Simple Gifts

 “It’s a gift to be simple, it’s a gift to be free.  It’s a gift to come down where we are to be,” is a beloved Shaker song in our home. 

What does it mean to live simply, or is it just a buzz word?  We constantly need to de-clutter our small house and let go of stuff. We find it therapeutic to purge making room for what is important. 

Good food is important to me so simplifying my grocery list is not so easy.  I happily research recipes and test them on my family. Does simplifying mean buying in bulk and having meals on repeat?  Frozen pizza and grilled cheese would be fine in the rotation, but I don’t want to be rid of our fruits and veggie based meals.  Why does is cost so much to eat healthy? 

How can I learn to budget for nutritious meals in the reality of my husband's drastic job change? The starting wage for a bus driver who is a head of household with 4 dependents qualifies as poverty.  

Yesterday I felt both surprisingly excited and relieved after receiving the news that our 3 kids can now get free school lunch. It is humbling and will certainly help stretch the grocery budget.  Perhaps this is a part of "coming down where we are to be," because receiving help with lunches feels like a gift.

This is a journey, or an adventure, full of gaining new perspectives.  I have taught school many years, on an off, and this is helping me stand in the shoes of many of my students who receive free lunch.

I'm beginning to wonder how we can we make eating healthy, tasty foods less about personal economic status and more about nourishing communities.