I've always wanted a simple life.
Maybe it stems from my childhood, having two middle class parents who worked hard, every single day, to provide me with everything I ever needed but refused to appease my every want and whine or maybe its just the way I'm programmed, a perpetual optimist who always looks for the good, the positive, in every situation.
I've never been into material things; brand new clothes, having the best car in the high school parking lot, the newest technology...none of it has ever mattered to me.
I've always wanted simple.
And I've always felt like there was something wrong with that.
Why don't I want to hustle and grind and make a million dollars a year? Why aren't I willing to sacrifice my time and energy now so I can enjoy the finer things in life later? Why don't I dream of a 4000 sq foot house with a gourmet kitchen and a theater room and an inground pool?
I used to think I had to be settling...that I had shoved those grandiose dreams down so I wouldnt be disappointed if I never get them in this lifetime. But thats not true.
I am not settling.
I am content.
I have a husband who loves me and our kids with everything he has. I have three breathtakingly beautiful, healthy, happy kids. I have family that supports me and loves me unconditionally. I have a 1500sq foot house that feels like a home...complete with crumbs and toys and dirty laundry piles. I have a job that challenges me and gives me a voice in this big, loud world. I have friends who, over the last 15+ years, have become my family.
I have a simple life...full of simple, ordinary things. A life some people would quickly overlook because of its mediocrity. A life that doesnt revolve around expensive vacations and fancy toys and flashy jewelry. A life not consumed with 'making more...doing more...being more'. A life that doesnt focus on 'what could be' or 'what might of been' but instead focuses on the here, the now, the beauty of what is right in front of me. A life not lived out loud but one that revels in the quiet, beautiful moments that happen when we slow down.
A life so full of happiness and laughter and love that it sometimes feels like a dream.
Because it is.
It's a simple, ordinary life.
And it's everything Ive ever wanted.
