Honestly, I live a charmed life. A wonderful husband and friend and partner in crime. A healthy and happy family. A peaceful five acre plot of land with a big red brick house on it. A couple of trucks. More than a couple of campers. (Yeah…it’s an addiction!) I have reasonably good health, considering. And it’ll be even better when I get this parathyroid thing worked out. The bottom line is, I really don’t have anything to complain about. 

I wrote yesterday about the leak in the camper and the tires that arrived the wrong size. Frustrating, but minor inconveniences. Someone commented how exhausting these trials can be, no matter how minor. Mr. FixIt had appointments all day yesterday so he left without waking me. It was almost noon when I woke up! I must have really needed the rest…but I was shocked.

We are in the midst of a very rainy stretch. I need to have the camper at Setzer’s this morning, so I figured I’d tow it down there yesterday afternoon and stay the night in a campground near the dealership. I ran downstairs to get some clean clothes and stepped on the carpet…and my plans for the day changed in an instant. We got water in the basement again. I was so frustrated. We’ve worked on that drain and it’s down so well. I just couldn’t figure out what happened. I grabbed the carpet cleaner and started sucking up the water. In a little while, another downpour hit and I figured it out. The gutter was plugged up and when the water can’t go down the drainpipe, it overflows and quickly overwhelms the storm drain.

I spent my afternoon sucking up water and cursing this house. When I was finally finished with the carpet, I came upstairs, got a cold drink, and sat down for a break. I could feel the tension in my shoulders and neck. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed something to calm me down. To center me. A thought popped in my head.

“You need grounding.”

Oh, I did…I really did. I walked outside barefoot into a light sprinkling rain. I walked over to the lawn and soaked up the earth’s energy through the soles of my feet. I lifted my face to the sky and let the cool rain drops melt away any frustration of the day. It’s not a big deal. We got a little lax in our weekly maintenance is all. It’s easy to let things build up until small things feel big. With my newfound calm, I went on with my day and was my happy self when my sweetheart came home. 

I’ve learned to take my stress off like a jacket and leave it at the door when evening comes. It’s an extension of what I used to do when I worked. Just because we are retired, doesn’t mean we don’t need to practice leaving things on the “worry tree” outside. On the contrary…it’s even more important because we are together 24/7 now. Working to keep things positive and productive and healthy is a goal we all should work toward in our home relationships. Keeping God at the center, reminding myself that He has plans to prosper us and give us a future, and taking time out to ground myself with my feet on the ground made for a beautiful day…leaks or no leaks.

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“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Psalm 1:3 ESV