Time spent on a swing is never time wasted.
I bought a swing a week ago – one of those ones with a canopy and room for two. It’s amazing how much that little swing has changed my perspective.
I sit down and I’m in a different world. I’m not running through lists of things to do, nor am I wanting to jump up and get one more thing accomplished. I’m sitting. I’m swinging. My brain has slowed down and all I see is the garden in front of me. The bees are suddenly more fascinating to watch. The bird songs – did I hear those before? I smell the lemon balm mixing with the sage and I wonder where to find the bees making honey from that, because I want some.
It’s funny how the simple act of pushing back and letting your feet lift off the ground can transport you back decades. I’m on the porch back home. The sun is trailing off to the right over the valley below. Crickets and lightning bugs fill the air with chirps and flashes, and my brother gets the jar and my sister and I sneak up on one, leap at another, and eventually catch a lightning bug. My mom is sitting on the swing snapping green beans. Dad is sitting on the step with a beer, his shirt damp and his boots sporting fresh mud from the corn field. Life at its simplest and best.
What’s really interesting is, once I’m on that swing and my mind has slowed, how the ideas come. In one short week I’ve had several ideas for books, articles, and networking. I don’t sit there to purposely come up with these things. In fact, if I did, I’m sure the ideas would never come. I just sit. The rest happens once I relax.
Do you allow yourself to relax at the beginning or end of your day? What’s your relaxation look like? Did you know you can get a swing for $74 at Lowe’s right now? Just sit. Really. Enjoy what’s in front of you and leave the work behind you. Do it not for the promise of ideas and brainstorms. Do it for yourself.
Oh goodness, I’ve been toying with the idea of getting one of those swings for years, and it never happens. Maybe if I casually mention it to the husband, he’ll surprise me with one when I come home from my business trip.
Lowe’s, Sue. $74 here in PA…. :))
Lori
Thanks for the recommendation of Liars Club. I’m adding it to my TBR list.
Oh I remember spending a lot of time on my grandma’s back porch swing in the summer. She lived in the country and it was the most peaceful place ever!
I have not slowed down much lately, but I really do need to. Right now relaxation for me is when my husband takes the kids swimming for the afternoon and they leave me here to work in peace!
I do have a wonderful enclosed sunporch with a delectible ceiling fan that I fantasize about sitting in, drinking iced tea (I’m southern!) and relaxing. But my husband needs to clean all of his tools and junk out of it first!:)
I love those swings. Unfortunately, there’s no room on the balcony due to the fact that I chose to stuff it to the brim with plants.
Since the weather’s been good, I’ve taken to sitting out on the balcony with a book from 3 to 5pm, when the sun is directly overhead and I get some good suntanning in. The thing is, I find the same thing happens to me; once I’m relaxed and engrossed in my book, article ideas, blog posts, snatches for the novel I’m slowly working at, they all buzz around my head like the bees at my flowers. I take a notebook with me now to jot down anything that flies by, then go back to relaxing.
What will we do in the winter?!
LOL What indeed, Amanda? :))
I dream of the day I have a porch and porch swing. I am jealous 😉
Keep on enjoying it! 🙂
Ooooh, good for you, Lori! Sounds like a great way to pass the time. My relaxation at the beginning of the day is walking my dog through the neighborhood or a nearby cemetery. My relaxation at night is reading in bed and a bit of silent meditation. Couldn’t get through my day without either of them!
Happy swinging!
April, I don’t have a porch to speak of, so I bought one with its own stand. Does that tempt you? :))
Rebecca, yours sounds like a great way to relax. Meditation is my other method of relaxing.
I’ve been eying up a hammock swing (for one) on several shopping excursions of late. They’re going for $99 a pop though. I might have to check out what Lowe’s has to offer.
Lowe’s huh? Hmmm I think hubs owes me an early Christmas present.
Lori your memories sound like my house today. I need one of those swings. My grandparents lived in the country and I remember sitting on grandma’s swing with her under the big shade trees, snapping beans and peas, talking about pesky sisters and listening to my grandpa tell me how good I have it! Sigh, he was so right! Thank you, and I think this weekend I am gonna see the good people at Lowe’s about a swing of my own. It’s just what this house is missing.
Nikki, I had one of those swings, and the porch to go with it. The first husband kept the swing. :((
My husband (current and last) was amazed at how cool it was here in the evenings. I’ve caught him heading to the swing instead of the computer in the mornings, too. It just changes your entire perspective.