September New Year

Historically September has marked a new year for me.  After college Bob and I became teachers thereby establishing the fact that we would live by the rhythm of the school calendar for most of our lives.  

During the years when I was a SAHM, I noticed that September became an almost sacred time for me.  As Dad and the kids (and foster kids and foreign-exchange students) headed back to school for the fall, my schedule once again contained a bit of routine.  I had the luxury of deciding what to do with at least some of my time.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love, love, LOVED summer vacation and the privilege and freedom to hang with the family, but the introvert in me became aware how precious and valuable it was to have a bit of solitary discretionary time. 

After Bob retired from teaching and began a second career, we found ourselves still celebrating that rhythm - particularly after-school snack time!  Seriously.  

All these years later, September still feels like a shift. Turning a corner.  A new beginning. A fresh start.  A time for new projects.  Interestingly we have actually re-engaged with the school year calendar during our recent work with incoming International students - a schedule that feels very familiar to us.

Turns out we are not the only ones who thinks in terms of the September new year.  Writer Jon Acuff hosts a September challenge each year.  This year's focus was a five-day "Back to..." challenge and was very helpful. 

I chose to get "back to" reading - specifically real books.  In order to make this more likely to happen, I decided to create space for it by starting my evening routine earlier so that I could get up earlier - to read.  (Why didn't I just read in the evening?  Tried that.  Too fidgety. Lack of focus.)  But this time I was a bit more intentional with a cozy reading spot... and it worked!  

I read an entire book in these last ten days.  And I learned a bunch of new stuff from our trusty leader as well as from others in the online group.  I am at this very moment strategizing and setting realistic goals for my own personal 90-day challenge during the next three months!  And I met a new writing friend who lives in France.  Bonus!

Yay for new beginnings and fresh starts.

Yay for second (and third) chances.

Yay for friends and strangers who can encourage and offer wisdom and perspective.

The Ta-Da! Month

I already wrote about the fact that I let myself get too busy in May.

I made commitments I shouldn't have.

Or at least probably wouldn’t have...

... if I had known the unexpected things that would pop up.  

But we never know, do we?

That's why we need to plan margins in our schedule.

That's what I failed to do for May.

Forget the margins.

Margin-less May

So...

What about June?

Will I do better?

What will I do differently?

I decided to try something quite different in June.  I remembered my experiences with a Ta-Da! list and thought it could be fun to make a month-long one.  

It felt like the perfect kind of “opposite” from what May had been like.

My to-do lists had been impossibly long.

It was definitely time for something different.

Sure I still had to make some lists of obligations and things that I dare not forget, but I decided to shift my focus whenever possible. I would watch for chances to do things that I could be excited about.  Things about which I could say Ta-Da! at least to myself. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a whole month’s worth of Ta-Da! items?

Each evening I would add to the list.  It could be only one thing each day - but lots of days had more than one item.

What kinds of things?

All kinds of fun things - and even a few not so fun

Like that phone call I’ve been needing to make - check!  Ta-Da!

The appointment I’ve been putting off - Got that scheduled! Ta-Da!

The left-over project from May that was ALMOST done but not quite…  Got ‘er done! Ta-Da!

I sorted through photo files that have been languishing.  Ta-Da!!!

I rode my bike - NINE miles one day - and lots of shorter rides.  Ta-Da!

I sat out in the sun for my 15-minute dose of Vitamin D.  Yay!

I thought about an old friend. I should get in touch with her sometime.  But wait!  Let’s do it now.  So I did.  Ta-da!

Did my usual morning routines in record time.  Ta-Da!

Had a lovely visit with a new neighbor.  Ta-Da!

Walked downtown with hubby on his business errand.  Yay!

Did some porch-sitting.  Cha-ching!

Worked ahead (in advance!) to prepare my report for the upcoming board meeting.  Smart move!

Finished the HUGE project I’ve been working on for months.  Ta-Da!

So far I’m liking this experiment.

I’m thinking ahead to other Ta-Da! lists.

Sometimes they nudge me to stretch myself at bit toward becoming all that I can be.

Sometimes I even surprise myself.

Ta-Da!

Capture the moment

I’ve been feeling thankful lately - in ways that I struggle to express.

Thankful for blessings that I didn’t expect to have and that could so easily be gone.

Thankful for things that seem so normal, but are really extraordinary.

So rare. 

So precious.

Blessings to be cherished.

Celebrated.

Appreciated.

Blessings that I want to hold close while somehow still holding them loosely.

Freshly blooming flowers and other delights are so fleeting - so they must be enjoyed in the moment or the chance will be gone.

Oh, the wonder.

The astonishing sweetness.

The moment.

How do I capture it?

How do I catch every drop?

The only thing I know to do is to notice.

To linger.

To celebrate.

To breathe deeply.

Again. 

And again.

To give thanks.

To wonder.

