I am moving to the beach. You are aware of this, the Universe is aware of this, I am moving to the beach.
I am also dumping unwanted, unused items at what seems to some an alarming rate. Can't use 'em at the
beach, they gotta go.
I am now practicing daily the reality of living with less. If you are a reader you know that the new kitchen rule is the rule of six. Six plates, six cups, six. I added a new rule this week, no dishwasher. I don't remember my grandmothers having a dishwasher. I know my maternal grandmother Elizabeth did not have one in the house I remember as a child. Yet there were never dishes in the sink, laying around the house, sitting in the dishwasher...habits that come from having too much.
Let me introduce you to Elizabeth. She was very tall, always wore dresses, I never saw her hair undone
and if she held an opinion...she held it. Elizabeth had the house of my dreams. The curtains were a light fabric, in weight and color. In my memory of her, I imagine that she sewed them herself. (I have tons of cousins, so if my memory doesn't serve me well, theirs may still be intact.) The living room and dining room
were one room. There were probably only seven pieces of furniture, several mission style, all were on the
lighter smaller scale. One of my sisters has several of these pieces and they immediately bring to mind the room.
In the spring and fall, she would open her windows and front door to create a breeze tunnel that would
make the curtains dance around. There were few knickknacks, no bookshelves, white walls and white curtains. No decorating books, no seven layers of whoha, just space. It was almost blissful.
Why didn't I keep the bliss lesson learned in early childhood? I choose to blame the Joneses next door. In our society we must keep up with the Jones or thought to be a slacker. But all is not lost. I have found my grandmother's wisdom once again. I walk carefully and thoughtfully back into a time when less was it, there were no other choices. My grandmother may have wanted more, I will never again get to talk to her about this. In this life. I will patiently wait for another life to sit with her once again and chat.
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| No this is not mine or Elizabeths house. She would have loved it and the azaleas! |
In the meantime, I washed the two dishes, two glasses, two forks we used for breakfast by hand, dried them and put them away. I remembered my grandmother's room and smiled. Progress.
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