Windows

I. LOVE. SUMMER!

I don’t know how else to say it. I love it. Summer is the season of the year when I feel free. I feel most alive. I feel like I can really breathe (even though I have allergies : )

I am truly enjoying this summer, our first full one in our new house. I especially like it here because our new house has tons of windows. So, on sunny days, I love opening them all up to let the soft breeze come in from every angle and pretend I’m at the beach. It feels glorious! (Yep, I don’t do A/C unless it is unbearable…and that for me is just a few days in the entire summer only).

Even on rainy days, I crack open my windows to then cuddle up in my favorite chair to read or in bed to take a nap while listening to the sound of rain falling outside…ahhh…

I am very happy here in this home the Lord has provided for us…however, there are some things I dearly miss from our summers at our dear, old house. Among them, I miss the generosity of our neighbor who allowed us to use her pool anytime we wanted to. I miss the lilies I planted with my very own two, bare hands. And I miss my kitchen window. 

When we first moved to that house, that window didn’t open. It took us a couple of years to be able to save up enough money to change all the windows, but the day it happened, it was a true gift. That window quickly became my favorite feature in the house. It sat right above the kitchen sink, so I spent lots of time hanging out by it. That window symbolized my connection to the outside world, my doorway to freedom! It was the portal through which every year the advent of summer made itself evident and clear to my soul.

I miss the very special moment when after a cruel and long winter and a rainy spring, I got to finally slide that window open to let the summer air come in! Freedom!

I miss the sights, sounds and smells that came in through that window. I miss watching my older son Grant enjoying his tree swing in the back yard. I miss seeing Dylan jumping in the trampoline. I miss seeing Dan mowing the lawn. I miss seeing the birds flying in and out of the little bird house. I miss standing by it to soak in the gentle breeze that brought in the fragrant aroma of the flowers right outside. I miss seeing the clothes hanging on the line to dry…there is something about watching sheets and towels dancing in the wind in a summer afternoon…and there is something about the smell of sun-dried linens that no fancy detergent, softener or drier sheets can ever replicate….

That kitchen window represented a direct line of communication between me and my Lord, also. Many prayers were whispered as I stood by that open window. Tears and laughter it witnessed too. Frustration, worry and fear as well as unimaginable joy and delight all were experienced as I leaned against the sink and looked out my little window.

Now that I’m not living at that house anymore, the memories of my summer days there come back to me with a melancholic pinch…

The good news is that I have found another window in my new house. This one has the potential of becoming an important hang-out as well. However, since it is not above the kitchen sink, I don’t get to spend nearly as much time by it as I did by my old friend at our previous home…but it is warming up to be special in its own way. I don’t know what’s going to happen to our old house, but whoever ends up calling it their forever home, I pray may find as much joy as I did, standing by that little window above the kitchen sink.

In the meantime, I will continue to treasure these summer days with my windows wide open, as an invitation for it to come in and stay.

Linking with:  What Joy is Mine