Off the road again - for the moment

Two years ago we were leaving our first work-camping job in southern California and heading north up the coast on our way to Alaska.

Two months ago we signed a one-year lease and moved into an apartment in mid-Michigan.

It has been an interesting journey. 

Nearly six years ago we had made the decision to downsize and sell the farm. 

We wanted the freedom to travel but especially to be able to visit our kids - and maybe even live near them. I guess we’ve done that. We spent the first five months of our life on the road near our youngest in soCal and then a month very near her in Alaska. We lived near our middle daughter last summer and near our oldest last fall.

Our decision had also included the idea of exploring and experiment for awhile - to see if we liked living on the road and to discover places where we might want to spend more time. We had no idea whether (or when or where) we might want to ever buy property again so it seemed like a little exploration was in order.

Sure enough, we discovered lots of things about living on the road that we do enjoy and we found lots of places that we hope to re-visit. We also discovered some things that we don’t so much enjoy - particularly the idea of being away from the kids and grand-kids for so long. Hence our decision to come “off the road” for the next year.

Will we ever live on the road again? 

Who knows? 

We are certainly open to that idea, but we don’t need to know right now. 

Neither do we know how long we will stay in this area, but we don’t need to know that just yet either. 

It is enough to enjoy the moment and to fully appreciate the freedom that we have found by making that momentous decision six years ago and by doing the hard work of downsizing our stuff. That process, by the way, is still not finished. In fact, we are hard at work wrapping it up at this very moment.

The first month back

Once upon a time we were driving along rice paddies and rows and rows of tall palm trees on a palm oil plantation. It had been a good winter in Las Galeras, a little town at the end of the road in the Dominican Republic. We had adjusted to the heat and humidity and maybe even the mosquitos. We were happy with our decision to live closer to town this time. How fun to be able to walk into town each day - for groceries, for French pastries or just to walk the beach. Many days I made more than one trip to town and sometimes accomplished all of the above. But on that particular day we were enroute to the airport to fly home to the good ole’ USA - and had already turned our thoughts to the new happenings on our calendar and especially to our family. 

Once back in Michigan, the first week saw us both sick with whatever stomach bug was making the rounds and surviving an ice storm in our little RV but we also had time to hang out with our kids and grands and both of our moms. We also checked out an apartment that was immediately available to rent - and we decided to take it! Somewhere in there, life got  busy. Soon we were choosing a few things from the RV to take to the new place and moving things from our storage unit. Many of the bins and boxes have not been opened since we moved out of the big house four years ago. We succeeded in emptying the storage unit well before the deadline. Major accomplishment.

And THEN we cared for grand-kids for five days while Mom and Dad attended a conference out-of-state. That week brought great fun, much laughter, lots of hugs, AND total exhaustion for Gramp and Gram.

But, oh what fun to be available to do that! This is exactly why we made the decision to stay put for awhile - to help out with these little guys and just to be near enough to enjoy special occasions with them. Events like a super-hero race!

So here we are - entering a new phase of life. Looking forward to good times ahead. Enjoying the chance to settle down and stay in one place for awhile. Having fun exploring our new community. But no, we are not abandoning travel. To the contrary Bob has already been studying maps to plan the next adventure, but this time with a small home base to come back to in between.

And yes, we will continue to wander about here and there. Now and then.

…

In many ways living in Las Galeras is quite different than living in Michigan. And yet some things are actually pretty similar.

• While in the tropics, I was always hot and sweaty; here I can enjoy wearing sleeves and extra layers.
• While there our schedule was pretty simple; here things can get hectic if we let them.
• Down there I could walk along the beach every morning. Not here.
• Down there we did not have a vehicle - so we walked wherever we needed to go. Here we can jump in our truck and drive pretty much anywhere.
• Down there; I missed my grand-kids badly. Now I can get to them within an hour or two.
• Down there I hauled the laundry down the stairs to wash it and then back up when it was clean. Here in our new apartment, I do pretty much the same routine.
• While in Las Galeras, we could seldom get ice cream; here we can find about any flavor we want.
• Down there we didn’t drink the water; here at our daughter’s house in Flint, Michigan, we don’t drink the water either. At least we try to remember not to…

Settling in - it's time

In the couple weeks since we returned from the tropics we have survived an awful stomach bug and an ice storm - both while camping in our little RV. We have also enjoyed reconnecting with all of our kids and both of our moms.

And now we are moving into a new apartment. That's right; after being nomads for a couple years, we have signed a lease. We are making a commitment to stay in one place for awhile.

Why?

Because it's time.

It’s time.

Time to settle down for awhile.

It’s time to settle in and stay put for a season - for a year at least. 

Time to enjoy the four seasons. I’ve missed them and it’s time.

It’s even time to hibernate through a winter after being snow birds for four years. 

It’s time to unpack.

