No matter how easy it is to subscribe to the idea of simple living, the practice isn’t always simple. In fact, sometimes it sounds like almost as much work as un-simple living. Saying no to invitations or requests sounds harder than just saying yes and following through.

Cleaning out the garage and sneaking into your children’s dark bedrooms to “edit” their toys while they’re asleep (because heaven knows you could never pull that off while they’re awake) sounds a whole lot harder than just closing their bedroom door or declaring the garage uninhabitable space.

It is work to keep your life simple.

It is work to edit your belongings and limit your consumerism and keep a firm handle on your calendar.

It just is.

But in addition to many other benefits, it leaves room for one beautiful thing that we don’t talk about a lot.

It leaves room for whimsy. For wonder. For magic.

And in a day where our kids are shackled with heavy backpacks and stacks of homework… where our teens are pressured to be smart, be wise, be beautiful, be humble, be young, be mature — all at once and without any lapses… where we are inundated with the next best way to feed our families, to unlock the secrets of youth, to pursue our life’s work…