What makes you feel nostalgic?

nos·tal·gia   


noun

1. a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time

I've been feeling nostalgic for a few days. I don't always relate this to feeling homesick, but it can at times. Looking through picture boxes can really trigger nostalgia for the days when my sisters and I were the hardest playing kids in the neighborhood, as if we were getting paid to play! Wouldn't that be fun.
"I think I'm going to build a fort in the backyard"...."I'll pay you five dollars to do it!".

I can be a daydreamer sometimes, taking simple tasks and creating ideas around them. As I was sweeping the kitchen floor this morning, I thought well isn't this like life?. Gathering little piles of things to throw away because everything looks and feels cleaner when they are tossed in the garbage. If there is something that I no longer need to hold onto, and I know my life would be better if I gathered it up and escorted it out the door, I do. Things like resentment, or grudges. Negativity.

I was doing one of my most favorite activities last night, utilizing the fireplace, when I realized that the beautiful fire I just built, was like a healthy relationship. It needed oxygen. Room to breathe. A solid foundation beneath it. A safe place where it is built, and then cared for throughout its lifespan. I had to tend to the fire every once in a while, to make sure the logs were placed just so. If they had shifted too far to the left or right, I gently moved them back into place, and added more wood to keep the flames burning. 

I love to read, so I have many books laying around, either waiting to be enjoyed, or revisited if they ended up becoming a favorite. One in particular comes to mind that I pulled off the shelf today while dusting;  "Epiphany" by Paul McCusker.
"Richard Lee may be gone, but he's not yet departed. In this captivating Christmas novella, as the unseen observer of the family events that follow his own death, Richard watches his children return to their hometown to attend his funeral, settle the estate . . . and come to terms not only with their father's passing, but the general direction their lives have taken"

I've always loved the word epiphany. I was walking through a bookstore one very cold December Saturday when I stumbled upon this little gem. When I read the excerpt that I just shared with you, I chuckled a little as that is my sons fathers first and middle name, Richard Lee. I thought, well this was meant for me to read obviously, especially given the fact that it has an unreal "It's a Wonderful Life" quality that leaps out of the page from almost the beginning. I hope I've enticed you enough to read it.

Reading a book again, is like visiting an old friend. A comfortable place where you go to become warm inside. Learn about life, or just sit quietly.

What makes you feel nostalgic? I've noticed the feeling coming around after I've just spent time with my family. I was able to walk the beach every morning with my sister(s) over the Christmas holiday. Watching the kids romping through the sand, drinking coffee, laughing hysterically as we are trying to get everyone to stand still and look straight ahead for pictures.....are my favorite memories from this trip. Both my mom and Dad were there, it was monumental to say the least. My youngest sister has become quite the photog, you can visit her here http://www.sincerelysara.zenfolio.com .  In her "About me" portion of the home page, my favorite part reads "I read once that "the days are long but the years are short."

Indeed.

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS If I could have THIS with breakfast every morning, my world be a very zen place.