The Principal of Ordinary Things.

I read this line in the novel, Benediction, by Kent Haruf. That one line really resonated with me.

My husband and I recently moved to a smaller home in an old neighborhood. Our home was built in 1898, the homes around us late 1800’s early 1900’s. Though our home has a contemporary feel inside there are still touches of the by gone days in the molding, claw foot tub, heating grates, and tall ceilings. I look out the windows and get a sense of days gone by. Homes with big front porches and porch swings, huge old maple trees, alley ways with stray cats and the occasional raccoon, kids walking to school on a quiet street, people sitting on front porches eating dinner or having a cup of coffee, waving to neighbors as they walk by.

It’s the ordinary things that I remember and long for. Sipping tea with a loved one, taking the dogs on long walks through trees and creeks, through streets and neighborhoods that have been here for over a hundred years. Enjoying the warm sun on my face while sitting on the front porch. Hearing the Canadian geese fly overhead and the train whistle at night. The sounds of water gurgling through rocks in the creek. So many simple things that we take for granted that make up our lives.

The Christmas card newsletter talks of faraway travel, the family’s successes, large homes, new jobs. But it is the ordinary things I will remember. Long ago sharing a cup of tea with my dad on Christmas Eve afternoons, watching TV with my grandma, holding hands with my husband as we walk down the street. The ordinary things add sweetness to life, a comfort in difficult times. They warm our hearts.

I paint the simple scenes of nature, trees, creeks, forests, paths. But their impact is not simple it is profound. The light peeking through the forest leaves brings hope, quiets the mind, and opens the heart.

Perhaps I will start painting this neighborhood. Document the time I have in its history. But for now I will make another cup of tea.