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Living Simply and Simply Living - Page 2

© April Kelley

My grandfather says, "You've gotta love what you're doing no matter what and you've gotta laugh. If you can't laugh, then you're dead." He's right. Of all the crazy New Year's resolutions that I've already broken, I plan to keep one promise to myself. I will enjoy the smell of the muffins I make to put in the breakfast jar. I will breath deep when I open the coffee in the morning. I will not feel guilty when I skip yet another fundraiser dinner to stay home and have a bottle of wine and read a book. I will enjoy hot baths and not feel bad when the phone rings and I don't pick it up. I will love the way my home-made soap smells and I will breathe in deep when I use it to soap up my washcloth. I will feel each muscle in my legs as I walk and be glad that I can walk to the bus because some people can't.

I will not worry if I am five minutes late getting someone to dance class because five minutes won't ruin their ballerina skills and spending relaxed time with my family is more important that getting first place on the barre. I won't panic if I miss a PTA meeting or don't have time to volunteer for a bake sale this month. After all, we are doing these extra things in life to have fun, to laugh, to make the world a better place. Once we let them stress us out to the point where they are a chore, we've missed the whole point anyway. Both the PTA and the bake sale will go on without me.

I will do whatever I can to live my life to the fullest and make the world a better place and if I forget to recycle a cat food can or don't have time to hunt down the best organic bargains this week, well, that's OK. Life will go on and there is always next week. I will breathe deep and enjoy the funky, comfortable disorganization of my household. I think my family will be glad I did. After all, what could be more frugal than saving yourself from going nuts?

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