Porch Ponderings: Slowing Down

The other day, I lost a button on a skirt of mine. This button happened to have a semi-crucial placement on the skirt, and unless I wanted to go around flashing a lot of leg (and that would be a no, thank you very much!) it would have to be repaired.

Rainy Day repairs

It's been a good while since I've needed to do any sewing repairs, but I must say it was a refreshing change of pace. One rainy afternoon, I sat down with a needle and thread and went about sewing that button back on. While I added loop after loop of thread through the buttonholes, I thought about other sewing projects I had accomplished over the years. Putting new buttons on a dress coat to give it an updated look, a tufted bolster pillow, and my particular favorite, "Brigitta Bear," an adorable teddy bear I had sewn in my middle school Home Ec. class.

Another thing I noticed in my sewing and reminiscing was that it felt nice to slow down. The simple, repeated movements proved to be relaxing and almost meditative. When everything else might be fast-paced and demanding, you can take your own sweet time to sew on a button. The same goes for knitting, chopping vegetables, weeding the garden, or hand-writing a letter. In fact, these last two blog posts I initially wrote by hand because I had forgotten to bring my laptop to the office. A bit tedious, sure, but good for the mind and the soul. And limiting screen time is always advisable.

There's a reason the slow living movement has so much appeal. It's a different message than the "Go, go, go! " of modern, everyday life. It's romantic. It encourages reflection. (Bella Grace magazine does a marvelous job of illustrating this. I always check out their newest issue when I'm at Barnes & Noble.)

Summer is a particularly good time of year to think about slowing down. More hours of sunlight mean more time for post-dinner walks.. or post-dinner naps, depending on what kind of day it's been. :)

Pruitt exemplifying the "dog days of summer"

I've heard so many people remark at how fast this summer has gone, so I suppose there's a bit of sentiment that summer itself should slow down. Well, let's see if we can make the most of it. Remember the season doesn't "officially" end until September 23rd... there's still time!

What have you done to slow down this summer? Please do share in the comments!

'Til next time,

Eva