Echoes

It echoes in my kitchen.  I have gotten rid of so much, that the place literally echoes.  I noticed it the other day.  It made me think about when we first moved into this house, almost 12 years ago.

I needed this home so much back then.  I needed something, anything that really was a home. 

We had moved here from a tiny little cinder block rental house and this house was so huge compared to what we had moved from that it echoed in every room.

The house wasn't the only thing that felt empty.  My heart was empty. 

I had just 'lost' my mother to her mental illness.  My sister had just had a baby, that I instantly fell madly in love with, and she had taken him 4 and 1/2 hours away to live with a man that she wasn't legally supposed to be seeing at all.

I so desperately needed something solid, something with a real foundation that I could build upon.  That's what this house has been for me. 

This house has been the place where my husband and I have both grown into ourselves.  We have loved our friends and family so freely here.  We have shared this home for more time than either of us have ever come close to being in any other home, in either of our lives.

Now, over the last couple of years, we have been preparing to leave in search of new and different adventures.  We are both more sure than ever that it's time to go, to seek out the sun, to find yet another facet of ourselves that we haven't met yet.

And so I have been slowly, but surely, emptying out this house.  I have known for a while now that I intend to leave without much baggage.  We will leave this place in a very similar state to what it was when we came here.  There will be echoes in the empty rooms and my heart will be open and ready for the next big thing.

Some Of The Best Advice I Ever Got

Back in college I worked 3 different part time jobs to get enough hours for full time work and still get my school hours in.  One of these jobs was probably the seed that started me into the work I do now.  That job involved helping out a couple of older ladies who needed some simple chores done around the house.

These two ladies were mother and daughter.  The mother was 93.  Not sure of the age of the daughter.

Looking back, I have come to realized that these women were also pretty important in the development of correcting some of my overall self esteem issues and also noticing that there was certainly more to life than what I had previously been exposed to.

I would come once a week to each ladies' household and set into cleaning, organizing or running errands as needed.  These households were much nicer than anything I had ever seen before-  not just because they were beautiful homes, but simply in the efficiency and calm manner that these households were run.  The ladies' homes were wonderful to be in and there was such a sense of pride and goodwill that emanated from them.

House Of Love By Sweet Crisis/ Found At: freedigitalphotos.com

Sometimes the daughter would be listening to a list of her stock results or getting ready to entertain.

Sometimes the mother would have visitors over or be ironing her household linens.

Whatever was going on I would always feel as if things were moving in a positive direction and I believe that just absorbing the happy and contented vibes of two women who were not afraid of hard work and were reaping the benefits of said work was an immeasurably positive experience for me.

Many times one of the two ladies would sit me down and share a 'break time' with me.  They would sometimes tell me what a hard worker I was and how my willingness to do anything without complaining would get me far.  I would smile and think to myself how wonderful it was to be spending time in one of these lovely homes.

One day, the 93 year old lady shared an insight with me that I have never forgotten.  She told me that she had always vowed to have her house ready for guests at any time.  In so doing this, she said she was never resentful of having people over and she got to enjoy a beautiful home at all times.  I took this as the helpful piece of advice that it was and have been so grateful for it over the years.

Colorful Gerbera Flowers By Posterize/ Found at: freedigitalphotos.com

These two lovely ladies I write of are now long gone from my life, but obviously never forgotten.  They both made a huge difference for me with just sharing some simple things from their everyday life.  I like to think that I promote their legacy by sharing their words with others.  I also share this advice of my own:  When you bring something new home, take the time to edit out something old from your household.  Keep a bag in the garage or somewhere else out of the way and make a donation to charity when it gets full.

What is some of the best advice you were ever given or gave?  What's the simplest thing that anyone ever told you that made a big difference in your own life?