beckybrunz Tonight is a clear night. I see Orion as I lay here under the stars. I hear my 3 little girls breathing deeply in their sleep. My husband’s occasional snore. We used to sleep up here in the sunroom loft as a family. All of us. With half the roof glass, we have big sky views of the moon and stars. Micah, my husband, would read for 30 minutes to an hour or more, classic literature. Mark Twain. C.S. Lewis. Tolkien. As the kids drifted off to sleep. Part of our unschooling experiment.
Now half the boys are teenagers, the other two were here for the reading last night. They accidentally fell asleep. It just felt so right to be together. Again. After a few years all sleeping in separate rooms. Well, shared rooms but not all together.
The sunroom loft, the moon and stars help us gather. It’s so beautiful here.
As I lay here listening to my family’s sleep sounds, I think of my Guatemala trip, as a 17 year old, how all the families stay together. In their tiny huts. Their one-room houses. They sleep close. They work close. They were so happy. Happiness was the common mood.
Smiles were everywhere.
That trip gave me perspective. That stuff was not necessary for happiness. That it might actually hinder it. That people and family was enough. More than enough. Community was what made one rich. What made people happy.
I decided then that I was going to be rich. I was going to be happy. Guatemala gave me a non-American dream. The dream of togetherness. For children with their parents but also closeness to community.
If you could see what I saw, materialism would roll off your back like water. It is nothing. Striving for success or prominence. Nothing. What I saw was everything. What I have now, closeness to family is everything.
It is what lasts. This is eternal, these connections. All other things we strive for fade away, or are useless when we pass on to the next life. If you are thinking of investing into something long term, invest in these connections. They are what makes life worth living.
😊Just a glimpse of my reality. Into what shaped me. Why I write children’s books. Baby board books that promote connections. Bonding. Closeness. It’s so good.
If you’ve read “snuggled up close” please share your review by tagging your post with my Snuggled up close Facebook page! let’s promote closeness and bonding and what makes life worth living 🥰