Living in the light

The Easter weekend is over and life is returning to some semblance of normal, well as normal as can be expected when the kids are on holidays.  Most people look forward to long weekends but for us they bring mixed emotions. We live by the no work, no pay mantra.  That said, we wouldn't have it any other way.  Actually, that's a lie, being paid for having a break would be nice and we definitely wouldn't say no to the money.  Would anyone?

Since money wasn't to be found hiding in the numerous chocolate eggs and rabbits that invaded our home we decided to get stuck in around the yard.  What a difference!  Our gardens can be daunting.  I go outside all motivated, ready to tackle the weeding and pruning and then reality strikes, I look around, can't decide where to start and head back inside.  With four days at our disposal Adrian and I got stuck in.  Three days, numerous splinters and very sore hamstrings later we had taken over 700kg of green waste to the tip and now our yard appears triple the size.  As an added bonus we have sunshine streaming into the house perfect, for the winter months ahead.

Something else happened too.  As I pruned back the out-of-control bushes it felt like I was gaining back control over my own life somehow.  Something inside me is changing, I am not yet sure what it is yet, but I am liking it.  My privacy used to be something I guarded with the intensity  of a secret government agency.  I refused to open my blinds in the morning until school rush was over to ensure that the mum's walking past couldn't look into my house.  Not that I am ever doing anything exciting at that time I just couldn't cope with the thought that people could see into my house and in turn somehow see into me.  I like being a bit of a hermit I guess and as much as I resist it, I like the anonymity.

Well, that has changed.  In front of my bedroom window, until two days ago I had four nearly 4m high bottlebrush trees providing a very personal screen.  Now those very same trees are a collection of stumps rising at most about 75cm from the ground.  I hope they come back because I like them, but I know that I never want them to block out the light again. 

Since clearing out the gardens my house somehow feels bigger as well and it's not just because of the amount of light that floods through the full length windows.  I feel lighter.  The house doesn't feel so claustrophobic and I am able to joke about the lack of privacy rather than fear it.  This is a huge turn around for me and I am loving it. 

Even my teenage daughter who insisted that her room stay her 'dark little dungeon' was amazed by the amount of light entering her room. This is the same child that would refuse to open her blinds.   Adrian and I could only exchange bemused glances when she declared her excitement and commented that now her room doesn't feel all dark and depressing.  Someone has possessed our daughter. We expected a strong reaction but we didn't expect it to be happy. It seems we have both changed.  It proves that sometimes you just have to take a chance and try something new.

Small changes - huge benefits!