by Amber Brooks

Officially in quarantine due to the Coronavirus and wondering, HOW did I let it get this bad? Truly embarrassed. I know I have an extremely active work and social life but seriously?

These were my thoughts as I looked around what should be home. Large dust collections, bins filled with the unknown, and clutter in corners consisting of items I couldn’t recall buying. Feeling overwhelmed by the disarray of it all, I sat frustrated with tears recognizing my home life had been severely neglected. Time invested in home life took a backseat to work, more work, and trying to build my social network. On most days it felt like there was only enough time to wake up, pray, leave, come back home, make dinner, spend a few hours watching a show with the Mr., shower, and sleep. 

Still discouraged I recalled brushing it off when my husband had mentioned that he felt like he couldn’t think at home.  Safe to say I was wrong.  With tears dried, I got up and for the first time in a very long time, I along with my husband went to work on what should be our home.

Who knew how liberating it would feel to throw it away. Numerous bags were filled with old bills, trash, tattered clothes, and knickknacks that served no purpose. Multiple trips to the dumpster suddenly felt merry. This confused some of my neighbors who thought we were moving out. We of course calmed their fears explaining we had some serious spring, summer, fall and winter cleaning to do. 

The next discovery consisted of new items and clothes purchased with good intentions that however never made it to the light of day. With everything packed up, I called around to donation centers. I struck gold on the last call. Quickly I loaded the car and drove like a bat out of hell to provide these items to their newest owners never taking a glance back fearing I would turn into a pillar of salt. 

Trip complete, I returned and immediately felt tiny fragments of peace creeping in. With the promise of these positive vibes around the corner, I continued to work hard to fix this relationship with home. During this process one day my husband said “this is all good but what about the furniture”? My defenses went up immediately thinking what’s the problem? He explained that it felt like we were still stuck in my college days. No cohesiveness. True enough, it was a bad mix of traditional furniture, cheap furniture that had the outside peeling off, and other items donated from neighbors who had moved out. Our identity and that of our furniture didn’t match. Determined to fix it, we sat and discussed what story we wanted our home to tell about us. Slowly new pieces began to arrive each and we could start to see ourselves reflected in our home.  After three months of working at it we had majority of the work completed. Something was still missing. A random trip to Lowes for a hammer created revelation. Returning home with our new green small and big babies breathed new life into our space of serenity. 

Currently we still have small changes to make but we can finally say we are home. Using my new office board, I set reminders to ensure time is invested weekly into our sanctuary. As I sit back in my new favorite Sunny office chair I can’t help the smile that stretches my cheeks wide. Finally happy to reap the rewards of prioritizing home life with gifts of peaceful minds, healthier bodies and thankful spirits.