It’s Still Progress

The Ozark Soul Journal

September – Week One

It’s Still Progress

Welcome.

Pull up a chair for a little while. The coffee’s warm, the porch is quiet, and there’s always room for one more neighbor.

This week didn’t bring anything particularly extraordinary.

And yet, when I look back over it, I realize there was a lot of life tucked into the ordinary moments.

I finished up another short pet transport route and pulled back into Missouri early Monday morning. By 9:00, I was home.

After spending a couple days on the road, there really is no better feeling than pulling into your own driveway.

Monday afternoon, I made a trip to the grocery store.

I had four things on my list.

Four.

Somehow, it took me an hour and ten minutes to get them.

Now, if you’ve ever lived in a small town, you probably already know what happened.

I ran into somebody I knew. Then somebody else.

A quick hello turned into a conversation, and before long, grocery shopping became more of a social event than an errand.

But you know what?

I didn’t mind a bit. That’s one of the things I love about small-town life.

Sometimes you go to the grocery store for four items and come home having caught up with half the town. You can’t really put a price on that.

Tuesday afternoon brought my sister-in-law by for her weekly visit. We’ve been spending more time together lately, and I’m grateful for those afternoons.

Life has a way of reminding us that sometimes healing doesn’t happen through some grand event. Sometimes it happens through ordinary conversation.

A cup of coffee.

A familiar face.

An afternoon spent together.

And sometimes…

It’s simply progress.

The rest of my week was time at home.

I’ve spent two days labeling soaps that have finished their cure and organizing my soap room.

There’s something satisfying about seeing those finished bars lined up and ready.

It means all those weeks of waiting have finally paid off.

And while I was organizing, I came across things I no longer needed or wanted.

Before I knew it, I had three boxes ready to donate to our local thrift store. Mostly clothes.

It wasn’t exactly what I had planned to accomplish that day, but I suppose that’s another lesson in letting life take you where it needs to go.

One organized room turned into three boxes of things that might be useful to somebody else.

Later in the week, I made a trip to the next town over to spend some time with my daughter and help her set up for her pop-up sale.

There is something special about working alongside your kids, even when those kids are grown.

We were busy getting everything arranged, but eventually we decided we needed a break.

So we stopped for a hamburger that was brought by our DoorDash driver (aka) son-in-law.

And let me tell you…

That hamburger was delicious. It was also a little bit of a treat for me.

Because of my husband’s Alpha-Gal, I don’t cook or eat mammal in our home.

So every once in a while, getting to sit down somewhere else and enjoy a good hamburger feels like a small luxury.

But honestly, the hamburger wasn’t even the best part.

The best part was sitting across the table from my daughter and simply visiting.

No rushing.

No soap to pour.

No labels to print.

No boxes to pack.

Just mother and daughter sharing a meal and catching up.

Those are the moments that don’t always make it onto a calendar.

But they’re the ones I remember.

As I sit here thinking about the week, I realize that I didn’t accomplish everything I could have.

The soap room isn’t perfectly organized.

There are still things on my list.

There are more soaps to label once cured.

More events to prepare for.

More work waiting for me.

But that’s okay. Because I’ve also made progress.

I came home safely.

I caught up with people I care about.

I spent time with my sister-in-law.

I organized part of my workspace.

I found three boxes of things I could give to someone else.

I helped my daughter.

And I shared a meal and a good conversation with someone I love.

Maybe that’s enough for one week. We live in a world that seems to constantly ask us what’s next.

What’s the next goal?

What’s the next accomplishment?

What’s the next thing we need to check off the list?

But sometimes I think we need to stop and look at what we’ve already done.

Maybe the house isn’t perfectly clean.

Maybe the business isn’t exactly where we want it to be.

Maybe there are still dreams sitting on the list waiting their turn.

That’s okay. It’s still progress.

And maybe that’s the reminder I needed this week.

Progress doesn’t always look like moving mountains.

Sometimes it looks like four grocery items and an hour-long conversation.

Sometimes it looks like three boxes headed to the thrift store.

Sometimes it looks like a hamburger with your daughter.

And sometimes… It’s simply coming home.

Until next Friday…

I hope you’ll give yourself credit for the little things this week.

You may be farther along than you think.

— Your neighbor in the Ozarks,

Granny Sherry

Country Bathworks