Time to gather all of our stuff in one place so we can finally finish the sorting and organizing and down-sizing. We began the process nearly five years ago and we have made some amazing progress, but still there is to much to deal with.

After living in the big house for 40 years where we had 2800 sq. ft. of space AND several out buildings we ended up living in a 28-foot long RV - with the rest of our stuff crammed into a 10x20 storage unit.

When we made that tumultuous move out of the big house, we had run out of time and energy. Rather than finishing the down-sizing process, too many things got stuffed into bins and boxes and got hauled to one shed and another and then the basement at the log cabin before landing in the storage unit.

It’s time to finish that process. To wrap it up. To go through those bins and boxes and to get rid of more stuff. To let go of the stuff that we don’t need and that holds no real value for us. 

It’s time to stop shuffling and shuttling boxes here and there. It’s time to open them up and really deal with the stuff. It’s time to pick up an item and actually make a decision about it  - and then another. Hopefully it’s time to realize that the entire contents of some boxes can go - to a new home or to the trash - with simply a farewell wave from me. Oh, wouldn’t that be nice?!?

…

It’s also time to be near the grandkids and to be available to babysit on the spur of the moment or to pick them up from school or daycare when needed.

...

Two of our original reasons to down-size and sell the farm were so that we could be free to be near our grandkids and so that we could travel and explore a bit before deciding whether and where we might want to settle down. We have done both - not enough time being near our grandkids yet but more than enough exploring for now. So it’s time.

…

And it’s the right place. We are just a few minutes from two of them and less than two hours from the other. We can get there easily.

There are lots of other reasons why this is the right place for this time - some of which we are only beginning to realize.

But it’s time and we are settling in with big sighs of satisfaction and contentment.

Morning

Morning

I like morning.

I love morning.

I feel fresh in the morning.

I feel energized in the morning.

Optimistic.

Confident.

Morning is a gift.

Morning is the gift of a fresh start.

A do-over.

A chance for redemption.
Early morning is quiet and serene.*

Mornings are precious.

I love morning so much. 

I want to take advantage of every minute.

I might try to fit too much into my morning.

I want to go for my walk in the morning before it gets too hot.

I need to walk early in the day while I have the most energy.

I try to get maintenance stuff done in the morning so I can enjoy having my life in order for the rest of the day.

But…

I ALSO want to write in the morning while my mind is fresh and creative. In fact, I really like to write first thing in the morning before anything has a chance to distract me.

There are SO many things I want to do in the morning. 

Consequently I often try to do too much with my morning.

I expect too much from my morning.

Yikes!

I don’t want to spoil my morning by packing it too full.

Instead I want to find ways to cherish the morning. 

To respect it. 

To enjoy it.

To value it.

To celebrate morning. 

I choose to celebrate this morning.

I will celebrate tomorrow morning and every morning that I am given.

I appreciate morning as the fleeting moment that it is.

I savor morning as a fine thing of beauty and choose to handle it lovingly.

This is a Five-Minute Friday post.

...

* Thank you, Busy B., for the reminder.

The Mexican fisherman

A few days ago I wrote about the poverty and difficult circumstances that many Dominicans face.

Today I happened to remember this story.*
One of my favorite stories ever. 

Perspective
Attitude
Priorities
Contentment
...

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village.  An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife.  In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs . . .I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.

With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.   Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City!  From there you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing.

"When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really?"  And after that?"

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."

...

* I have no idea where this story originated. It guess it is public domain by now - and lots of people have written about it all across the internet.

Five-Minute Friday: PRESENT

It is Five-Minute Friday – the day hundreds of people write for just five minutes on the same prompt and then share their words with each other on Kate Motaung's site. No editing, back-tracking, or revising. Just writing for the joy of writing. I have not participated for awhile and it seems like it might be time to do it again.

Today’s prompt: PRESENT

...

It’s a present. 

You don’t take back a present.

That’s what the Herdman kids said in “Best Christmas Pageant Ever”

You don’t take back a present.

It’s a present. 

It is my present.

The present.
This moment.

It may not be all that I would have chosen, but it is what it is.

I’m learning. Slowly. Learning that accepting and appreciating “what is” generally makes it better. Makes life better. Makes the present more enjoyable. 

Appreciating the present. 

Being grateful for the moment. 

For what has been given to me.

And the parts of it that I would not have chosen? The parts I’d rather were a little different… Well, I can choose what to do with them. Will I minimize them? Will I compensate for them? Maybe I can find ways to enjoy them or at least cope with them.

But whatever I choose to do with it, this is what I have. 

This moment. The present. 

I can look around and drink it all in. 

Or I can complain about the parts I don’t like. 

I can try to wish it away. But I don’t want to do that. 

My momma always told me not to wish my life away. 

Whenever I would say something about wishing for this or wishing for that. 

Getting anxious for whatever it was I was looking forward to.

