Ahh...Vacation

After a Saturday of grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, vacuuming and dusting, I'm relishing this Sunday morning as the official start of my two week vacation. Six and I spend the first hour of the day knitting side by side on the sofa while watching Playhouse Disney. Now that breakfast has been served and the kitchen is clean again, the boys are playing in their room, giving me some time to gather my scattered thoughts. As the year winds down, and 32 is approaching, followed immediately by Christmas, I've been reflecting on the year and feeling truly content. I'm content about the several cords of seasoned wood under our deck, waiting to fulfill their destiny of warming my family regardless of what the New England winter has to offer. I feel content knowing that the truck has a full tank of gas, and the bottom shelf of my bathroom closet is lined with rolls and rolls of toilet paper. And I feel content that even though our renovation project looms on far beyond it's scheduled date of completion, we have a roof over our head (it wasn't there in August), and a comfortable (albeit crowded) place to sleep - the mattress next to our kitchen table, and the company of each other. I'm pretty sure that's all I need. And though it occurs to me that these are all external expressions of contentment - I'm not sure if this hinders true inner contentment, or nurtures it. Either way, I'm embracing this feeling with my second cup of coffee.