A Ray of Sunshine.

It wouldn't surprise me if I am not the only one who has hit a spot of crisis fatigue.  Some days have been exhausting.  Some days my nerves have felt shot.  There must be many of us feeling the same.  Vicky and I were talking about this.  Vicky is a person who makes the best out of every situation and is always cheerful.  

Years ago I realised that circumstances and cheerfulness are not necessarily related.  We have all known people who have every blessing and resource yet they are always miserable and complaining. Not only that they do nothing to help others.  And we all know people who have it tough in life (or with their health)  yet are always cheerful and helping others.   So go figure...

I have spoken before about my Nan's good friends who taught me this.  One was Mrs. Smith who had Polio when she was young and lived her whole live on crutches.   She was so cheerful and sewed both my babies beautiful clothes and gifts.  She just did what she could to help everyone!  
And there was Mrs. Mann who was in a wheelchair with both legs amputated.   She was another happy and generous person.   She knitted stunning outfits for all the babies and I still have some she gave me to this day.   Both these ladies were rays of sunshine.   
There was also Mrs. Birze. She and her family escaped (in a dramatic and desperate way) from WW2 Europe and came to Australia.  They become Nan's neighbours.  The horrors they had been though...  They knew almost no English so Nan began to teach them and they became life long friends.  She was a person who was another absolute ray of sunshine.

So how do we overcome our worries and be like them?  And how do we nurture ourselves so that we keep up our own strength, spirits and faith?  

Well over to Vicky, this is what she wrote...

How do we feel at peace these days when it seems everyday is filled with something new that is bad news? A pandemic, riots, restrictions, job losses and shortages. Is this all temporary or is this the new norm? I have a feeling it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Annabel's conversation with the older gentleman and his saying there will be another depression struck a chord in so many of us. Could this actually happen? 

Many of us have had feelings that we need to prepare and are either starting or continuing in those efforts so that we can stay ahead and hopefully ride out anything coming, but I have also spoken to some who feel overwhelmed and panicked from the Covid virus and are really riding the edge of being depressed and just too stressed out from it. 

This got me thinking. I remember my great grandmother telling me that even though they had to work hard and had very little that some of her happiest times were coming home after church and just sitting on the porch with tea. 

The Bible says tribulation gives rise to patience and also "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer" 

I think we are all learning patience, but being of good cheer can be a bit harder when it's getting harder on us to navigate through what was our normal routines or something that should be easy like getting groceries or seeing the doctor. 

In times like these we need to embrace simplicity and the joy we can get from it, letting the small things fill our hearts with happiness as we go about our work of preparedness and stocking our pantries, trying to stay ahead and taking care of home and hearth. 

When my granddaughter comes to stay she reminds me to do this. That child finds so many things I take for granted delightful and wonderous! The things I have tucked away are brought out and enjoyed, from her little tea set and a small pitcher that is just her size so she can serve lemonade and small colander of strawberries she picked herself. 

We need to do this for ourselves as well. Do we really need a special occasion to use the things we may have tucked away and love? When the world is so chaotic it's easy to get pulled along with it, but if we strive for a bit more simplicity we can find  patience and good cheer both. Appreciate the small things as we go about our days and we are better able to deal with the big things that come our way. 

That being said here is what I have been up to:

I have been collecting pinecones to use for fire starts and decoration. They are so small this year!

I weeded under one of the pine trees to move some blueberry bushes under there for my granddaughter and found a raspberry bush start growing among the weeds. This makes me happy because I want lots of berries growing here and one day a bumper crop will give more options with food storage. 

We planted a Victory garden this year and I'm usually out there everyday tending to this and that. This week I pruned and tied up most of the tomato plants. It's coming along nicely and with around 200 tomato plants I am sure I'll have enough to can and share as well. 

And I started making little bags of fabric softener beads to use as gifts. I cut some brown paper into squares and glued on flowers I cut from a magazine and zipped them through my sewing machine. I'll fill them with store bought softener beads and glue them shut. I love taking just ordinary things and embellishing them a bit. They will just need to be torn open to use, but to me it's prettier than a plastic bottle and can be added into a basket with some clothes pegs, etc. for a nice little gift. 

XOXO

Vicky

Every day Vicky and I chat online.  Our conversations are always made up of some dumb thing we find hilarious, what we have been doing at home, the garden and the pantry...  and we encourage each other.   It reminds me of the verse in Luke where the woman finds her lost coin and calls her friends to tell them and celebrate!  We need that.  Someone to celebrate our small victories.   Someone to tell!

I try to make this a place like that as we might not have a neighbour or friend interested in our progress and achievements.   They might not see what we do as an achievement at all.
But each thing we do to build up our home, manage our economy and care for our family is an achievement!  

I am a person who needs some alone time and quiet time.  I need to be able to think.  I am better if I write things down.  I need sunshine and plenty of sleep.   The garden, nature and outdoors do me good.  I find crochet or stitching calming.  If I am nervous or worried I will clean and bake... and channel my nerves into action.
A cup of tea and climbing into my comfy bed with clean sheets, a bubble bath and a heat pack on my neck are my go dos when I need to feel better.

Happily many things that are just beautiful and nourishing for bodies and souls are easy and inexpensive.   There are ways to spread happiness and joy for ourselves and others that make a world of difference.

Vicky used old pyjamas that she cut up to make the prettiest cleaning cloths above.   I feel happy just looking at them!

I brought out a fresh chocolate cake from the oven for afternoon tea.  Same effect ...  a little ray of sunshine in the afternoon.

Sometimes I can pick free flowers and this works every time for me.  Playing with flowers is just beautiful.

Simple foods are a hit.  A bowl of soup and a toasted cheese sandwich is thrilling when you are hungry and tired.   I make a Bread and Butter Pudding from left over bread and jam.  it is so divine yet made of stuff many people throw out.  

Having your table set nicely is cheerful.  Things don't have to be fancy to be lovely.

For children an extra story at bedtime or time together is beautiful.  When I was little my Great Aunt used to brush and braid my hair for me.  I would sit there, at her feet,  for any amount of time as I loved the dreamy feeling of my hair being done.  She would plait it tightly and it would last ages.   

Nan would tuck me into my bed at her house.  Her sheets were crisp and you were tucked in so tightly your liver could barely function but it was somehow so nice and secure.  The sheets smelled of sunshine.  The bed had been warmed by a hot water bottle.

So you see many things that are nurturing cost nothing at all.   We need them for our families and ourselves.

What are some ways you can take care of yourself when under extra stress and worry? 

Do you have ideas or memories of things that are good for children or others in the household that make a difference?    

Something encouraging to me has been the number of times I have heard people say they grew up in hard times, the war, a family who had very little... just they never realised until much later!   They just never knew as life was good and happy!   

So that is what I am thinking on.  There is a lot to think about.  Today is a beautiful day and I have had some time to think and plan.  This helps me.     I am sure Vicky's words will help you tooxxx