Being a homeowner is wonderful and...well, troublesome all at the same time. I live in an old home...not historic but...60 years old. We've lived here for 9 years and have gotten to know these old walls pretty well. For instance, if you run the vacuum and television and lamps in the den at the same time it'll all shut down. So, I find it best to vacuum in the middle of the day...full sunlight. Then there's the issue of two people showering at the same time...while fun if you are actually in the same shower...if you are not, then someone will get the shaft. And by shaft I mean barely-there water pressure and water temp the equivalent of turning on the hose mid-winter...in the yard! Same with showering and running the dishwasher, washing machine, flushing the toilet, etc. These are little nuances that we've become accustomed to...altered our life for...in and around to keep our house from revolting. There have been updates...some by us...some by those before us and we love our house a little more with each passing year. We know it well...every creak in the floor, every sound in the night, every crack and chip in the paint...but there it was...flickering ever so lightly. What was it? Recently I sat frozen in bed peering through our bedroom door...through the hall...into the den. There it was...by the front door. What was it? I nudged the Husband...as it was late at night and...well, I am useless at defending myself in the night without first knowing what I'm going up against...this is where the Husband comes into play (as he has many times before in our 11 years of marriage). Finally he agreed to look...and with a quick flip of his hand dismissed it...tells me he's seen it already. "It's the light switch on the wall next to the front door, the one that turns on the front porch light." Not satisfied, I further interrogated him about it and why I have never noticed it in our 9 years of living here. He said, rather nonchalantly, "it just started doing it". Please note that this is one of the un-updated items...a light switch from the 50's. One that, in it's prime, would glow orange so that you could easily locate it in the night or whenever dark. I know it's an electrical issue as it's not fully illuminated...just a flicker...something that I'm sure needs addressing given it's sudden rebirth...but, it got me thinking. There are people in our lives that...flicker. They may not always be visible but they make an impact. We are better because of them and though we may be unaware of their presence for a lifetime, they are there...ready...in an instant to flicker...to show us the way. The switch has been flickering now for 2 or 3 months. I like it now...it is the little beacon that could...that could change a thought process, remind me to remember others, those already in our lives and those we've yet to meet. Maybe I'm enjoying a little reflection on this the last day of November but I'm super thankful for the little light that beams at me...sometimes brightly...as if our sweet home is telling us "thank you" and reminding us that sometimes we have to change our ways to make things work right, we have to be nice when it's not always convenient. Maybe we have to vacuum in the dark sometime, or wait for others, but it's a reminder that sometimes YOU are the flicker...the little beacon...in someone's life. And so I say this...take time for others...take time to shine when someone needs you. I suppose I'll have to take time for the electrician at some point but until then...Shine on.
"...and we all shine on..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqP3wT5lpa4
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
light show
Being a homeowner is wonderful and...well, troublesome all at the same time. I live in an old home...not historic but...60 years old. We've lived here for 9 years and have gotten to know these old walls pretty well. For instance, if you run the vacuum and television and lamps in the den at the same time it'll all shut down. So, I find it best to vacuum in the middle of the day...full sunlight. Then there's the issue of two people showering at the same time...while fun if you are actually in the same shower...if you are not, then someone will get the shaft. And by shaft I mean barely-there water pressure and water temp the equivalent of turning on the hose mid-winter...in the yard! Same with showering and running the dishwasher, washing machine, flushing the toilet, etc. These are little nuances that we've become accustomed to...altered our life for...in and around to keep our house from revolting. There have been updates...some by us...some by those before us and we love our house a little more with each passing year. We know it well...every creak in the floor, every sound in the night, every crack and chip in the paint...but there it was...flickering ever so lightly. What was it? Recently I sat frozen in bed peering through our bedroom door...through the hall...into the den. There it was...by the front door. What was it? I nudged the Husband...as it was late at night and...well, I am useless at defending myself in the night without first knowing what I'm going up against...this is where the Husband comes into play (as he has many times before in our 11 years of marriage). Finally he agreed to look...and with a quick flip of his hand dismissed it...tells me he's seen it already. "It's the light switch on the wall next to the front door, the one that turns on the front porch light." Not satisfied, I further interrogated him about it and why I have never noticed it in our 9 years of living here. He said, rather nonchalantly, "it just started doing it". Please note that this is one of the un-updated items...a light switch from the 50's. One that, in it's prime, would glow orange so that you could easily locate it in the night or whenever dark. I know it's an electrical issue as it's not fully illuminated...just a flicker...something that I'm sure needs addressing given it's sudden rebirth...but, it got me thinking. There are people in our lives that...flicker. They may not always be visible but they make an impact. We are better because of them and though we may be unaware of their presence for a lifetime, they are there...ready...in an instant to flicker...to show us the way. The switch has been flickering now for 2 or 3 months. I like it now...it is the little beacon that could...that could change a thought process, remind me to remember others, those already in our lives and those we've yet to meet. Maybe I'm enjoying a little reflection on this the last day of November but I'm super thankful for the little light that beams at me...sometimes brightly...as if our sweet home is telling us "thank you" and reminding us that sometimes we have to change our ways to make things work right, we have to be nice when it's not always convenient. Maybe we have to vacuum in the dark sometime, or wait for others, but it's a reminder that sometimes YOU are the flicker...the little beacon...in someone's life. And so I say this...take time for others...take time to shine when someone needs you. I suppose I'll have to take time for the electrician at some point but until then...Shine on.
"...and we all shine on..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqP3wT5lpa4
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