Don’t wish your life away, 
she said. 

Maybe that means something like “the present is what you have. What will you do with it?”  

...

I have this moment.

It is a gift.

It is my present.

...

And using this picture again reminds me of something I wrote almost a year ago now - about appreciating the moment - which you can read here.

Word for the year: BREATHE

I’ve tried this “word for the year” thing a couple times now and think it has served to remind me of some of my best intention. One year my word was “less” which was pretty appropriate for our early stages of serious downsizing. My word for last year was “now” and more than once it reminded me to appreciate the moment rather than get stuck in stuff from the past or fears for the future.

For the coming year I have thought of the idea of “pause” or “stop” or "wait" - because I seem to need those reminders. To pause before responding is usually a good thing. To intentionally stop and assess my attitude or my behavior is often needed. But I think I want my word to be more than that. Maybe there is another that could encompass those and even more.

I think I found it. 

Breathe...

Breathing is pretty basic. 

Even my brand new grand-daughter is good at it. She may not understand how it works, but that doesn't stop her from actually doing it. And I doubt that she has a clue about how necessary it is for her, but if something (like maybe her bottle) gets in the way of her breathing, her little body can suddenly exert great force in removing the obstacle.

...

I could benefit from learning to be more intentional about my breathing.

When I start feeling stressed, maybe I can remind myself to stop and just breathe. To step back a bit and look for the bigger picture. 

When I get panicky or reactionary, I want to pause to take a big breath and think about what really matters.

When I'm slouching and/or getting achy, I want to throw my shoulders back, straighten my posture and breathe deeply.

When I start mindlessly popping food in my mouth, I want to remind myself to stop, take a breath and honestly think about what I really want or need.

When I feel angry or frustrated, perhaps that would be a good time to consciously breathe more deliberately and expansively - preferably BEFORE lashing out at someone.

When I'm feeling impatient, in a hurry, focused on the next thing, but someone needs or wants my attention, it could be helpful to remind myself to breathe. To slow down and focus on that important person.

When I become accustomed to how things are and maybe even feel bored, I want to notice my blessings and to consciously breathe in the beauty of my surroundings. I want to be more mindful, more present in the moment, more alive in my world. I want to gratefully embrace what is.

But I can also choose to let go of things. I can exhale the unhealthy. 
The unnecessary worry and fear. 
The unhelpful critique. 
The intense drama. 
The polarizing opinions.
The bad habits. 
The negative reactions. 
The harmful relationships. 
The damaging dogma.  

Exhale. Breathe them out. Let them go.

...

Deep breathing can affect my posture and my perspective - and quite possibly a bunch of other areas of my life. I think it will be healthy and wise to remember to breathe deeply this year. 

A day at home

Thankful Thursday

I got a day at home today. Seems like I haven't had many of those lately - at least not as many as I'm used to. Too much socializing and having fun. Or maybe too many dental appointments.

But today I was able to stay home. No commitments. No appointments. No deadlines. Just a day to do whatever I choose to do with it. Could be a day for a special project. A day to catch up on stuff. A day to accomplish great things.

So what did I do with it? Did I finish a big project? Did I catch up on something important? I'll tell you what I did with it. I just mostly enjoyed it. I celebrated the day. Oh, sure, some catching up got done as well as a bit of project work, but mostly I chose to celebrate the moment.

Feeling thankful I am.

 

home - where is it?

Ooh, I just saw this today and I love it. There will most definitely be places where I must use it because it will be perfect, but I can't wait. It is so fun that I just have to post it. Now.

Yep, it's cheesy, but it says it so well. That's where we are right now.

Moments

Living here has really been rather amazing. I can sit here at my kitchen table and look out over Mobile Bay to the north. I can also go to the south side of the campground and walk the beach along the Gulf of Mexico - which I do pretty much every morning. At this time of year both sunrise and sunset can be viewed from our beach. Wow. Just wow. What a wonder. I have rather gotten used to it - accustomed to the view and to the privilege and to my routine - but I'm very glad that the familiarity has not stolen my sense of wonder.

...

This is our last day. One month we have been here.

I have been only somewhat successful in capturing the experience, but I have indeed experienced it. I have enjoyed the NOW - even as I had hoped. I have lived in the moment. Not every moment, of course. I've wasted moments, but oh, I've savored moments, too. I've celebrated moments.

Some of those moments were small ones - just a little something special here and here. Or maybe not even so special, but maybe just interesting. Intriguing. A tidbit. A moment of noticing something. Of learning. Of discovery.

But oh, there were big moments, too. Grand moments. Transcendent. Moments that spanned several minutes. Moments that moved me to tears. Moments when my face hurt from so much smiling. Perfect moments and not-so-perfect ones. Moments that I simply had to write about. Moments that I simply could not write about. Moments that I dare not lose by trying to capture them.