For Day 16, Mme. Ferris suggests that we “create a sanctuary at home.” Like many other of her ideas, this is one I can get behind and support! Home should provide a respite from the hurly-burly of the world. I’m a news and political junkie, so it’s super-easy for me to get all “spun up” in worldly doings. By the way, I think that ignorance of current affairs is the antithesis of chic, but I also believe that there needs to be a balance and I like the idea of crossing my threshold and leaving worldly troubles behind – they’ll still be there the next day. (And if they’re not, so much the better!)
I love the idea of working to make my home an “oasis of calm.” Today, for instance, I put on a soothing instrumental playlist and sorted through bills. Not my favorite activity, true, but one that must get done in order to live in the world. And I’ve found that if I make financial “must dos” into calming rituals with tea and music, it really isn’t that bad. I like seeing order emerge from chaos.
Also today, we decorated the Christmas tree. Yes, that’s later than many folks do it, but we did it with calm and joy instead of rushing through it and getting snappish. This is a task that should bring peace and joy. It’s up to us to find ways to accomplish that and, for us, making it a “we said we’d do it tonight, so we have to. [Stare and sigh.] Never mind, I’ll do it myself. I have to do everything around here anyway.”
Shudder. How much nicer it was, even if it was a few days later than we thought it would be, to unwrap the ornaments and reminisce about where we got them and the stories they tell about our marriage and our lives. I think Mme. Ferris would have approved.
She also suggests moving around furniture and artwork, which is something I do on a regular basis anyway. One of the benefits of having a small house is that I can’t hang everything on the walls at once, so I swap around the decor seasonally. Right now, the mantelpiece is decorated with greenery, tiny white fairy lights, and silver snowflake ornaments. It’s beautiful and peaceful. (Our tree, on the other hand, has a totally different style with delicate glass icicles and blown-glass ornaments jostling alongside carousel animals, Star Trek ornaments, and other pop culture decorations. Not everyone’s cup of tea, I’m sure, but they don’t live here and living by our own lights means – well, living to suit ourselves.)
It was lovely to work on this one on the day we finished decorating the house for the holidays.
Now, the next few days are going to be especially interesting, since I’ll be out of town on a little mini-vacation to clear my head from the first semester at my new college. I’ve made plans to visit with my French fairy godmother, along with some other indulgences. I’ve peeked ahead to see what’s coming up while I’m gone and I think I’ll be able to continue reading each day, experimenting with Mme. Ferris’s ideas, and reporting back here to you.
Check in to see how it goes, Divas!
Leave a Reply