“All good things are wild and free.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I was raised to be an apologist, so forgive me if I apologize for the short but sweet post tonight. I do try to take time to write, but sometimes you have to take time to live.
All is right with the world when you get to spend time with people you love. My sister is in town from Connecticut with her family, and we took them out for a late afternoon of paddle boarding on a nearby lake. Afterward, there were some non-competitive corn hole games, followed by some long walks. Sometimes you get caught up in the busy business of life and you forget the simple pleasures. I am guilty of this too often.
I’m grateful I took time today to be present with people I love, to get out into nature and feel the cool water on my feet while I paddled across a windswept lake, and to remember what it’s like to be free, to be comfortable, to be loved just as you are. I should remember to do these things more often.
Live Now and Zen 
Work to live, or live to work?
How about a third option: Just Live.
I caught myself the other day, tired from a workday, as I began to dread the social occasion planned for the evening. I corralled the thought and told myself aloud “Slap yourself hard and get back to reality whenever you think like that. THIS is what we live for.”
Best,
Paz
I have at times in the past gotten depressed because I had no good answer when people asked where I worked and I had to tell them I stayed at home with my children. People don’t find that a satisfactory answer, as if staying home means I am lazy or unintelligent. Only recently have I come to realize that people’s negative attitudes about my life situation say more about them than about me. Now that my sons are mostly grown everyone wants to know when I will be going back to work. I tell them, “Never. Who wants to have a job when they could play drums or take hikes instead?”
I forgot about the drums. Working on my own chops right now. Inspired by Rob Brown. If you haven’t seen him (or his lessons) check out robbrownondrums.com
Funny about stay-at-home. How it used to be normal. When I was growing up, all the dads were at work, and all the moms were at home. I once heard a joke that “before women’s lib” women took care of the house and men took care of the cars. Now, men no longer feel obligated to take care of the cars.
A life of liberty daily? Isn’t that what everyone dreams of? To win the lottery and live like a millionaire on a yacht sipping martinis all day?
My wife was a homemaker, too. I could never understand why people couldn’t comprehend that someone is living the way they themselves would want to live.
I think it’s just envy.
The poor souls.
Paz