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Clarksons belong to one another. Differing in personality, quirky, loud, messy, opinionated, introverts, extroverts — but we are one another’s tribe and we know we have a people we belong to. Through years, living day to day, I didn’t know how deeply we were building close bonds. Now, I see that through the decades of intentional living, we were becoming each other’s community. There are more of us now, and we continue to cherish any time we can be together.
Over a lifetime, we drank thousands of cups of the same brand of tea, listened to the same musical artists, watched the same movies, traveled and worked at conferences together, discussed and argued at the dinner table each night, enjoyed bedtime blessings and kisses, hiked often, and cherished whatever golden retriever we had at the time.
I remember one of the first times I realized how much we all meant to one another.
A crisp fall evening, with blazing sunset of reds, pinks, corals shouting for attention. We gathered on our deck, taking a moment to admire. As we sat in peace, the front door opened. A mid-20’s child, strode in with weary face and exhausted body.
“I just decided to come home after working all last night and today. I need ‘us’ to give me some rest and peace.”
Dinner still a half-hour away, I quickly cut some savory cheese, mounted crisp whole grain crackers on a plate, poured a cool drink, and gave my offering, “Just a little something to hold you over till dinner is ready.”
We ventured to our back deck, overlooking pine trees, lit our small gas fireplace and sat in the peace of a closing day. The furrowed brow softened and these words were whispered, “This is why I came home — I knew you all would fill me back up and I wanted peace and quiet for at least one night.”
One of the best powers of home is the life that comes from within that gives comfort, a “place to belong” and a place that soothes the soul, inspires the mind, and gives a moral compass through all the twists and turns of life. And we are the ones who create this belonging.
More on today’s Tea Time Tuesday episode: books I am reading, favorite meal of the week, music, and flowers.