Births and deaths tend to draw our thoughts towards life itself and the things that matter.

As I write this, I'm getting updates from a delivery room. The wonders of our modern age make it possible for me to feel as though I'm almost in the room with my daughter as she labours to bring our second little grandson into this world.

Our almost-here little man has decided he’d like to enter this big world a little early so I have inherited the job of sewing up the last few sheets for his little Moses Basket, a job which his Mummy may have been putting off. So my morning has been spent between the sewing machine, the ironing board and my computer. With the house to myself and only the occasional sound of a message coming in, I've had plenty of time to think.

Today is going to be a birth day! I've just received a message to say mummy is ready to ‘push’! That means that perhaps even as I write these words, a new life is beginning! What an amazing thought!!! I wonder if it’s possible to ever get to the stage where you feel you have your head around this miracle. If so, I’m a long way from that point!

As I’ve been stitching this morning, I've pondered the stitching together of this little life over the past thirty eight weeks. What an incredible work of art a new baby is! Such complexities all wrapped up in miniature perfection, and what never ceases to amaze me, is the intricacies of inherited likeness so often already obvious! Creation really is beyond our thinking capabilities!

It’s not really surprising that we can’t get our heads around the process of creation. The One who came up with this idea also put together our universe and I think that sort of sets Him apart!

…It’s now 2 days since our little Harper Joshua arrived and what a little treasure he is… and very little!

I expected to write more in this post but the new little family is staying with us for a few days, and spare minutes are few and very far between. I have therefore decided to post this raw, unpolished and ‘unfinished’. The words are just as they first came to me, on a very special day…a birth day!

It’s been a whole month since I posted and what a busy four weeks they have been! A few days in Sydney then a week in Tasmania, but now we’re home again…and home is nice place to be.

I usually begin a blog with a seed thought. Often words are waiting at the blocks, ready to race across the line when I open a Word document. Inspiration usually comes from a photo, an event or a story but this afternoon it’s a little different.

Everyone knows the phrase, ‘Home is where the heart is’. While I was unpacking the other day that phrase kept popping into my head, a bit the way a song gets stuck in your head. After several hours of pushing it away with no success, I came into my office and typed it at the top of a blank page. There it has sat for four days…

Now here I am at my desk with just my cuppa, the sound of doves cooing quietly outside the window and the little phrase. I have to admit it feels strange though because I'm about to embark on something I've never tried before. I haven’t a clue where this is going. I might even end up meandering off on a bit of a tangent...

***

I think it’s fair to say that home is filled with familiarity, a place that reflects our ‘history’. It’s a place we can relax with no pretence, and just be ourselves.

Having just spent time away from home, I thought I might do a little comparing. It might be interesting to look at ‘home’ and ‘away’. Hahaha, love the little word accident!

Home is mostly fashioned to suit our needs, our likes and dislikes. Things are chosen to complement our lifestyle. Over time we change and so we make changes around us. When we first make a change, we are keenly aware of it but it’s usually short lived. Soon it becomes part of all that’s familiar, sliding into the common place, where we rarely notice it.

On the other hand, when we are away, we see things through wide open eyes. Something about the newness of a place inspires us to take in detail, to delight in tiny things, absorbing our surroundings with all our senses.

Tasmania boasts the most amazing autumn colours! Stopping to admire and take photos, we were often overwhelmed by the beauty. However, for those living in and around this same beauty every day, I suspect it mostly goes unnoticed.

It’s sad when we become so familiar with beauty around us that we no longer see it. It’s even sadder when we become so accustomed to the people around us that we miss their beautiful traits, instead often dwelling on the negative aspects of their personality.

In order to fully appreciate the beauty of Tasmania, we had to stop, to focus and take in detail. It’s probably not a bad little exercise to occasionally stop and really look at those around us, to recall the things that drew us to them in the first place, and if we look carefully, if we really look, those beautiful traits are probably still there, hidden amongst the familiar.  

 

***

Well I certainly strayed a little way from the original thought. Very much a meander. An interesting exercise…