(Source)
She lived in a normal American home. Not too big, nothing fancy, just a run of the mill home in an average neighborhood.
She greeted me at the front door and led me into the kitchen area where
I was taken aback at the simple beauty of her kitchen windows. No blinds hindered the light from shining in
and the windows themselves, they sparkled.
The setting sun shimmered through the evening leaves. Nothing hindered
the display of dancing leaves as they lit up the grass with their shadowy beauty.
The clear brilliance of the glass lit up the room.
“How did you get your windows to sparkle so?” I
asked.
“A roll of paper towels and plenty of Windex. I just sprayed and wiped over and over until
they shined.”
Her answer was uncomplicated. It was reproducible. I bet you are thinking I went home and
grabbed my paper towels and Windex and went to town. You’d be right.
One of my all time favorite quotes is by Eleanor
Roosevelt. She says to start where you
are with what you have.
No excuses. No
waiting for a better time. No reason to
have more resources. You probably have a
bottle of the blue stuff and a roll of paper towels. And if you don’t, for a couple of bucks you
could score some from the dollar store.
We are fortunate to live in the land of
abundance. Creating an inviting space is
well within our grasp, even with the most meager means.
When I was a little girl, I remember Oprah talking about creating a home and she said there was no excuse not to make a pretty space. For her, even when she was poor, she always believed in making her home pretty. That is how I was raised. My mama worked hard. She was a single parent. We did not have a lot and lived in a brown duplex. It was not fancy. The houses around us were also run down and old looking. But none of that mattered. Every Saturday we took the time to make the place shine. We took care of the little we had. Taking care of our home caused us to respect it. The work of our hands brought comfort at the end of the day.
When I was a little girl, I remember Oprah talking about creating a home and she said there was no excuse not to make a pretty space. For her, even when she was poor, she always believed in making her home pretty. That is how I was raised. My mama worked hard. She was a single parent. We did not have a lot and lived in a brown duplex. It was not fancy. The houses around us were also run down and old looking. But none of that mattered. Every Saturday we took the time to make the place shine. We took care of the little we had. Taking care of our home caused us to respect it. The work of our hands brought comfort at the end of the day.
