Why Simplify?

As I let my mind wander through the loads of tasks yet to be done to prepare for our move (next Saturday!!), my eyes rest on the book that came in the mail while I was away on business: Simplicity Parenting.  Isn't that what we're about to do?  We're simplifying our lives, creating a haven for our kids (and ourselves) so that we can slow down and take a breath.  Maybe, I thought, there's something in there that I need to read right now- something that will inspire me to go find the packing tape.  So I opened the book.  No time for the introduction (after all, I AM in the middle of moving...) so I skipped to Chapter 1 and read the quote at the top of the page.

"We are facing an enormous problem in our lives today.  It's so big we can hardly see it, and it's right in front of our face all day, every day.  We're all living too big lives, crammed from top to toe with activities, urgencies, and obligations that seem absolute.  There's no time to take a breath, no time to look for the source of the problem."  -Sarah Susanka, The Not So Big Life

While I was away on my four day business trip to North Carolina, not a single box was packed.  And I expected that to be the case.  My boys were busy and away from home most of the time I was gone.  They were mostly busy with after school meetings for Ryan's job that took much of their late afternoon and evening.  I don't think they ate one meal at home the whole time I was gone and it isn't because Ryan doesn't cook!  (He's actually taught me a thing or two in the kitchen...) They were literally in survival mode, just trying to get lunches put away at the end of the day, and finding a little time to play and unwind before falling into bed (late) only to repeat again the next day.  In reality, that was all they could really manage.  Leaving at 7am and then not returning home until 7, 8, or 9pm each night leaves no time for packing.  Or much else, for that matter.  I'd love to say that this schedule was because I was out of town and that this week was different, but this is how it has been for quite some time.

Our lives have been crammed from "top to toe," as Sarah Susanka so aptly wrote, and it is high time that we un-cram them!  Why simplify?  Why not, I say?!  We need time to take a breath.  Maybe having the salty ocean breeze playing on our front porch will be just the balm that our family needs as we slow down our lives and regain our footing.