Giving thanks for
* God's provision that enables me to continue to be a stay-at-home wife, mom, grandma.
* A generous, kind husband that delivers God's provision through his career and supports me being that stay-at-home wife, mom, grandma ;-)
* People who come alongside me and understand my "crazy" and love me anyway.
* Opportunities and invitations to explore my creativity. Books, podcasts, groups, friends, conferences, etc that help me learn more about myself and things I love to do.
Outside my window winter, early-morning darkness. 28 degrees. Snowless. I’m not complaining… just to be clear.
Clothing myself in comfy black long pants, pj shirt and black lightweight cardigan. The cardigan is my favorite. It’s one of those pieces that you stumble upon, snatch up, and discover that it becomes one of your favorites. I almost lost it last year. I left it at the salon where I get my hair done. I looked and looked for it, put the word out to my peeps that it was missing and I was in mourning. As luck would have it, Christina took Jeremiah to my hairdresser for his first hair cut, and as she was leaving, she spied it there, recognized it and asked Jess about it. As it turns out, it was mine and is now, thankfully, back in my possession. LOL Keeping house breathing a sigh of relief since I, once again, am reminded that part of my “job” is caring for our house, because it is so much more than a house. It is our home, and it serves us well. I am amazed at how often I lose sight of this truth, and how incredibly freeing and joyful it is to recall it.
Keeping the space clean has become so much easier since the de-cluttering campaign succeeded for the most part. It helps that there are only three of us living here now and all are pretty good about putting our stuff back where it belongs. I think knowing that I get to spend time doing other things once I get the basics done makes me put in more effort to get it done efficiently. It’s working, and I can see even more time and space opening up in the future with some plans we have in motion.
Keeping it simple by bringing every thought and action back to the basics. That’s really what it all is - this breath of fresh air that I get when I remember that who I am and what I do is already enough. It’s enough and it’s good.
Minimalism...
To be fit and healthy I am losing weight, ever so gradually. I’m not doing anything special that’s making that happen, other than keeping busy doing what I am supposed to be doing. I am not snacking as often, not going for comfort foods to soothe emotional distress, not eating out as often, eating smaller portions, etc. I still hope to resume walking in the park soon and to do a little strength training. I think now that the storm in my mind has calmed down, I will make time to do these things. I think. I hope. I also started taking my daily vitamins again and drinking more water.. which is always a good thing. :-) Pondering mortality, aging, purpose, retirement, future hopes and dreams, and minimalism - rational minimalism. I think there will be a lot more pondering and practicing this idea to come.
Listening to the clock ticking and the faux fireplace heat blower right now. Podcasts as often as I can. Most of the podcasters that I enjoy took a break for the holidays and have not yet returned to offer new episodes, but I think this week that will happen. I’ve been tuning into our local Joy FM more often now, but the real thing I am loving is the playlist that Rachel shared with me. She adds to it regularly, and I love the collection on the list. Most of it is songs we sing as part of our worship at church. All of it is inspired by scripture.
Reading Blood Spell again. I resumed it last week and hope it jump starts my fiction reading. I haven’t created a TBR list yet, but I still hope to. I have the stack - both fiction and non-fiction books I hope to get through. I know there will be more. I’d rather be reading than watching, but...
Watching Blacklist. John has really become a tv series addict of sorts, and this series has caught my attention. Not because it’s awesome or uplifting, but because one of the main characters is a MASTER STORYTELLER. He’s also a killer, sort of, but I overlook that because it is, after all, a tv series. LOL
Loving the moments when I remember that there are no expectations, other than those I set for myself, to force myself to do the “work” thing. I can fully immerse myself into caring for the people I love, and our home. It’s my “job” and I have loved it from the beginning. Not every day, of course, there have been tough periods, but I don’t recall ever regretting my decision to be a SAHM. I love, love, love my “job”. I’m not looking for a promotion or a change. Thank you.
Planning for the week ahead … people. The calendar has considerable white space and I have no plans to fill it up. There are a few things on there that I am happy to do - meeting with my daughter and friend today, a hair appointment and womens' night of worship at our church on Friday. Thursday might be the day I clean and organize the freezer and the extra refrigerator.
John and I will need to decide what things on the list we would like to accomplish this weekend. We are taking baby steps to work our way down the list we are creating in our Home Binder. We both need to follow up with the people we initially contacted about the patio and the ceiling/bathroom. Neither of them got back to us. This has been our biggest challenge in the past to getting stuff done. No one seems to need/want the work or they simply don’t respond to requests for consultations for estimates. We might have to reach outside of our own pond.
Words worth sharing PAY ATTENTION. I chose two words rather than one for 2020. I doubt that anyone is going to criticize me or arrest me. The power of observation is one thing I do not possess much of, and I want to improve upon that. But it’s more than just that, I want to make much more of an effort to really pay attention when I am listening to people. Eye contact, block out distractions, phone out of reach or hearing, and not just thinking about how to respond, but listening to understand. Praying for this works, I know it from experience. I just forget to pray for it consistently and so my bad habits return.
Why Daybook posts you might wonder? I don't have a solid answer other than to say that as a dedicated reader to one of my favorite blogs in the past, her daybook posts were one of my favorite things. It gave her readers a glimpse into her life without divulging too much about her family. There's always been something appealing about seeing that other people experience some of the same life struggles and joys that we do, don't you agree? Because this particular writer/blogger seemed a very good fit to my "tribe", I could relate to nearly all of her experiences. In fact, it was sometimes bizarre how we were walking through similar circumstances and discovering the same new things. Shared experiences always seem to invite interest.
Anyway, it's just my way of sharing the ordinary of my life. Also it acts as a journal of sorts for my own purposes. Maybe one day, my kids or even their kids' kids will read these entries and have a glimpse into their great grandparents lives. :-) And then they will know they were loved!!!