Basics

Basics, defined as “the simplest and most important facts, ideas, or things connected with something”, “something that is essential”, “the most important aspects or principles of something that you should learn, think about, or deal with first".  

Due to the coronavirus, my children and I were totally in isolation for 6 weeks, homeschooling and working from home - where we are still homeschooling and I am still working from home.  I am blessed that my Hubby has been doing the shopping, and I’m very grateful to him.  We have had slight movement over the last couple of weeks, out to buy my daughter’s school uniform, where my daughter is back at school one day and today we visited a friend.

I have noticed that it has been some small household tasks, the simplest, essential, the Basics, that have brought Joy to me.  They are small things that have brought me Joy - a ‘yes’ feeling, a sense of satisfaction, a warming in the heart, certainly a sense of peace, from which Joy sings.

I love opening the venetian blinds in the morning to let in the light and welcome the day.

I love making the beds each morning, so that each time I go up the stairs I see my crisp white quilt cover and my room all neat and tidy and my daughter’s room all made up too. 

I love putting a fresh hand towel out every day, downstairs in the laundry and upstairs in our bathroom. 

I am enjoying being on top of the washing, doing one or two loads in the morning - feeling satisfied that I am doing my best at home.  And I love taking the clothes that need washing (that are left on the bathroom floor) downstairs to the laundry each night.

I love buying fresh eggs from our neighbours across the road, which come straight from their pet chickens in their yard, and I love making poached eggs for my daughter for breakfast.

I feel Joyful making my son’s lunchbox, making it with love, wanting him to have a healthy lunch that he will enjoy - and I love seeing it empty when it comes home.

I love getting our weekly delivery of fruit and vegetables - I find so much Joy in opening it each week to see the colour and goodness and the variety in one box.  And I love having our fridge and fruit bowls full - this definitely brings me Joy.

I am also finding Joy in taking up a habit that I saw my Dad do every day – wrapping our rubbish rather than throwing everything in plastic bags, even the plant based plastic bags that are degradable – although now as I Googled to check the spelling of degradable, I’ve just discovered that degradable bags are just as bad as regular plastic bags (will have to chat with my Hubby).  I love having a bowl and putting in the rubbish and food scraps after each meal and then getting out a sheet of newspaper, wrapping up the rubbish and taking it outside to our bin.  It brings back memories of my Dad doing this each night.  The memory and the actual job are bringing me Joy.

I’ve never been great at routines or great at keeping my children in consistent daily routines, yet I’ve found that these small household tasks, that are simple and back to Basics, that are becoming routine to me, are bringing me Joy.