Living In My Own Skin
Thoughts were racing as I tidied up my family room. Smiling, as I surveyed the décor, which I call “Early Miscellaneous” with a country bent, I realized I was “living in my own skin.” A grateful heart took notice of the contents of the room. Loveseat and coffee table had belonged to Husband’s family. Second hand rocking chair, the first piece of furniture Husband and I purchased. End table, made for me by my dad and topped with yard sale lamp, and bookcases inherited through a job, all caught my eye.
Remembering back to when married life began, the realization came to me that I had become my circumstances. How blessed Husband and I were to have started life with other people’s basement and attic treasures! The table and chair given new life by a coat of stain, the hand-me-down sofa and the borrowed bed all came to mind. Appreciative of the thoughtfulness of others, but not yet “living in my own skin,” the younger me would have loved a house decorated in Ethan Allen style!
Now many years later, perspective has changed. No criticism here of the value of being able to purchase new quality furnishings. I am all for multi-generational frugality and how this can include the passing down of heirlooms for generations to come. It is just that my specific situation has precluded such and that is okay!
Quite honestly, if it was mine to do again as a younger me, the thrill of the hunt in thrift shops, yard sales and family attics would be a delight! Perhaps the encouragement found on the blogs I’ve seen, where decorating resourcefulness and creativity abounds, has helped me to gain this appreciation. Then again, maybe it is just this place in time and the “wisdom” that comes with some years that makes my skin fit fine.
In no way am I minimizing the blessing of nurturing family and our own souls by the environment we create. It is just that it can be so easy to lose sight of the beauty of life lived with what is ours. Many times I have found that it is me that needs to change and not my circumstances.
My applause to all fellow frugalites who testify to a life well lived within your means and circumstances.
How does your skin fit today?
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5 Responses to “Living In My Own Skin”
May 20th, 2010 at 11:36 am
I love that expression ‘early miscellaneous’.
I too started adulthood with the ‘cast-offs’ if you will of other family members. And i bit the urge to replace them at the first chance i got. I spent years with them, taking care of it all and then when the time was right handing them down to the next generation. Were they priceless treasures that i speak of, hardly. Just gently worn items that served their intended purposes well.
Only much later in life did i feel the need to part with these items and replace them with items of my own choosing. Now i get great pleasure from looking at my handpicked pieces and know that they were not purchased in haste and will be with me until the end of my days.
I think i can say that i feel quite good in my own skin at the moment.
May 20th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
early miscellaneous- that’s good! mine is called “early, late, and recent hodgepodge” that has been simplified quite a few times over the years…i love being able to get from one room to another without falling over something, and i love to find whatever it was i was looking for without using a “senior moment” as an excuse. i am a minimalist compared to one of my neighbors who is a beginner hoarder. anytime i think i need something i go visit with her and usually change my mind pretty quickly.
May 21st, 2010 at 9:19 am
For my first place (okay, 15 years later this is still mostly my decor) I called it early ba-roke. Always said with enough of a twist that it could have been baroque. Yes, I’m a dork. But that one lamp has been glued back together a few times, so it’s really appropriate in more than one way.
May 21st, 2010 at 1:24 pm
I’ve always been “early attic, ancient yard sale.” But I love early miscellaneous!
I think it is getting comfortable in your own skin. These days I find that I more likely to be more attached to something I got for free, than I am with the something we’ve purchased. Some of the things I love most were picked up at end of the day free yard sale piles. You have to know what you want and be willing to sort through life to find it.
May 31st, 2010 at 9:37 pm
A few years ago, my father commented that if he were starting out today, he would furnish his home in “early garage sale”. I think about that when I look around my home that is furnished with very few items that came from traditional retailers. We’ve been married long enough to have acquired a few custom pieces, mostly upholstered items, but everything else in my home has a history. Now my daughter is contemplating her first apartment and I can hardly wait to see how little we can spend to furnish it comfortably! Look out, Craigslist!
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