At Home Pleasures: Tuesday’s Reflection

I have always loved staying home. In fact, for me the best part of leaving home is returning home. 

Both my husband and I are hometenders. Although Bruce's playground is mainly the outside and mine the inside, we encourage and find delight in each other's efforts. We care about our spaces and recognize how those spaces support all aspects of our lives.

Loving our home and loving our time at home is not new for us, but has become even more important during this pandemic time. 

Are there things beyond our boundaries I would enjoy doing right now? Of course, but the pleasures, simple pleasures, at home are abundant. Just for starters:
           * The new bright and happy umbrella for the "Paris" garden. Now I can sit out there and read and write, even when the sun is blinding. 
           *  Our rhubarb patch behind the garage. I made the first batch of sauce and a rhubarb cake this week. My mother always said, "Do not ever buy rhubarb," meaning you should always be able to find someone who wants to give it away. 
         *  The herbs Bruce planted in pots on the patio. I complained last year that I didn't have enough basil to make more than one batch of pesto. That will not be the case this year!
           *  The red and white geraniums in the window boxes and big pots at the foot of the front steps. Could anything look any happier?
           *   A clean laundry/storage room. That was a task on my weekend list. See what I mean about simple pleasures?!
           *   An eclectic collection of coffee table books. I've decided this is a good time to enjoy the text, as well as the art work or the photographs in books we have collected over the years. I started with Pilgrimages by the renowned photographer, Annie Liebovitz and then a book I bought after our only trip to France almost ten years ago, Monet's Table, The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet by Claire Joyes. One of my favorite days during that two week trip was to Giverney, and I loved Monet's house, almost as much as the garden. This book brought it all back to me. 
           * Desk time. I've opened the windows and the skylight in the garret and over the gentle bubbling of my small fountain, I can hear the kids next door playing tag and the occasional barking of one of the dogs on our block. And the birds! Gradually, I am returning to my writing life. 

Sometimes I receive a gift from someone else's house to mine. Our granddaughter stopped by the other day with cookies she had made, and we stood outside and talked. Plus, daily the letter carrier has delivered cards and notes from so many, expressing sympathy for the death of my father. And oh, how I loved the phone call from our son's best friend who wanted to know how we are doing. 

Perhaps it seems trite to talk of pleasures right now. Do I sound like a Pollyanna? I know these days are challenging, and for some these days are scary and rent with loss and fear. I discount none of that. Opening the Sunday New York Times, its front page covered with the names of 1000 people who have died of COVID-19, was daunting, devastating. How grateful I am that soon after bringing the paper into the house, we could sit in the snug and participate in our weekly online worship service and be reminded that we each are the body of Christ.

Our homes are places of worship, too, whether we are used to praying in a church, a synagogue or a mosque.

And the pleasures, big and small, add up to a house filled with love.

I wish the same for you. 

An Invitation
What in your home brings you pleasure right now? I would love to know.