Small Moments + Big Reminders

Much like most things in life, the way it unfolds, and our experience of it… is often shaped by our perspective and attitude. How we choose to look at something, and how we respond, can shift everything. And yet, for something so simple and true, it’s interesting how often we forget it and default straight into auto-mode - not always a positive one either.

Our pooch, a Jack Russell Terrier cross for the record. Longest legs you’ve ever seen on a Jack Russell, I swear he could’ve been a runway model, lol. As anyone with a terrier will know, even though their fur is short, it’s lethal. That stuff gets into everything and refuses to come out… not unlike those uninvited guests that ring your doorbell on a Sunday morning when all you wanted was to forget the world.

Vacuuming the house has become a daily thing lately, as posh pup’s internal clock clearly took note of the solstice. A bit early if you ask me, but who am I to argue with Mother Nature, lol. Now, adding vacuuming to my morning routine doesn’t exactly thrill me, but truth be told, I feel better (OCD much) when the house looks and feels clean… so, vacuum we shall.

As I mentioned in another post, one of the things I’ve taken on lately is cooking Herbie homemade dog food (a story for another day). Yesterday, while doing a week’s worth in the kitchen, my son was busy pan-frying himself a ham-and-cheese sourdough toastie… it’s the only way he’ll eat sourdough that isn’t fresh out the oven (spoiled little... just kidding, haha).

So there we were, each doing our thing in the kitchen, with the fur child loitering at our feet… obviously, and I looked down at him, slightly annoyed, thinking about how many of his fur clones I’d vacuumed up that day and every other. I reminded him that he now also has his own personal chef, despite technically being a pavement special. His stomach definitely behaves like that of a high-maintenance pedigree, ie: full of sh!t, haha! I looked at him and said, “Tell me, Herbie, what do you actually contribute to this thing called our lives?!” Said with a good dose of unconditional love... and simultaneous irritation at my ever-growing list of to-dos, lol.

Jude pipes up, “Unconditional smiles and love?” Obviously. Pfffffft, I muttered, as I continued dicing his chicken into microscopic cubes so he doesn’t redeposit them onto the lounge floor after eating. Thanks for showing your mom up, my boy, haha! It was a simple moment. A true one. But I dismissed it in my disgruntled mood, letting frustration override what could’ve been a very grounding, grateful pause. (hindsight is always 20/20)

Circling back to the other source of my weekend mood: the electricity. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, loadshedding alone is frustrating enough. But the added issue of the new electrical box on our road… well, that’s pushed me to the edge. We’ve had a good handful of powerless days over the last two weeks, and I was just... over it.

This morning, the doorbell rang early. Thankfully it wasn’t an unwanted visitor (though honestly, even that might’ve gone down better at this point, lol). It was a passerby who’d noticed the electrical box smoking again. Yay.

Anyway, enough about that, you get it. Infuriating. I had sourdough starter deliveries to get to the courier, so I took the pooch out to do his ablutions before I left. He wasn’t thrilled (he loathes those oversized dogs, haha), but I was delighted… because the wild horses were visiting again.

The local horse association (or whatever you call it) recently spent a fortune trying to relocate them to a quieter area. But those stubborn buggers just came right back — haha!

So, ablutions done, I locked up and headed out, glaring at the smoking box as I drove away. But as I took the corner, I saw the horses again, and stopped for a moment to just watch them. And something shifted.

Sure, things don’t always get fixed quickly out here in country bumpkin land. And yes, the infrastructure could use a bit of love. But how many people get to start their day having a quiet exchange with wild horses? Not many. And yes, I am deeply grateful for that. That one moment flipped my whole mindset - I suppose it could have been “any” moment… but it was that one.

Now, I know not everyone lives out here in the middle of nowhere, but back when I lived in Cape Town, right in the thick of the southern suburbs (Industria, actually), I still made the most of my little courtyard. Watering that space at the end of the day felt like heaven to me. It’s not about the place or the size of it… it’s about how we choose to see it.

I’ve always thought of myself as a fairly positive person. But life can knock that right out of you sometimes. Having recently gone through a pretty unusual breakup after 13 years (as some of you know), there have been days when even the simplest tasks have felt overwhelming, annoying, or just plain unwanted. And while I think I keep a decent handle on most of it, making a 180-degree life pivot is a lot, so I try to offer myself a bit of grace… as should you, if faced with anything even remotely similar!

And in line with everything I’ve shared here, I have to say how grateful I am for the young man who lives under my roof. Steady, calm, grounded, emotionally intelligent… and proud to say, he’s my son.

Years ago, when he was still a baby in my arms, one of my mom’s art students met us and said, “Your son is here to ground you. His colour is green.” She was right on both counts. He’s been grounding me (as well as others) for years and green… is still his favourite colour.

Life gets noisy. Obligations, frustrations, change… they can cloud things. But if we strip that all away, life itself is still so incredibly beautiful. We just have to keep choosing to see it that way - giving it a little more daily “intention”.

❤❤❤

Until next time...
Much Love from Country Bumpkinland, South Africa xxx
Jaynielea

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