Ah Do Do Do, Ah Da Da Da, S’all I Want to Say to You

Am I doing it right?

I dunno.

Am I doing it anyway, Yup!

This week is filled with anticipation of Autumn and all the cleaning and doing projects that seem to accompany the break in hot weather. Home and garden maintenance and cleaning. The windows look horrid. The bought potted perennials need planting. Things need painting.

The littlest child is returning to school on Thursday. Seems no one died from the virus this week in Maryland. She will be masked and I will be driving her to school. But it gives me some hope that this will all be a nightmare sooner than later. I need that space and time back in my days. She needs the connection with her people.

Mark and my wedding anniversary is today. We’ll hope to celebrate it this weekend. And then his birthday is coming. So much to be grateful for in these weird times.

I’ve been doing better with an anxiety med adjustment and am hoping to have great things come to fruition before the new year. There’s a bump I need to get over.

I am happily redecorating and replacing some pieces with new inexpensive finds and feel that this season will reflect a lot of positive change for all of us.

We just have to plant the seeds of hope.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

September Has Arrived

September has arrived. The crickets forewarned me. The temperature dropped a delightful 15 degrees Fahrenheit although the humidity has kept its nasty reign on out region. I look forward to these things.

To the schedule, rhythm, and routine of the school work week so I may advance with my own progress.

To the planning, implementing, and shutting down of the garden workload.

To bringing down the fuzzy rug and turning on the fireplace because it’s cold outside.

To wearing clothing that covers the back of my thighs.

To firepits in the backyard and saying adios to mosquitoes.

To the expansive feeling of Autumn’s cooler weather in my mind and my body.

To finding legitimate footing in my life’s work and moving onward.

My hope for you all is the very same freedoms if you so desire them. Or that you write out what yours are for the coming months. Let’s hope that despite all of this, 2021 blooms with new growth like we never expected.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

As Long as Never Enough Is the Mutter

I waste moments in my day thinking about how lucky other people are. Well of course they can work out for two hours, grab a coffee with a friend, or sit and read for hours, they aren’t parents of small people. I’m comparing my apples to their oranges. One day, I’ll have that time back.

And this just goes to prove my underlying understanding of my life : there’s never enough time, energy, or money to do all the things I want do. So you’d think I’d go ahead and lower my standards to feel better about my life. Nope.

I want to have a clean house, a well-toned body, a beautiful garden, grateful kids, a larger blog following, essays published in well known publications, or even a career.

I’m always working but it’s never enough. Most people can’t believe I do as much as I do. And I wonder what life they see me living. And conversely, there was the awful person who suggested I go get a job. I must be living a life of luxury over here getting my toes painted and who knows what else. People “my age” often are employed.

Sadly, I should be even more infuriated at that stupid comment. Women are always screwed as so many don’t understand the sheer volume of responsibilities we have in our minds to keep up with. But now with the children at home on top of our heads needing us to also be the homework monitor and entertainment manager on top of being laundress, cook, disciplinarian, nursemaid, and person who pays attention to them.

No wonder I feel like I’m not enough. Society has handed me this mental condition and I’ve said, thank you sir, may I have another? Until I can say “enough already”, I will not have enough time left for me. For the house work or the garden much less my own personal creative work or self-care practices. Creating realistic self-expectations is something I need for me and to model for my daughter.

I’m going to sit down and have a long talk with that little niggling voice in the back of my head about what I truly think is enough. Really.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

Just Five Things

I have joined a week long exercise in mindfulness and community expansion this week. Created and run by Michelle GD, The Just Five Things Course is asking me to pause three times a day and list five things based on the prompt word of the day. I must admit that “Gratitude” was a hard prompt for me to be inspired by yesterday. However, what came to my attention is that maybe I truly need way more intentional time carved out for myself for my well being. My boundaries are a little wobbly sometimes. Today is Home and I wanted to share my submission with you…

“Home”  for Tuesday day May 19th 

Morning
– Comfort and space as cats await my exit from my bed
– Lack of time to myself and chatter and coffee
– Doingness, planning, managing, and watching the redhead’s mood
– Rifle through clothing that I’d rather burn than wear
– Bandits escape and return from shopping to unpack back into kitchen space aka my home office

Afternoon
– Dance of devices in silent and interrupting circles
– The smell of Homemade Chicken noodle soup and lemony clean kitchen floor
– Another escape and return, a walk about a town where my kids grew up noticing every abandoned plant,
– Collage art and blog posts written in my craftroom, a mostly unoccupied space just for me
– Safe inside with windows open watching the winds tear at the world

This evening, I want home to hold me still and keep quiet while I spend some time alone.
There’ll be a bath time but I may be released from my duties.
There’ll be a dinner. I’m voting leftovers. The proof that I have had a purpose even though there’s seemingly nothing to show for it. There’ll be my people around me laughing and being them while I be me.
And hopefully I can take a journal and a book to bed and relax into sleep.

Plus, I made a list and did both the things on it. Technically I am no longer listless. Hope this inspires you to stop and look at your day in a different way. 

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

What’s a Sunday Feel Like?

My son said he wanted the weekend to feel like a weekend. A Sunday to feel like a Sunday. Because when you’re home bound, the days can start to feel the same-ish.
So today, I made sure we didn’t wake him up. He had a “real breakfast” as in not cereal or frozen microwave breakfast sandwiches. And we didn’t give him too many chores.

I asked him if it felt like a Sunday. He said “yes”.

What is a Sunday supposed to feel like? I have always been a big supporter of special food and lots of luxury and doing what you feel like on Sundays. Wearing your jammies all day however becomes less special when you do it all week because you aren’t going anywhere anyway.

I am Julie Your Cruise Director (The Love Boat ref.) and it’s my job to keep the fun alive aka direct. We had a fire-pit on Sunday night and today’s my son’s birthday so chocolate cake and take out sushi are our feast! This week my husband thought up Room Day where everyone picks a room and stays in it and if you have to pass through someone else’s room, you have to ask permission. Luckily we have enough neutral rooms and bathrooms to make this pretty easy. I can’t tell you how much I am craving alone time.

We’ll be doing a Asian night with homemade Chinese food (our local takeout is closed down) and perhaps watch a Kung Fu Panda or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon movie. A game night, a music jam, and a picnic are all shake it up options. Trick is to put it on the calendar so that everyone can look forward to it. Because we’ve got many more weeks to go and the only way to get through this and maintain our sanity is to adapt proactively.

Any other ideas, please share in the comments!

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.