"I learned this, at least, by my experiment:
that if one advances confidently in the direction of [her] dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which [she] has imagined,
[she] will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
-Henry David Thoreau
This is my favorite quote because it's so true.
In regular, common days, where nothing extraordinary happens,
that's when I hear the quiet voice of the spirit showing me
how truly wonderful and successful my life is.
Start Quote
Today is the day the post-holiday blues
usually drop in for their annual visit.
After any strenuous exertion,
especially one that's lasted several weeks,
there's a natural letdown in energy and enthusiasm.
"The life in us is like the water in a river," Thoreau tells us.
It rises, even floods, but then it recedes until it finds its true level.
The year is drawing to a close;
and whether we're aware of it or not,
we're balancing our personal books,
tallying up the profits and losses.
If we're in the red as far as achieving goals,
surrendering expectations, reaching for aspirations,
coming to terms with situations we can't change,
or acknowledging that we could have made changes
but chose not to, we're going to end up feeling blue.
If we've blown our budget,
it's likely our purses will be leaner for a couple of months.
Not fun.
To make matters worse, you're probably not feeling very well.
Don't be surprised by nasty colds or lingering chest congestion.
Practitioners of Eastern medicine expect these ailments in the winter;
metaphysically the lung is the organ that processes grief.
If we've experienced a loss - and all of us have
in one way or another this year - we might still be grieving,
unable to accept and release it.
Old pain is very difficutl to give up;
by now it's a familiar friend, just not a very nurturing one.
When this happens, we need to remember to treat ourselves kindly.
This is the time to trust, not make judgments.
Soon the children will go back to school.
The company will leave.
The work will get completed.
The bills will be paid.
The quiet moment will come.
You'll be able to catch your breath,
and then you'll notice that it doesn't hurt anymore.
Your creative energy and enthusiasm will return.
Once again you'll start to advance
confidently in the direction of your dreams.
"However mean your life is, meet it and live it;
do not shun it and call it hard names.
It is not bad...It looks poorest when you are richest.
The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise.
Love your life, poor as it is.
You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours,
even in a poorhouse," Henry reassures us.
End Quote
Today was a very common, lazy day,
and I found unexpected success.
Robbie and I were able to lay in bed for awhile after the kids got up because they were playing so nicely. Then I made breakfast, for the first time in what seems like forever. It took an hour to get all three kids fed, clothed, and trying to teach them about how we don't communicate by yelling without yelling myself. Finally I was able to eat breakfast, and read one of my favorite conference talks. I enjoyed my favorite homemade bread that was a gift from my aunt and uncle, toasted with butter and honey, and drank hot chocolate with a peppermint stick. Then the kids and I went upstairs, they played and I sorted some laundry. By the time I was done it was obviously nap time, and Robbie was finished working, so he helped me get them a snack. Robbie stayed downstairs with Jacob and rested and watched a movie while the twins and I took a three hour nap. We watched another movie while we ate lunch, and then Robbie finished the laundry room while I played with the kids. I can't remember the last time I sat down and played with them. We played doctor, birthday, they brushed my hair (which was the most amazing feeling in the world), we built towers etc etc. Then we had pizza and watched some Mickey Mouse cartoons, because, you know, it's a lazy day so we had a lot of TV. And then we put the kids to bed, and Robbie and I finished what we could in the laundry room, and watched a show together, and now we're reading and working together.
When you look at my day, you'll see very clearly how common it was.
But the feeling that this common day brought me is unforgettable.
Sure there were some tears and a little yelling, some fighting,
but all was forgiven and forgotten quickly, love abounded,
and there were plenty of kisses and hugs and smiles to go around.
Knowing that it was going to be a slow day because we're all so tired, accepting it and loving it, being a good mom and a good wife...
Today was pretty spectacular...common though it was.
Edmund Vance Cooke, “The Eternal Everyday,” Impertinent Poems (1907), 21.
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Gratitude Journal
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1) Almost done with part one of the laundry room! Part two, when we save up the money to do it and want to put in the effort. Part two will have me able to do everything I need completely in the laundry room, with no reason to leave it to work in the bathrooms or in our rooms! Part two: sink, paint, and floor. Easier said then done.
And the finishing touch, with a pair of jeans soaking in oxi-clean and water in an ice-cream container...The wall of laundry hampers. Clean laundry, dirty laundry, stuff that needs to be stain treated or ironed.......Ta Da!!!!!
2) Now if I actually use the system we've created, laundry will never overtake my house again! I'm so excited, and so grateful that Robbie took three of his vacation days to do this for me/us.
3) Having my kids home. On Wednesday I didn't miss them at all, I was so grateful for the freedom! But by Thursday I was missing them pretty badly. I was so glad to have their little noises today.
4) Little kid talks. Jacob was telling me how much he loved me, and how he loved that I was little. What?!
5) We were not tackled to death by toddlers this morning when they came in and saw that the bed was on the ground and easily accessible. Sometimes they respect personal space.
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