Wednesday 15 August 2012

An important announcement

Tomorrow will be my 35th birthday. My husband will have the day off work and we will spend the day together, with our kids, trying to chill out, have fun and spend as little money as possible! After reading many blogs, posts and comments recently, it occurs to me it seems to be the season for making changes and then announcing them. It also seems that a birthday is a good time to start afresh and make some changes. New Year and birthdays seem to be the traditional time for making announcements of future plans, fresh ideas, changes in lifestyle and new endeavours. And so, I began to think....

There are (and always have been) about a million squillion creative projects that I have bubbling away. I have dreams of opening a children's bookshop, complete with an art area, a cafe for parents and kids and a secret back room full of dressing-up clothes and props for playing with and creating new stories. I have a number of books in my head (one is currently being written with my husband) and I am always planning sewing projects (a teepee for the garden, a wall hanging based around a line from a book I recently read, three quilts and some toys.) I have fruit ready to be made into pots of jam for the winter and I've already began to think about handmade Christmas presents for my friends and family this year. My eldest son starts secondary school in a few weeks, so I am in the process of gathering his uniform and equipment for school (including a mobile phone....why he needs one, I do not know....whatever....)

As I look at my life, there are many, many possibilities. There are so many areas of my character that need renewing and my body definitely needs some improvement. As I type, I can see my reflection in the screen and the sunshine is, very kindly, showing up rather a few lines around my eyes. But botox and plastic surgery are not really an option for me, so I'll have to get used to it.

I could always try to do more exercise, spend more time with friends and drink less Diet Coke. I could read more Christian lifestyle books, learn another language and shout at my kids less. I could put more time into my marriage, be more sympathetic to those in need and watch less Real Housewives of New York City.

But, the truth is, I'm just living. Life is busy and I am blessed. I have a husband, three kids, two cats and a house. I work at my husband's office a couple of days each week, go to a busy church, do the school run and try to keep up with our extended family. I have ideas and opinions, opportunities and great friendships. Our kitchen is falling apart, my veggie patch is overgrown and we need a new lounge carpet.

The fact is that what I am right now is enough. I do not need to strive. I do not need to aspire to be someone else and I do not need to impress. In the words of Fatboy Slim, "Right here, right now" is enough for me.

And so...I will not be making any big announcements or statements of intent. I will change gradually, as we all do, and I will allow God to move me along, transform me and nurture me. It is very likely that I wont announce it either. Why should anyone else be bothered by what I am doing? So, there you go - my important announcement - I'm not announcing anything.