Pleasant View Antiques in Newville, PA

“Just Be Elizabeth, just Be”

I’ve been working in the gardens lately, a lot actually. It’s where I find peace, satisfaction, and A LOT of sweat! (along with some pretty cool pottery artifacts!) It’s been in the 90’s or more every day here at Herron Cottage in Newville, Pennsylvania. As the dog days of Summer are in full swing, so are my thoughts surrounding simpler times. While I’m working on the weeding, I can’t help but think about how these 160 plus year old gardens must have looked in the 1800’s . I’ve researched them and we have tried to bring their splendor back to life. I wonder if they needed weeding as much as they do now? The chickens do their fair share of weed and pest control, so I really can’t complain. Sometimes it is nice to just be in these beautiful gardens.

As I leave the garden I finish hanging up the last load of laundry on the line. There is truly nothing like the smell of laundry straight from the clothesline. It just makes me feel at home. Hanging clothes on the line reminds me to be. To be grateful for a full clothesline filled with laundry which is a sure sign of our home being full of family again.

Pulling weeds by hand, planting, and doing chores like washing clothes and hanging them on the line to dry are small reminders of more uncomplicated times. Times when this house, Herron Cottage, was filled with Dr. Sharpe and his family’s 10 children! The noise from these walls must have been deafening! (the ceilings are higher and the acoustics are fantastic—even my voice sounds great singing) Their yard must have been filled with children playing outside and all over the place! Perhaps they too hung clothes out in this very spot more than 150 years ago! Or maybe they played outside just to be outside away from the chores of the home.

My Grandmother, Loyal Hartman, (we called her Mom-Mom and I just loved her so) used to say to me, “Elizabeth, stop working so hard all the time and doing so much! You really need to take the time to just BE!” I never really understood what she meant by that—her family were Pennsylvania farmers and always quite busy. She had a lot of interesting, PA Dutch advice I didn’t really understand until I got older. What a simple lesson she was trying to convey; Just be. Now, my 55 year old self thinks I may understand just what she meant.

1. Don’t overcomplicate things, just try to let things be as they are–not everything needs to change. Be ok with things just as they are. The grass surely isn’t always greener!
2. Enjoy this moment. Right now. At this time. Be present.
3. Appreciate your family. They all won’t be here all the time. Children grow up and won’t need you in the same way. Enjoy them in all stages of their life. Be there for them.
4. Take value in the simple chores. Be grateful for what you have not what you want.
5. Just be. Rest and Reflect.

Mom-Mom Hartman was a wise one, she would just love this old home with all its character & history. She too would feel the happiness that once was here and is here now. It just lends itself to just be.