The Barn at the Homestead

The Barn at the Homestead

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Our little piece of Paradise

For the better part of almost 2 weeks, I have been on vacation.  It hasn't really been a "staycation," although we have spent most of our time at home.  One day we visited The Apron Museum in Iuka, MS and I learned so many things about aprons I didn't know.  It was a step back in time, and I am likely to go back to the museum.  Another day, we visited the Tupelo flea market--it wasn't exactly what we expected, but a fun day out.  And then on another outing, we visited the North Mississippi Fish Hatchery.  A wonderful experience; a great museum and lots of good information as we ponder fish in our backyard.  We even enjoyed lunch on that day at The B.T.C. Old Fashioned Grocery.

But aside from our littel day trips, we've mostly been home.  Home . . . it's a place we often take for granted.  Many of us are so busy making a living and buying stuff that we're hardly ever home; we don't have time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  Being home these days has made me hunger for more.  We have worked in our vegetable and flower gardens, played with and cared for our mini-alpine goats,cat and dog,  cooked more from scratch (including a chocolate pie for the mister!), kept the house neater,  had REAL conversations, read more and relaxed more than any recent vacation I remember.  There has been time for deep prayer and soulful meditation.  Time to enjoy God's bountiful creation. Time to listen to the music of my generation and remember Woodstock nation's call to getting back to the garden.  Time to reflect on where I've been, and where I'm going.  I will return to my position well rested, but with a hunger for home and our little piece of Paradise.

Robert Frost once wrote, "Home is the place where, whey you have to go there, they have to take you in."  Maybe that's true.  But I think Dorothy ( of the Wizard of Oz fame) got it right when she said "There's no place like home."