Didn’t I just say in my last blog that I’d be posting at least once each week? And here it is two weeks later? My, how time flies, and how we can let our days fill up.
What’s Been Happening
Last weekend, we went to visit with my momma for her 75th birthday celebration. So, I can and will let myself off the hook for not getting a post done due to our trip. Plus, I suffered quite a bit from food allergies by not monitoring my selections better, and I arrived back home not feeling my best. I will hold myself to task, however, for not planning better to write before or after and for not eating better. Although, my eating choices were better than on past trips.
So, here we are two weeks later and life has happened in many ways. At work, we have hired a new part-time office clerk, so I’m looking forward to tackling those 20+ projects needing attention without having to add more work hours to my day. Maybe before long, I can start to feel like I can breathe easier. Not that I’ve been exceptionally stressed as I love what I do. But I would like to get some of the projects done before the end of year reports are needed.
It’s my home life that I’m more concerned about. I constantly try to streamline my time away from social media and onto more quality time with hubs, pets, fitness, and the great outdoors. And yet, I have committed to a 60-day Countdown to 60 in my Instagram Stories, being a Catechist once again for 8th grade on Wednesday evenings, and I have several weekend events leading up to and after my sixtieth birthday. And I’m still reading in the evenings. What am I thinking?
Seeking A Solution
So now, I’m desperately wondering how to get myself out of this pickle. Work is easy. As the office clerk gets trained and removes some of the front office load from me, I can get those much-needed projects done during the day rather than come in extra early or work late. So, more time will be mine personally to attend to prepping lessons and social media posts. This sounds great and it should work. It’s those weekends in which I should be editing and writing instead of doing other things that I’m concerned about.
And so, here it is, the ying and yang of daily life. The effort to slow down and spend more quality time with family and doing all those – not just important tasks but things that rejuvenate us. But then, something else happens and demands our attention or tugs at our heart. This is where centering, slowing down, meditation, discernment, and deep breathing come into play. Taking time to access what needs to go and what may only need tweaking. Something to consider is that, perhaps, only a refined schedule or calendar is needed to stay on top of things.
In an effort to calm my racing heart and wild head thoughts, I added into my calendar every event and weekend I possibly could, a total of five events and five weekends. I have two weekends and two events left. One event can go on either weekend. The other event cannot happen on either remaining weekend and can only happen by eliminating events on one of two other weekends as three weekends cannot be adjusted. How’s that for progress?
These weekends run between now and the middle of November. I can only hope that from then on out through the end of the year is much slower-paced. The real question now is what am I to do about keeping life simple, focusing on my books, and not taking on any more projects.
Getting Past the Jumble
I do feel better about adding all these dates to my calendar. I can see clearer now that I know exactly what I will be doing when and that everything is really more manageable than I was imagining. So, I encourage you to do the same. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed or depressed about how things are going. Just choose a way to view things in a better perspective whether it’s a calendar, list, or journal – whatever way that works best for you.
And remember, when a person doesn’t feel good, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Whenever I’m suffering from food allergies, it often feels like my world is closing in on me. The chores are screaming at me. I can imagine I’m not liked as well as I thought I was. And all those events seem to keep multiplying like little minions. What a nightmare!
My remedy is extra water, a nap, getting myself to update my calendar. And choosing three things – yes, just three things to tackle for the day – no, not five, just three. Trust me, three is manageable. And if you or I start to feel better, then we can knock out one more thing. Bonus!
Beginning to Breathe Again
After updating my calendar, preparing for my weekly Wednesday evening lessons doesn’t seem so bad. And my Book Two which still needs edits typed up doesn’t seem to be staring at me so frantically. Even the dishes seem welcoming. Okay, lol – but someone has to do them. Of course, I still have bills to pay, Instagram stories and posts to build, a book review to do, an email to send, one letter to write, four cards to send, and thirty minutes of fitness. But I’ve got two more days to work that all in amongst meals, sleeping, Mass, groceries, and maybe a footbath. We must not forget selfcare.
Sometimes, it’s all about perspective. Sometimes, it’s about taking care of self. And sometimes, it’s about just saying No to things. Obviously, I’m still working on that one. In the meantime, I encourage you to do the same. Figure out what you need to do. Give yourself permission to say No or put some things on the back burner. It’s okay. None of us have to do it all right now, today, at this moment. That’s a lie we’ve been telling ourselves. Really, trust me.
Maybe because we’ve been told not to be seen as lazy or procrastinators or slackers? Well, guess what?? We work hard enough the other ninety percent of the time. It’s time to take ten percent of our day and give ourselves a break, simplify our lives, and take time to rest. When we rest, we can replenish our well, our mind, our spirit. Let’s take the challenge of keeping life simple – for our loved ones and our overall well-being.
Well, I’m closing off for now. Time to do dishes, get that email written and sent, and get my fitness in. I wish you the best in whatever you are doing today. It is my hopes that you consider slowing down to the speed of a simpler life. May you give yourself permission to rest; to read that book you’ve been wanting to; to join your friend for dinner after all. Whatever it is, just do it – whether it’s something more or something less. Just be sure it’s something you want to do rather than feeling forced to cross off a list.
Life is too short to being doing it with all that pressure and stress. Do it for the love of doing it and you will be closer to doing it because it needs to be done or you want to do it for yourself or someone else. Simplify the reason and all those to-dos will have a new perspective.
Take it easy, keep it simple, and keep on smilin’!
See you next week, Virg
Virginia Alice Crawford 