I’ve been musing, as I often do, about this whole blog thing and why I do it. I dream that someday I’ll be able to sum up in a pithy sentence what it is I say and do around here, and somehow it will quickly and magically convey the magnitude of what it means to me. (I’m not entirely sure that’s possible. I keep failing, but I never stop trying.)
Lately the musing has centered around caregiving. And caretaking. And what that has to do with a making a home and a life that feels good. It’s certainly one of the things we have in common, dear reader.
We care. Deeply. (Sometimes too much.)
We care about our partners. Our pets. Our parents. Our children. Our homes. Our work. We care about the planet. Our government. Its policies. Pain and suffering. Growing and healing.
Hopefully we find space and time to care about ourselves. And sometimes that gets put on the back burner among all the other things clamoring for attention and love.
I find it interesting that the terms “caregiver” and “caretaker” are used synonymously, even though give and take are supposed opposites. I think it points to the reality that opposites are often two sides of the same coin; you can’t have one without the other just as you can’t have light without dark, or life without death.
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The word “home” is inextricably linked to the caregiver/caretaker conversation, because in essence, home is care made manifest.
Home is a place you create to show love and care for yourself, your family, and the treasured guests you choose to welcome into your life.
A home is love made tangible. Love for self, love for others, love for life.
I feel called to be an advocate for what a home can and should be, and to teach people how to make this ideal a reality for themselves…with ease and clarity and an abundance of wide open space.
I want to remind you (over and over) that you don’t have to work faster or harder to be enough.
I believe reducing clutter, waste, stress and overwhelm allows you to better show and receive love.
I believe that joy is our natural state.
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One of the truths that drives me is how critically important it is for you, the caregiver/caretaker, to lay a foundation of taking extraordinary care of yourself. This means giving yourself a break when you need one; nourishing your body with good quality, delicious food and treating yourself with compassion and love…and creating a habitat that supports you to do all of this.
I am here to support whatever type of caregiver you want to be, and help show you how to create a home and a lifestyle that takes loving care of you and your people.
It is my personal mission to undo the work of anyone who has ever told you that the way you care or the way you make your home is wrong, or not good enough. If your life makes you feel happy and calm and content and yourself, it is right and it is beautiful. If it doesn’t, you deserve to take the time and energy you’ve been giving away, and feed it back to yourself. Caring for yourself is an act of service to all of us.
I’d love to hear if this resonates with you, or gives you any new thoughts of your own. Leave a comment below or email me!
All the love, friend. Thanks for being here.
