I am one of those people who wholeheartedly embrace all of the Daylight Savings Time process. In winter, I literally count down to the days when DST begins again. And in fall? Well, it hits at just the right time to enjoy an extra hour of sleep. This year? It’s arrival couldn’t be more perfect. Yesterday, we started the final repair that we plan to do before hanging up our tools for a few years. More? We managed to keep its impact to the rest of our lives very light. And last night, we spent a few minutes talking about what our Christmas break will look like without a renovation project to soak up that week between Christmas and New Year’s.
All in all, it’s lining up to be just about a perfect Sunday in fall: it should be mid-50s, sunny all day and little to do. Who could ask for more? Honestly, not me.
It’s been nearly a nine-year process but I finally have the true environment to live out my dreams of simple peace. My work is reduced and highly manageable; our home is fully renovated; the kids (my nieces and nephews) are doing a little better than alirght; and we have currently managed all of the serious health concerns we needed to manage. Finally, my sister – one of my two sisters and partners in crime – has lived up to her promise of cutting her workload back to match up with mine. Next up for me? Oh, bring on that slow “mostly retired”/homemaking stage of my life.
It dawns on me that after nine years, I still didn’t get that whole “full-time chief family engineer” role correct. First, I deluded myself to think that being a four-day-a-week consultant would work, then a three-day-a-week one. Nope. Took the plunge nearly two years ago and began to work for myself. Only then was I able to calibrate my work life down to less of a load so it didn’t always interfere with home. But then? Well, we had renovations to do. Lots and lots of them. While my husband did the heavy lifting work, I did a lot of the time-consuming work. I was the one doing the home improvement and grocery store runs for weekend work, setting up and cleaning up each weekend and all of the home and yard maintenance so he could focus on the project. Now that those are over? Well, it’s back to being CFE. Hmmm… those are three letters I can sink my teeth into.
Honestly, the switch to CFE likely started yesterday. It wasn’t a productive day, but in the end the house was clean and dinner was from scratch. Not bad for my first day. What’s on tap for my week? Oh, let me share!
First, I’m about to start putting out my winter décor in earnest. It’s a gradual thing for me but it taps into my love of the holidays. Then? I’m going to do a bit of an online search for my next good read. I haven’t had the opportunity to just sit and read in years. I’ve got plans to thoroughly enjoy it. Finally? I’ve been waiting two years to get out a jigsaw puzzle and I’m about to unbox one, setting it up on the dining room table, just like my mom used to do for us. I KNOW it’s old fashioned and terribly pedestrian of me; I genuinely don’t care. I’ve been waiting for that moment.
In between, I’ll make dinners, do grocery runs, take care of laundry, run the vacuum and do all of those tedious homemaker things that I used to completely undervalue. Through it all, I’ll get that sense of calm, home and peace that I’ve spent years searching for. For this restless soul, getting to simple peace means largely shutting out the world and boiling it down to what matters most to us.
The coolest part of all of this? Well, when I successfully achieve simple peace, it makes a difference for everyone. It usually takes about a week and my husband starts to notice. Give it a few weeks and our lives start to run like clockwork. In the past, I’ve only ever been able to maintain simple peace for a few weeks or months. This time? I’m really working on a forever plan and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Save me an hour? Sure! Give me back the rest of my life? I’m in!
The Yuppie Homesteader 