Sunday Brunch and Love

A few friends have commented this week to me about how I stay so calm and peaceful amid so much going on. They said they marveled at all I can do and stay sane. How amazed they are at the energy I have. I thought about it a bit and smiled, that inward, knowing smile of knowing a secret. I know full well how I can keep going like the pink energizer bunny.... I know how to lounge too. I know how to relax, take life easy when there is a moment to do so.
Today for instance, is rather low key right now. I chatted on the phone with Melissa for over an hour, not unusual for us to do. We miss each other. I laid back on our sofa, talking about things we love to discuss, pillows surrounding me, engulfing me in creature comfort. I simply lounged while I talked on the phone.
Soft French Cafe music playing in the background. The sound of Emery mowing and the scent of fresh cut grass flooding the house with spring time. My dear gentle man slipped away for an hour last night to shop....for me. He came home, smile as big as life, a boy like grin actually. Flowers in one hand, and dark dark chocolate in the other.
Both grace our little cafe table. Calling me to indulge a bit.
With everyone busy this morning, I set our little table with a fresh cloth, the flowers perfect matched to my table cloth showing off lovely French Chic ladies. A mimosa in a chilled glass, cappuccino with frothy milk, a plate of food. The sunlight dancing through the trees. Shadows giving added life to the still grass. No need to rush, no need to do anything. I have found the key to refreshing my spirit.
I love the book, "The Art of Doing Nothing" by Veronique Vienne. We all need that down time and she tells you how to do it and how to do it well.
I re-read the chapter on "the art of lounging" recently . Such insight, such direction and such wisdom. She writes..." Most important, lounging coaxes you into changing your point of view. Instead of maneuvering in a layer of reality that 's five to six feet above ground, you are now dealing with an underworld that's only three feet from your toes.
You get to see a room from a new angle and observe things that are usually hidden: the insides of lamp shaded, the spines of old books relegated to bottom shelves, flower stems wilting in vases, paint peeling on the windowsills. Before you know it, you find yourself staring at a brass handle on a drawer, marveling at its craftsmanship. Curious as a cat, you mind joins you in the investigation. It counts the screws that hold the handle in place. Only three ! One is missing. You are tempted to get up and see if you have a replacement screw in your toolbox - but the damned chair keeps you pinned down. So you sink a little deeper and resume your silent contemplation."
You see lounging is not napping, its simply doing nothing but looking around, thinking and musing about life or the surroundings. Its not mindless, its refreshing. Its not easy in our rush rush society to quiet the mind. But well worth the effort to accomplish.
As I munched on my breakfast, savoring the moment more than the food or drink, I found myself tapping my toe to the music. The lounging on the sofa, the enjoyment of eating outside, the music, and admiring the tokens of my husbands love, were refreshing me.
Love of life, love of so many around me, love of the most perfect gentle man, and the art of lounging just give me what I need to move forward. They all give me the strength to look in the right places for encouragement and strength.
Sunday brunch and love...a recipe for refreshed souls.

My sunday brunch