I would live here just for the stars

I have had a good day today and to top it all off, my kids actually went to sleep when they were supposed to! How great is that! It had been a beautiful day today, so I decided to go outside and just walk for a bit. First thing I noticed was how clear the sky was. I have always been so drawn to the stars. It's either the poet in me or the hippie in me, but a starlit night can literally take my breath. As I looked towards the Heavens, one emotion poured over my soul: peace. In a life of schedules and deadlines and responsibilities and worries, there are few moments of genuine peace. It has honestly been a very long time since I allowed that peace to overtake my mind, body and soul. There is this small hill in the back yard and as I sat on that hill all worries just melted away and like small streams ran down the roll of the land. A chill was in the air, and I shivered slightly, but I wasn't ready to move from that spot. A memory came rushing to my mind. I spent some time living in the midst of the Adirondack Mountains for a couple of years. Where I lived, I was right on a lake. During the winter the lake would freeze over so thick you could drive trucks over it. I remember one night that was freezing cold, a friend and I bundled up and walked out as far as we dared and just laid down on the ice. I have never seen stars like I saw that night. So far away from the lights and sounds of town. I will never forget that moment. It seemed as though I was the only person in the world. Even as my friend and I lay in silence mesmerized by what our eyes saw, I forgot she was even there. That, my friend, is perfect peace. That is a journey of the soul that happens in a moment's time. I guess that is really when it all started, my love affair with the country. Yes, I love the city and all it has to offer, but nothing can compare to the stillness and beauty of the country. Before moving here, I never would have looked at a field of wheat and been taken aback by the simple beauty of it all. I still rush far too much for my own liking, but it is easier to slow down a bit from time to time living out here. I just want to move farther out now. I want to move to a place that even if you tried you could not hear the neighbors. A couple of times over the years I have taken a long weekend and gone to Amish country. Not the tourist Amish country, but the real deal. I love waking in the morning to a rooster crowing and the only other sound you hear is the clip-clop of a horse and buggy going down the road. The air is thick and fresh with joy. Each day truly does start anew. I would trade it all in in a heartbeat. I would give up my Starbucks even to be further away. I honestly do long for a simpler life. A life where I can stay home with my kids and work around the house. I'm not sure where it was along the way where someone told women that being a homemaker was not enough. That to be a real woman you had to have it all, with matching pedicure and manicure. Screw the mani. My nails don't grow worth a crap anyway. Who needs to go to a spa to relax if you have a porch, a swing, a cup of tea and a sunset? I've never been to a spa that can duplicate what God has already provided. The benefit of a spa is that you set an appointment and no one cares if you tell them you can't do something because your going to the spa. And try getting a babysitter so you can just go for a walk. Seriously, it doesn't happen. Maybe I should just be more diligent and force myself to take that time more often. I can say that I am going to the spa: God's spa. Let the beauty of His creation overwhelm my senses. I don't need an aromatherapy candle when I could actually smell the flowers and the rain myself. It sounds so nice, but even as I write this, it seems so very unrealistic. So do I give up on grasping these little moments of peace? Only time will tell. Until that next moment that the world melts away, I continue on. May God catch my beating heart and slow it's pace.