In a mood
I'm not regretting it ... yet
An Open Letter to Myself Ten Years from Now (by Darah)
I know you are overwhelmed. Caring for five young children, maintaining the house, launching a new career, being a wife, friend, and daughter — all in a day’s work — is grueling. Your eyes are always bloodshot from the chronic sleep deprivation and the dark circles cannot be masked with any amount of concealer. Yet, believe me when I tell you this: you will yearn for these days ten years from now.
The Catchup Post: Or What I've Been Up To for the Last 2 Weeks
I’m back at my computer again, in a relatively quiet house. That means only one boy is wailing, trying to finish cleaning up his desk before the timer goes off. The other is outside with Dad, and supper is marinating in the fridge. That lasted all of 5 seconds, until the wailing one finished his job more or less, and wanted it checked. Such is my life!
This morning got off to a very rough start, as hubby and I were out very late, celebrating our 10th anniversary!
Tranquility Can Be Found in the Oddest of Places - All You Need is to be in the Right State of Mind (by Darah)
Each year I get an MRI of the brain as a follow up to my surgery. I had this done the other night. I scheduled it for the end of the evening so I could first get everything done for all the little and big people in my life.
It was 8pm and I was waiting in the MRI Lounge enjoying a good read in a national magazine when they called me in. As usual, by this time of night, I was weary and drained from all that tending to five young children entails. Nonetheless, the technician started to prep me about taking off my jewelery, removing all metal objects, how to breathe, how to stay motionless, composed, etc.; I knew the drill. He was assessing my mental state to ensure that he wasn’t going have to sedate some frantic claustrophobic once shoved inside the tunnel for a solid hour.
In the Zone
Q of the Week : When do you let yourself ask for help?
The wording of this question is the key. When do you allow yourself to ask for help with things? I’m betting it’s more complicated for some than others, and I’m currently scrambling to get things done before leaving on vacation but have yet to ask for much help. When will I think it’s ok?! I hate obligating people, or being in their debt (yes it’s part of my control issues!) so I always prefer to do it myself if I possibly can. I like helping others though, so why would I assume they enjoy doing the same? Riiiight. Silly question.
So, when do you ask for help, and with what? Please share!
Why I'm Not at BlogHer 10, though it's in my backyard
Newsletter Alert > Vulnerability : The Art of Being Real
After a month’s break, Shaking the Grapevine is back! This month it’s my musings on vulnerability, and you can find the goods over here. Enjoy!
Keeping it real
Friday Roundup ... Feelings anyone?
I’ve noticed something in myself in the last week, and now that I’m aware of it I can’t stop feeling it … I dramatically hunch up my shoulders when I feel any tension whatsoever. It’s completely unnecessary, explains why my shoulders are usually as hard as rocks, and makes me look like I’m, well, tense! I had no awareness of how literally they were raised until I caught myself doing it this week. Where do you hold your feelings?
This realization may partly have come from reading an article by Annie Fox this week, which I strongly related to. It’s called A Little Breakfast and a Big Lesson in Emotional Intelligence, and it really hit home for me, as it talks about hiding your feelings. Please go check it out!
Embrace the Resistance (by Darah Z.)
If you’re a runner or a cyclist, you’ll be able to relate to this well. Have you ever begun your run or ride and realized immediately that you were working so damn hard and making little progress? You feel yourself exerting tons of energy and yet, the wind resistance is so unrelenting that you struggle to advance anything.
At this point you begin to question your ability to run or pedal and start eyeing your watch. You entertain thoughts of returning home to an obscenely oversized bowl of ice cream and call it a day.
Digging Deep
The cycle of things
Q of the Week : How noisy is your life?
Tip Tuesday : Be Honest
I would like to take a sick day, please?
Project Crazy
I’m a sucker for projects, and feel a bit lost without one in front of me. I think it has something to do with feeling useful and productive and all that, but it’s just how I am. I HAD to make something this week, something new and mess-producing, so I whacked together a bench for our back porch out of old plywood and 2x4’s, and got the kids to help me paint it today. Of course it involved power tools and a 3-year-old, which isn’t necessarily a good combination! Danger (did I mention the 18-inch-high wall around the rather small porch, and the fact that the boys and I were all working on projects simultaneously that involved hammers and nails?) aside, I had a ball. I think they did too, if the amount of red paint I scrubbed out of hair and off skin tonight was any indication. It was a project! It had a handy, colorful, fun result! I got to cross something off my list, and feel creative to boot!
I vacillate between wanting to always be busy, and then getting frustrated if I take on too many projects at once.