Carrying On: Nakoa

Many things happen in a life each day. Our world can be riveted by the news of a loved one's illness, death or financial disaster. All three of these have been in my world lately, but the two deaths are the hardest; little Nakoa, 3 years old, was the son and grandson of a family from my hometown. His family has been an example of success and generosity in a different lifestyle, (pioneer homeschoolers, for one), and they are also friends of  friends. They have been in my thoughts and prayers these many days since the accident. Another friend lost her daughter's father yesterday; Michelle, I will hold you in my intentions as well. To my friends newly or long-term dealing with the suckiness and unfairness of cancer or RA; not a day goes by that I do not say a prayer for you.

Among this, life continues in our home, with extra candles lit and extra moments of prayer and silence. Lessons and learning happens, meals are prepared with love and eaten too quickly, chores are done. It has finally snowed and we sledded in it until the grass and mud crept through. The hardware store seems to be our favorite destination these days. Yesterday I spent 90 minutes there with Aragorn and Arthur, picking out piping, locating supplies (the screws took the longest, typical) and having boards sawed in half so they would fit in the car. I am not completely sure what Aragorn is up to, but I will post photos of it when he completes it. Arthur is making more "boffers" with pvc piping and insulation foam and duct tape. I am in love with pegboard. Photos will be forthcoming. 

In the meantime, I have been doggedly and sometimes furiously, decluttering, sorting and reorganizing our living space. By that I mean closets, bedrooms, and playrooms. It feels fabulous to finally get down to the real "simplifying" I've meant to do in the past. We did some good work, but now I've taken it down to the bare bones, taken everything out, apart and thrown half of it away. Having a vision helped; a vision of what I wanted one bedroom to look like, one closet's function, and the rest followed. It is too easy to live in complacency, keeping to what we know, not acknowledging that there could be a better way, if only we took a minute to reflect and another few hours to do. I'd really better have a look at that cabinet where my spices lie in wait, ready to dive onto my head, can pegboard work for spice jars?