Kissing the Snake: Unearthing Beauty #17
I put on this apron when I feel low. Whenever I feel like taking care of my children, my husband or my home isn't worth anything, I put this apron on to remind me that it is. It was handmade by someone, you can see clearly the stitch marks; the white thread, up and down. I imagine it being either monotonous to the sewer, or meditative, depending on how she looked at it. There is a handkerchief sewed delicately to the front, forming a pocket where I can stick tops of carrots or a popsicle stick. I wash the dishes, I take warm water to my children's soft skin, I put a plate of steaming hot green chile enchiladas before my husband. It is hard to believe that I can miss the beauty in that. Their beautiful faces, sitting at the warm wood kitchen table, the sweet scent of green chile rising.
Yesterday, as I washed the dishes, I let the warm water luxuriously run over my hands and arms for a few extra minutes. It felt like heaven. I am awed by the simple nature of beauty. I see it when I bend down and wash my floor; when I pull a beet out of the earth; when I comb my daughter's hair; when my son smiles; when my husband tells me the truth. It's the everyday. Breathing a big full heart, in and out, everyday. Gratitude is the balm for healing boredom, monotony, dissatisfaction. Simply gratitude. I remember that when I tie my apron strings.
Another reminder...reinforcing my need to pay attention.
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