The plan was to write something enriching for you today. It’s time to start getting back to some routine and I wanted to give you something interesting or thought provoking to read.
Turns out everything I tried to write took on a negative tone.
I wanted to tell you about hiking in Ohio’s Hocking Hills but I didn’t actually get to do that this weekend. On Saturday the parks were so overrun by tourists that any self respecting nature lover would find it easier to commune with nature on a city street than in the state park Saturday.
Negative.
So I tried to switch gears into more positive thinking about how scarcity gives us a sense of abundance. Sadly, my brain started down a garden path toward the American obsession with mass consumerism and how wasteful people are with everything from leftovers to water to fast fashion.
Negative.
And then I started thinking about lots of topics that bump up against American politics and I just don’t have it in me to go there.
Clearly, I need to get out on the road immediately, if not sooner, to look at some art, take a hike or just to stop and appreciate some pretty spring flowers.
If I’m no longer seeing the good in the world, it’s time to go looking for something better than what I can see from here!
Meanwhile, here’s some pretty daffodils blooming in the graveyard of a local church we explored when hiking was a bust on Saturday.
Aren’t they pretty?
Happy Monday, my friends. I know the world looks bleak right now but I hope you will take a moment today to look for some beauty or to create your own if you can’t find any out there!
Around here it feels like I’m in a holding pattern. There’s much I wish to do this spring but first I have to get through some work projects and the weather needs to improve.
Around here I’m trying to find balance and rest, productivity and completion. I’m building habits, not by adding to my day but by letting go of the unnecessary. I’m turning off the tv and trying to slowly sift through some small home projects.
Around here, my new bedtime routine has become the best part of the day. I don’t do anything different when it comes to getting ready for bed but have come to think of turning down the bed, washing away the residue of the day, and enjoying classical music while reading myself to sleep as both ritual and luxury.
Around here, good enough is better than perfect and perfect is the enemy of done. Things really just need to be done.
Around here Scout seems to have developed seasonal allergies, I’m having a dental bridge done and there’s an issue with my leg. Between the two of us, we’re kind of a mess.
Around here, the flowering quince is in bloom, and daffodils have exploded. Tiny pink and purple flowers dot the yard in places. Wild onions grow and weeds are sprouting everywhere. Everyone is tempted to start their yard work, a bad decision for the pollinators that are still waking up. Around here they need us to hold off a while longer.
Around here things are hard but there is hope that life will be easier soon, that the sun will shine, and that White Lightning will be ready for a day trip when I’m ready to go.
Friends, it’s Friday. The weekend is so close we can almost touch it. Whether you’re around here or around there, wherever there may be, you deserve something good today. Enjoy this day, stay safe and be happy.
I try to share something most days as this is a daily writing/thinking exercise for me. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been possible lately.
We have reached my busy season at work. I’m also in the throes of a busy volunteer life. At home, I’m trying to decorate for Easter, organize my messy craft room, reorganize my books, overcome some health issues and reinvent my life so I can be the best that I can be – all while hobbling along with a bum leg.
It’s going about as well as you might imagine.
I’m physically and mentally tired. I’m overwhelmed by possibility and underwhelmed by my own management of anything more than my bedtime routine.
If only there were a few more hours in the day. The good news is the really bad part will last only another month. The bad news is there’s another month to go.
So back on track, I half heartedly try to go. But honestly, friends, if the choice is between writing and sleeping, I’m probably going to choose the sleep.
I’m sure y’all will overcome the disappointment somehow! Ha!
In case I drop off the map again and I’m not around to remind you to think positive, here’s your assignment. In this ever darkening world, what’s one small thing you can do to make it a brighter place?
It doesn’t have to be expensive or taxing in any way. Chat up your cashier at Aldi, pay a compliment to a stranger, or grab a loose cart so it doesn’t bang into someone’s car. Take donuts to a friend. Offer to babysit your sister’s kids so she can get a haircut in peace.
Maybe you want to take this assignment to the next level and help with a letter writing campaign to your member of Congress, plant a field with sunflowers (those are some happy flowers), or join your town’s beautification effort. Those pretty flowers on Main Street don’t plant and water themselves and could benefit from your green thumb. Tutor a child in a subject you know well or become their Big Brother or Big Sister if you have that program in your area.
