treasuring the process

  Fall weather is slowly creeping into my life.  I welcome fall and tend to start the fall decorating soon after Labor Day.  With the decorating though comes the cleaning and by that I mean the deeper, new- season-is-coming, cleaning.  I spent a solid hour yesterday cleaning the back glass door!  I looked down as I was vacuuming and realized that the sliding screen track was black with a sooty kind of filth! And it isn't that I haven't noticed it building up there, this is our most used door leading to our backyard, the lake, the boat... the grill for heaven's sake.  I use this door daily.  But fall is here and cleaning has gotten in my bones!  The vacuum wasn't making a dent, so I got the '409', a toothbrush and a dry rag.  On my knees, on the back deck, scrubbing... just me, my dog and the birds.  WOW!  I was really enjoying this cleaning chore, but more than that I was enjoying the time.  The free time, the time it was taking to hear the birds, to enjoy the feel of the perfect temperature, and the time it was taking to enjoy cleaning our nest.  This is a whole different 'time' than when I was raising children and rushing through all my 'chores'.  This is how I wish I had felt and acted in my earlier years, but for now, I'm learning to slow down and treasure living in my daily life... deep cleaning and all!