Tuesday Slice: Puttering

A full day off, and a full to-do list.  It started off well enough.  Still in pajamas and before my husband left for work, I had replaced the pictures on the mantel left bare from packed-up Christmas decor.  I even got a bit of cleaning in, since the frames had gathered dust over the holidays, and hey, once the dust cloth is out, why not swipe it over a few more surfaces?

Then hubby was out the door, and the puttering started.

I packaged up some gifts to send to friends...and birdwatched.

Started a load of laundry...and played a game on my phone.

Did a little workout...and read work emails.

Took a shower...and checked Facebook.

Went to the kitchen to fix brunch...filled the bird feeder and fed the squirrels instead.

Finally ate brunch, rebooted the laundry...and watched reels on Facebook.

You get the gist.  Five p.m. arrived before I knew it, and I had barely touched the decluttering projects I had lined up, or the school work that needed to be completed.  I only read a few pages of my fun read, not the "serious" stuff or kidlit.

After completing the work-related stuff at ten-thirty pm last night, I set the screen time limit on my phone.  Looking forward to some crossed-off items on that to-do list today...and a decent bedtime.

Tuesday Slice: For the love of paper

 

A friend gave me a box of goodies from Archer & Olive yesterday.  

She may have mentioned the site before...but I hadn't ventured over to it.  

Archer & Olive may be the next drain on my discretionary spending funds.

The goodie package is Valentine themed, the contents in shades of pink and peach.  It includes a cute glittery heart-shaped box that you pop open for goodies (mine has heart-shaped clips--perfect for a photo string--and sweet stickers). There's  a little envelope of color-yourself valentine postcards.  Enameled keychains are in another little box, and opaque acrylic pens in yet another.  And at the bottom...a journal.

Not just any journal.  This one is dot-grid, with 160 gsm paper--so those acrylic pens don't bleed through.

I've never played with acrylic paint pens in a journal.  I had to look up what "gsm" stands for.  I'm both excited and terrified of putting those pens to that paper.  But I'm ready to try.  

My friend knows how to make me smile and challenge me at the same time--a great combination in a companion.

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Catching myself unawares

Margaret has asked us to share our One Little Word 

on this Spiritual Journey Thursday.

Her post is here.

 

I didn't choose One Little Word (OLW) for 2023.  I chose an OLW for just the first three months of 2023.  (You can read that explanation here.)  And my OLW for the first quarter of the year is

Conscious.

It's been five days of living with this word, and here's my biggest revelation:  I have a very hard time being present for, and sometimes dealing with, very current circumstances.  Here are some examples:

Instead of greeting the day with a stretch and a check-in with my body and heart, my brain starts listing the reasons I can't hit the snooze button (morning routine, feeding the birds, I'll fall asleep again and run late...)

Instead of just making coffee and emptying the dishwasher, I'm thinking about whether or not my pants will fit, what I'm going to write in my morning pages, what my upcoming appointment with a new doctor will be like...

Instead of enjoying a hot shower, the litany of work tasks and unanswered emails I've sent is on loop in my mind, causing me to pause and wonder if I've remembered to soap up...

Instead of directly dealing with a task that may take me longer than I'd like, I stop to eat chocolate...

Instead of being fully present to people I'm speaking with, I'm still mentally running that work list...

Instead of fully enjoying all the stuff I have to make my life enjoyable, I'm easily enticed by sales of the next great/ fun/ helpful/ fix-all-your-problems thing...

You get the idea. I have prided myself on not living in the past or being a worrier, but I also suffer from living too much in the future.  I'm robbing myself of the present.

My first baby steps are a few moments of silent meditation before my morning reading, and consciously engaging my senses in the shower in an attempt to drown out the mental chatter.  I caught myself working hard to be present in a training this week, too, and avoiding multitasking as much as possible (THAT is hard!).

Hopefully, my Spiritual Journey Thursday post in March will document some improvement in my ability to be as fully present as possible--and I'll be able to pick another OLW for the next quarter. 