My philosophy has long been that when I go to bed at night I should be leaving the world in the same or better condition than I found it in that morning. I’m failing miserably so I need everyone else to try a little harder while I get it together.
Think of the people of your youth who inspired you. What would Woody Guthrie, Steve Irwin, John Lennon or our beloved Mr Rogers have to say?
Woody spent a lifetime standing up against fascists, advocating for workers’ rights, and reminding us that “this land was made for you and me.”
“The Crocodile Hunter” told us that “if we save our wild places, we will ultimately save ourselves.” What would we do without the amazing wild places across the is nation of ours?
The kind and gentle soul we all knew as Mr. Roger’s taught children on television for 33 years to look for the helpers, that we are all special, and that our differences make us better. “It’s the people who feel strong and good about themselves who are best able to accept outside difference—their own and others,” he said.
Maybe we all just need better self esteem and more self respect and we would treat our planet and the people who inhabit it more kindly.
I can tell you that volunteering is a great way to put things into perspective and to understand who your true community leaders are. After a lifetime of being an active community volunteer I can tell you the politicians are rarely the real leaders. In fact, it’s usually what the state and national politicians muck up that the rest of us are trying to fix.
The true leaders are the young professionals, the retirees, and the individuals who have an interest in seeing something be better. Never underestimate the grandmotherly church lady with a freezer full of homemade pies. Those ladies will be in charge if the world ever ends.
Remember, there are plenty of ways to brighten someone else’s day and yours as well. Visit a neighbor or buy yourself a little gift from a small business. That business owner will do a happy dance at your purchase. Visiting a national park is almost a revolutionary act these days. Go take a long hike and do not skip the gift shop!
Find a way, enormous or minuscule every day to make the world just a little better. If we all did one small thing, imagine the difference we could make. I may sound a little hippie dippie but that’s fine by me.
This week has been overwhelming. By the time I made it home from work last night, all I wanted to do was sit on the couch in the quiet and eat ice cream. That more or less is what I did.
I eventually made a sandwich and then turned on Little House on the Prairie.
It wasn’t a banner evening.
There are many reasons that this week suddenly pushed me right to the edge of the cliff. I’m mentally and physically tired because it’s March and March is one of my harder months.
My extended family suffered a terrible tragedy this week. That’s a sad story for a different day. I had a small health scare that thankfully turned out fine but I still don’t have an answer regarding the issue.
Work. I won’t ever complain about work but boy, has it been hopping lately. So has my volunteer life.
And there are times that I long for the days before texting, social media and the 24/7 barrage of news, information and demands for your time. The overstimulation is a real problem.
I spent a lot of time this week bending to the will of people who don’t deserve my time and energy at all. I have a volunteer commitment this morning and am rooting for rain so I don’t feel obligated to do more than come back home for a quiet day here.
If it’s nice I’ll feel obligated to go hike.
My no spend challenge continues. This week I treated myself to a milkshake after having that medical procedure. I picked up a few things at the local grocer last night. The money savings will help with medical expenses. Not to mention, my 401k is taking daily hits so I’ll need to save my dollars and dimes for retirement if I ever hope to get there. Everyone has been so angry about the cost of chicken eggs but I’m terrified for my nest egg.
I’m dying for an early morning start to a good road trip somewhere new. I would like to roll into a smallish town, park the car and just look around. Doesn’t that sound exciting?
It hasn’t been all bad. After all, I have a good job, people who need me, things to keep me productive and plenty to keep me busy. Lots of stuff is happening in the truth is stranger than fiction column so that makes life more interesting.
How are you holding up this week? Are you a ball of nerves? Planning a trip? Just hanging in there? Living your best life? Tell me all about it!
The daffodils and crocus are beginning to bloom in my yard. After I traipsed outside last night to pick a few daffodils, I came back in and took down the Christmas tree.
March 13.
The spring flowers are blooming and I finally let go of the last remnant of my holiday spirit. To be fair, the tree featured just a few Christmasey things, instead favoring pine cones, wooden mushrooms, snowmen and little winter decorated buildings.
I liked the warmth of the white lights on a dark night. It was comforting and pretty. Still, it needed to go away so I can decorate for Easter and Spring.
The Easter Bunny will be here before we know it and I need to be prepared!
