Monday MishMash

The thing about writing is that to get over the hump you just have to put fingers to keyboard and get something down, imperfect as it is. So get ready for the most random assortment of thoughts flitting around in my head.

Things I Liked on the Internet

• This poem really spoke to me. I read it yesterday morning, in between cleaning up breakfast dishes and starting laundry and re-read it this morning as I made my to-do list for the week. There really is little as satisfying as doing meaningful work, and doing it whole-heartedly. 
• While her life couldn't be more different from mine, I really enjoy Kristen's blog and her optimistic and levelheaded take on frugal living. I love how graciously she responds in the post (and comments) on this post.  And I'm always perplexed by readers who don't get that any blogger is only giving you one slice of their life. Especially when they blog under their real name or if their blog is part of their livelihood. 
• Another post about turning 40, but with a much more optimistic attitude than mine.

We had two entire weeks of gloomy, gray, cold and rainy weather. It was really affecting my mood. The sun finally came out yesterday and I feel like something has lifted off my shoulders.

Mother's Day was...a typical Sunday, though I did get some cute typical little-kid stuff that they made at school. My fifth plastic bead necklace (I'll get my 6th and final one from L next year, its what they do every year in the preschool/preK). An envelope filled with coupons from B for sweet things like "one hug" & "one kiss" and more dubious ones like "breakfast in bed" & "washing the dishes" (our bedroom is on the THIRD FLOOR I don't even want to imagine B trying to bring me whatever he thinks I would want to eat for breakfast all the way up two flights of stairs!). G picked up flowers when he went food shopping Saturday evening, and they are quite pretty.

I'd been sleeping really well for a few weeks and then last night. I don't know what happened but I got hit with a wave of blah and just couldn't get my mind to stop. Even the amb!en didn't work.

I'm working on approaching my life with kindness and optimism. From little kid challenges, to work projects, to everyday interactions. I'm over being cynical, I'm ready to embrace the light side. Instead of dreading things because they are going to be awful (which may be a self-fulfilling prophecy), I want to begin with the assumption that things will go well. I'll at least have the joy of imaging it, even if it all goes to hell in the end. A lifetime of ingrained thought patterns to overcome here. Also (and this mostly pertains to my kids/husband), I'm trying to let go of being "right" and focus on being kind. This is hard when the kids are acting as if possessed by the devil, but really, yelling only makes the spiral deeper and darker.  I failed at this miserably yesterday. I will try again today.

I'm loving TJ's full fat Greek yogurt with fresh berries and a smattering of granola. I do believe its time for a mid-morning snack.