Tuesday Slice: My OLW for the first quarter of 2023

 

I'm trying something different this year,  using a new-to-me version of goal-setting planners.  Instead of taking on one full year of intentions (I do like that word better than resolutions, thank you, daughter o' mine), I'm honing in on three months at a time.

Using a quarterly planner for goals gives me the external permission I need to bite off major changes in small chunks, celebrate wins no matter how miniscule, and even-gasp-to change my One Little Word, if I want to.

So instead of a far-off, seemingly unattainable goal of losing forty pounds...I only need to lose seven.  All those piles that need to be decluttered?  Let's just focus on the bedroom and hallway this quarter.  Logically, I know that this is nothing new; I've developed action steps before to reach big goals.  But they never seemed to get done;  it was as if I was always standing in the shadow of the impossibly high mountain range of my lofty New Year's resolutions.  The action step lists were too daunting!

My One Little Word, at least for the next three months, is Conscious.  It encompasses my desires to act intentionally, be present, and do some research and find the reasons for my unhealthy patterns of behavior.

 

We'll see how this goes.  Will I have the willpower and stamina to sit through a digging-into-my-deepest-needs-and-desires session again in March, write new goals, come up with another OLW?  I'm not sure.  But knowing I'm good for the next three months feels just right, for now.

Tuesday Slice: Hydrotherapy

H20

Hot under the collar

Overwhelmed

Out of sorts

Holiday frenzy

Overtired

Out of patience

Headache

Overworked muscles

Out of steam

Hot shower

Over the day

Out like a light.

 

Tuesday Slice: The waves and smiles

 

I don't often write about work on this platform, maybe because I have another blog on which I post twice weekly about reading and library happenings.  But with a lack of other fleshed-out ideas, a work post it is.

I get smiles and waves in the hallway.

I know, I'm not the only educator that gets this attention.  But think about what this means.  This isn't just a nod to popularity.

Our students choose to send those smiles and waves our way.  It's not the same as the perfunctory greeting we elicit at the door, or the thanks that teachers prompt on the way out of the library.  Those smiles and waves are genuine (unless they're being used as a ruse for more thought-out shenanigans, but that's rare in my elementary school).

In my unique position as the campus librarian, I come in contact with every single student, every single week.  First and foremost, I want them to see me as a safe, reliable adult who welcomes them into an inclusive space of literacy, learning, and exploration.  There are days where the behavior and attitude of some students, and sometimes my behavior in response, makes me feel like I am failing at my task.

And then I get the smiles and waves, and I know I'm getting it right at least some of the time. So I always take the time to smile and wave back. 

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Slow the pace

Bob has given us our theme of acceptance and change this month,

with the following questions:

So, friends, I ask you how do you slow down? What helps you focus on you well-being and that of others around you. What little changes do you make in your life that can affect others?

The collective unconscious must be clamoring for calm, a break from the chaos this season, because I've been drawn to three different practices for just such a purpose.

1) I am reading Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton.  It is a guide for honing in on what your spirit really wants and needs during the holiday season--not what the commercials say you need, or your hundred-year-old family traditions, for that matter.  It's a lovely small book that is easy to read a bit, then ponder a bit...and then maybe cross off an item or two on your to-do list.

2)  I receive weekly emails from Ami Kunimura, founder of The Self-Care Institute.  This Wednesday's post gave us four tips for managing holiday stress.  The first two are my favorites:  "pace yourself", and "honor your personal boundaries."  Ami gives us permission to save some time and energy for our own personal needs.

3)  I am filling in the Cultivate What Matters Advent edition of their Write the Word journal.  Each morning, I write a note of gratitude, look up the assigned Scripture in my Bible, copy the lines, write a reflection, and choose a word to carry through the day.  The whole process takes me fifteen or so minutes, but it is a calming and centering routine that connects me to the hopeful, peaceful anticipation of the liturgical season.  

The calm I feel through these practices gives me the patience to manage problems as they arise at work and home.  I can choose to absorb only news that affects and informs me, and take time instead to enjoy a scented candle, baking my favorite cookies, wrapping gifts for family and friends.

May this Advent be less a season of chaos and stress, and more opportunities to breathe, be still, and believe in the hope that came to life on Christmas morning.