Winnowing through the Weeds

We had a leisurely holiday weekend at Chez Hez.  Well, on paper, we had a busy weekend but the overall feel of it was leisure.  The weather was seasonably warm and yesterday, I definitely took the term Labor Day to heart.  The girls and I headed out to the front yard.  Our lovely litte house is situated on two city blocks and sometimes, if left to their own devices, the weeds gather a life of their own.  Sure, some of it is lovely, like the Morning Glories who have come back year after year, stronger than ever, but winding their way through our railings on our tiny porch and then a wild grapevine has managed to take root, also. 

The girls and I pulled and picked, yanking this way and that, to fill up several wheelbarrow loads full.  And I was trimming back one of our forsythia bushes, I kept thinking how much of my life requires continual maintenance.  There's always laundry to be done.  Homework to be checked.  Lunches to be made.  Less pop, more water. 

But, those are the things that feed our bodies. 

And as I was standing there in the front yard, sweat dripping down my face, it occurred to me that this is one of the things that feeds the real me. 

Lately, I've been trying to cull out the extraneous weeds in my own life.  I mean, the things that are feeding the negativity in my life.  Like weeds, negativity comes creeping into my life seemingly innocent enough with people or things.  And then I'm forgetting what my job is and what is most important to me.  (Which, if you needed to know, is my family.)  These short folks - along with my husband - are the things that keep me growing.  They're the reason that I try to do more, be more, learn more.  They're the proverbial flowers in the garden, or the bounty at the end of a great garden. 

These past few weeks, I've dragged out my own wheelbarrow and started culling back the vines that are growing wild for me and have managed to trim and trim and trim.  Some of it was painful, some of it not so much.  But, ultimately I'm feeling very good about my choices. 

Like writing in this blog three times a week.  I feel good about that choice/decision.  If nothing more, there will be a little documentary of what my life was like as a mother and wife. 

As for the real life front yard, it's still in beginning phase.  There's more to do, but I feel good about the foundation I've laid down.  Everywhere.