stressed I'll take the extra few minutes to finish something (probably last night dishes) only to find the friend is running late too!  So instead of being on time, disorganised and frustrated I find all is in place within my world. Nice!

Upon arriving home, with the place empty, no phone calls needinf replies, no unexpected visitors, I wondered why intuition had sent me home. Then I realised, this is my favourite time of day and if I had done 'my jobs' I would have missed it.

The sun is shining but the shadows are quickly creeping across the lawn reminding me to enjoy every moment as it won't be long before the cool and dark have me scampering in beside the fire. The flowers in my garden dance reminding me to appreciate them because tomorrow they may be a puddle of petals on the ground. The birds sing, reminding me that spring is on its way, but they too, soon, will shut down for the night, prepare the food, and get ready to farewell another of their days.

I don't have a great memory, in fact I have very few memories from before I turned eight. At times I'm not even sure which are memories and which are known stories shared by family. But one memory I'm sure of (and don't anybody dispute me!) occurred at this time of day. I remember sitting on my mothers knee, with the late summer sun in the sky and the evening air just beginning to cool. We sat there, together, laughing and sharing the joy of sisters around me.  I see them showing Mum their latest cartwheeling skills. I see Mum's bare arms and legs poking out from under her summer dress, possibly one she sewed herself. The grass was short; to this day the smell of mown lawn sends happy shingles down my spine. We were waiting for Dad to return from his days away, 'up bush'. But it wasn't the anticipation of Dad's return that I remember, it was the joy of sitting on my mother's knee, hearing laughter around me, no one worrying about what had to be or should be done, just a family simply sharing time.

Why do we choose to see the weeds?

After an afternoon of watching the local football grand-final my thoughts when entering our home were 'Ugh, why didn't I do the dishes, the house is messy, oh, the tele is about to be turned on - again.'  I took a breath and feeling deflated wandered out to give Will his cigarette.

After a quick chat Will wandered in and yes, turned on the TV.  By then I'd decided to come outside and write my blog, I didn't know what about, just knew I needed to stop and reflect. With iPad in hand all of a sudden I was photographing our garden which has not been tendered for 8 weeks. Yes, I'd thrown in packs of seeds and plenty of bulbs before heading north but there has been non of the usual tending since.  No dead heading of daffodils, no trimming the azaleas and no pulling of weeds which had seemed to abound yesterday.  But through the lens I saw bright joyful flowers not weeds.  It warmed my heart and shortly after the smile had returned to my face and I felt grateful for the day I'd had.

Then I wondered why I'd been so quick to see the 'weeds' in my day instead of  the beauty in my day. The reason the dishes weren't done was because a quick pop to the shops with a girlfriend turned into coffee and cake, long conversations, happy giggles and a new outfit!!  A trip to the local footy turned into hours of glorious sunshine, catching up with acquaintances not seen for weeks and hours together with Will, (away from the TV).  The evening is once again mild, the breeze still and the sunset gorgeous.  And you know what, the dishes might just stay unwashed as we are off to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday, another bright flower in my glorious garden of a day.

A new hobby

I've often maligned that I don't have a hobby, but over the last few months I've found fulfilment in writing. Blogging gave me something to do each evening as Will chatted with the crew around the fire drum or quietly read into the evening.  It's long been a bug bear of mine that the evenings are the time I'm looking for conversation and social interaction whilst Will is looking for quiet and solitude and worse still, a crappy TV show! So for me to sit and quietly share my thoughts has been a blessing, and selfishly, I haven't had to listen to people immediately tell me their reflection on my reflections.  Don't get me wrong, sometimes I hunt out those who will challenge my ideas and have philosophical conversations with me but sometimes it's simply nice to share your thoughts, just because you've thought them.

So today, as I wandered the familiar rail trail, appreciating the familiar hills in a newer less familiar way I decided to come home and spend some time, once again, blogging. Do I have anything worth saying?  No more, no less than many others who choose to blog. But I will once again use it as a tool to remind ME of the joys I've felt throughout the day that could easily be lost in the busyness of our world. And if someone else is reminded of something positive or feels greater joy for having read it, then that's an added blessing.

This afternoon as I stopped on my way home from work the wind was still, the temperature mild and the air filled with the scent of jasmine. The grass and hills were rich and green and the cows ambled happily around their paddock. Today I once again appreciated the beauty I am treated to each day. It's easy to become complacent and to take what we have before us for granted and to think that the grass is greener somewhere else. Greener than here, certainly not literally!   It's also much easier to see the beauty when the sun has shone and the bones are warm!  So with warmed bones and a happy heart I headed home, grateful for a productive day, shared with positive co-workers and an evening of quiet writing to look forward to.