It’s been the strangest thing of late. Now that Mike has been retired for 4 months and we are both working from home, it resembles being newly wed without children. We have few domestic responsibilities. Right now we feel we have done it all.
We got married.
We had children quite early on.
We saw them through primary school, and then high school and then university.
They left home.
One married.
We saw our parents to the end of their lives.
Now there’s just us.
How cool is that?
We have this routine going where we only have to worry about what we are going to eat or what we are going to do today. Our lives have suddenly taken on a fabulous degree of stresslessness that we have not enjoyed for years.
It’s precious!
Oh, I forgot.
There is one responsibility. Madam Truffles here needs to be kept in clover.
But for the rest, there’s just us.
It’s very liberating.
The next plan is to do a bit more renovation. We will keep our online jobs going. We will play golf at golf clubs that are not inside the Fish Hoek valley. We will stomp over the mountains.
These are good days and I am being sure not to take them for granted. I know how life can change very quickly – in the blink of an eye – so I will appreciate these days, from the mundane to the magnificent, from the simple to the extraordinary.
I have had seasons that were not great. Seasons that were sacrificial and stressful – but they have passed and these are glorious halcyon days!
And that’s the lesson to be learned here. If you are going through a hard time – this too will pass. I remember looking at Granny and saying, “one day she will not be here.” The days crept by. She was frail and thin and struggling in so many ways. It was hard to watch. It was hard to cope with. But I knew those days would end. I used to think I would only feel completely at peace about Granny when she was in heaven and out of the struggles she had to endure here on earth.
The focus in the hard times was that they will pass and better times are ahead.
That’s the scary thing about these halcyon days – they too will end – the seasons whether calm or stormy come and go. Eventually something has to change.
But I won’t go there.
I will focus on these calm, peaceful days and appreciate each sparkling minute.
The Bible has a message for all who journey through this life…
Psalm 9:9-10
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed. a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your Name will trust in You for You Lord have never forsaken those who seek You.”
In good times and in hard times, seek and trust the Lord.
These are the days.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