Simple Joys

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” 

~The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

Do you ever find yourself longing for the weekend to get here, but then as soon as it’s here, you continue to feel exhausted? 

Most of us are getting to enjoy a long three-day weekend, and as a teacher, it means we are that much closer to summer break!  However, I went into this weekend stressed, ready to cry at the drop of a hat, and dreading the next, very-long, nine days of school.  My to-do list was a mile long, and I just wanted to give up.  The long weekend was not looking relaxing.

Friday night I decided to go ahead and tackle several projects to get them out of my way in an effort to get ahead.  My stress had been running rampant all day and was nagging me something awful.  Some things I always do on Fridays (e.g., laundry) and others (e.g., deep cleaning the bathroom and living room) were just necessity or seasonal (i.e., planting flowers).  I went to bed a little later than I would have otherwise, but I was completely calm and strangely rejuvenated.  My stress was definitely less than it had been when I had started. 

I pondered this going into my Saturday with its multitude of tasks, and I realized that it wasn’t the checking off of my to-do list, although that always brings me a measure of comfort and joy, it was the fact that I chose to take care of myself and my home, and then I celebrated.  After my cleaning frenzy Friday night and before settling into bed, I ate a piece of delicious chocolate cake and savored a hot cup of tea.  Rather than just jumping to the next thing on the list or stewing about all that was left as I went to bed, I chose to take a moment and just be.

Today, as I continued working on my list, I was not as stressed out, and I actually took pleasure in completing the various tasks left to go on my list.  I let myself enjoy a warm breakfast before hopping to chores.  While working on a trim-painting project, I chose to listen to a podcast series I had been wanting to listen to for a while and learned a lot.  While I was mowing the lawn, I enjoyed the brief sprinkle of rain cooling me off and took great joy in tidying the yard.  Then I took the time to harvest some rhubarb and make a fun fizzy drink out of it before deciding to read and listen to the fountain play outside the window. 

My choices shaped how I looked at this weekend that had started so very hard.  When the little things start to build up for me, they start to look like big things.  Between the stress of the school year coming to an end and endless projects I have convinced myself need attending, I was run ragged before I had even begun my weekend chore list that looked increasingly like my own personal Mount Everest. 

In the midst of all the things, I was struggling with my blog topic for this week.  I have been working very hard on my consistency with writing, so skipping a week sounded awful, especially with how high my stress has been.  Now, there are absolutely times when I should skip the blog.  Yet, this weekend did not seem to be one of those times, and I think it comes down to, again, my choices.  Some of my choices had cast too much unnecessary weight and worry on me, while others had relieved my burdens and brought joy.  And my topic fell into place.

It was the chocolate cake last night that clinched it for me.  I was reminded this afternoon of a quote from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” 

I was hoarding my stress as if it were a treasure, but all it had succeeded in doing was drowning me and clouding my mind.  When I chose to take moments to stop and breathe and be, I learned to enjoy the moments of busy and the chores were no longer so weighty.  The cloud that had grown darker as the week progressed began to lighten and let in some rays of sun. 

As I continued to make choices that changed my perspective of my chores and my day, my entire outlook changed and my weariness melted away – always a celebration for me!  My choices were small – a piece of cake, a cup of tea, a warm breakfast, a podcast, a new book at the end of the day – yet each choice served to remind me that there is joy in the doing and celebration in the completing.

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4, “…seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you…” Now, Paul is writing to the Thessalonians and reminding them of several conduct expectations – mind your own business and focus on your own work.  I dug into some of the original language in this verse and each of the commands – lead a quiet life, mind your own business, and work with your own hands – essentially repeats the exact same point.  Do your own thing and let everyone else do theirs. 

Between the Tolkien quote and the 1 Thessalonians verse, I finally understood why my weekend, while busy, had become something enjoyable and rejuvenating rather than wearying and stressful.  I focused my attention on taking care of my home and myself and doing things to help my family.  I quit focusing on the craziness awaiting me when I go back to work next week and the worries that had been plaguing me – some for weeks, others for months.  I thanked God for the chance to be useful and helpful, but also for the simple joys of cake, tea, podcasts, freshly-planted flowers, mown grass, and spring rain.

The gratitude and celebration changed everything for me, and my world is now a much “merrier” one indeed, even if my to-do list is still half a mile long.