My sweet, brilliant, and crafty cousin Momma Bean turned me on to this monthly challenge. I like it. I was thinking about doing a 24 days of being thankful exercise starting next month, but realistically what are the odds I am actually going to post a blog everyday? Low, the odds are low. So this is me, blogging my heart.
1. I can't say that my family's current circumstance, e.g., long-distance marriage and trying to sell a house in a less than ideal market while raising a toddler, is all that difficult or even bad. Don't get me wrong, this situation has it's frustrations, but I am far from miserable or moping around and there is a lot in my life to be thankful for. Casey and I are taking extra measures to be kind to and appreciative of one another. We have lots of help, love, and encouragement from our extended families and friends. Most notably my brother-in-law who stays with Gavin and I often to help out around the house and keep us company. It will be interesting to see if I can maintain this positive attitude as the weeks and months drag on. I can say that every so often I am overcome with an incredible sense of loneliness. It's usually in the evenings after our nightly talk or Skype with Casey ends and Gavin has gone to bed. It's in those few hours before I fall asleep that I miss my favorite person the most.
2. I am excited about posting my October blog later next week. I realized quickly after G and I were on our own that I wouldn't have as much time for keeping our far-away loved ones in the loop as frequently or being on the computer as often in general, which may not really be a bad thing. However I have been collecting lots and lots of photos telling the story of another beautiful fall in East Tennessee and November and December will be just as full with fun family activities and holiday cheer.
3. I finally started working out again. Having an athletic toddler means this mama needs to keep fit if she's gonna keep up. It's been two weeks now and I've ran regularly, started weight training on my off days, and incorporated a yoga class on Friday. I am trying a zumba class for the first time later this week too. My Black Keys pandora station is worn out! I do these things on my lunch break, which means often times I am eating at my desk, but it's worth it to me. Occasionally my inlaws keep Gavin on a Friday night, which is when I'll be going to the zumba class, if I like it. I figure my days here at the university are numbered so I need to take full advantage of the facilities while I can. One day I may not be able to squeeze this stuff into the middle of my workday and will have to make time in the mornings and evenings, which is exponentially much more challenging, for me at least. It's doubtful a gym membership will be in our initial budget once we're all moved and living in the same city and state. Needless to say I am very very very sore these days. I've been working muscles that have been getting by on minimal activity. My lats, delts, and abs were in for a very rude awakening. I've been eating bananas, doing more stretching, drinking lots of water and just being more healthful all around. Hence, less time for blogging, more time for moving and cooking (and just feeling good in general). I hope I can keep it up!
4. One thing I do resent about our situation is that I am not able to work on a few of my more intensive creative projects. The sewing and painting has taken a back seat as both of those activities inevitably result in prolonged mess and there just isn't enough hours in the day to set up easel/paints or a sewing machine each time I want to work on something and then also put everything away, just to pull it all out again the next night. If I only have 15-20 minutes to work on something it would take that much time just to get set up. This isn't really possible when I have to keep the house perfectly staged for showings that just aren't happening in frequency. Keeping up with my regular chores is enough. I have to squeeze a lot into Gavin's evening and morning sleeping time. Its frustrating and makes me sad sometimes that I don't have the everyday small freedoms of someone who is more settled, like leaving my bed unmade because I am running late. Everyday/night, whether I am running late/too tired or not, the beds get made, the closets are straightened, the dishes get washed, the floor gets swept, the pillows get fluffed, the scentsy gets turned on, the curtains get pulled back, the windows and doors that Gavin puts his tiny little hands all over get cleaned, the bath mat gets switched out, the sink fixtures get wiped down, and furniture gets dusted. I still haven't found time to bleach and reseal the grout in my bathub/shower tiles, reclean my baseboards, and vacuum the living room rug, but it's all on the list! Perhaps a fun weekend or Friday night activity, when I get to stay up later? On a positive note, my house is always clean and I am finally making a dent in getting rid of my cleaning products, which means I am starting to tackle some of the DIY cleaning product projects. I made my own Febreeze this week, a must have when you have two large mostly inside dogs. It was very simple and I already had the ingredients on hand: rubbing alcohol, water and a nice smelling essential oil (orange).
So there you have it. A heart full of mostly love, hope, endurance, a touch of lonliness, and a smidge of resentment! I'm not going to lie, every now and then that smidge can get out of control and I have to check myself. I think it's important to be honest about that. I'm only human. What's in your heart?
