Listening - Lately, I've been listening a lot to Sara Bareilles songs. My current favorite is "Chasing the Sun," which has become a theme song for this year, connected to my One Little Word, happy. I also listen to my nephew tell me about his video game adventures, particularly the new DLC (that's "downloadable content") for a game called Destiny. He's been connecting with people online through the xBox One interface, and I often hear him talking to those new friends, and it makes me smile that he's making connections like that, especially because it means that he's feeling good. Also...listening a lot to the breath of autumn breezes through the trees that are turning all kinds of lovely colors as my favorite season gets underway. Love this time of year so much!
Reading - The other day at Target, I picked up the newest book by Jenny Lawson (the Bloggess) called Furiously Happy. I read about a third of it on Monday, and I don't recall ever laughing that hard or that much. Tears were leaking out of my eyes, I was laughing so hard, and there are also serious passages in the book that spoke to me. I've also been reading a book called Flat Rock Journal by Ken Carey that has been sitting on my books shelf for years. Recently, I went through my book collection and packed many up in a box for giveaway, and I put the ones I haven't read on two cleared off shelves, thinking (hoping?) I'll get to them more readily that way. From that stack, I also selected a book called How Star Wars Conquered the Universe by Chris Taylor. I started reading that yesterday, and it's fascinating, particularly how little a long-time Star Wars fan like me knew about the origins of these beloved movies.
Eating - Two nights this week, I actually cooked dinner, which hasn't happened in a long, long time. I'm not a big fan of cooking to start with, and because of all the stress in our lives, we've been doing a lot of eating out or taking out or foraging in the cabinets for whatever might be available that resembles sustenance. Awhile back, Daniel and I started eating salads three or four times a week, and we're trying to get back into that habit. Oh, and chocolate. Especially M&M Almonds because, hey, almonds are nuts, and nuts are good for me, so yummy AND nutritious. Two birds. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Nobody's doctor needs to know...
Loving - My husband, Daniel. I mean, of course! But we've been married almost thirteen years, and I continue to be daily amazed at how lucky I am to have found this amazing man. I remember thinking that I couldn't possibly love him more than I did at that moment, only to have the love I feel for him grow even more. These last few years, we've been through hurricane after hurricane in our lives, and he and I just cling to each other and stand against all that wind and turbulence and devastation. I am so grateful. Just so thoroughly awestruck and grateful for him and for the life we create together and the solace I find in his love for me.
Also loving the delectable fall weather we're enjoying here in Michigan right now. The new Starbucks drink, toasted graham latte: yum! Cropping with new friends at the local scrapbook store. I started going to crops a few weeks ago, and this group of women reached out to me, welcomed me into their circle. We share our lives, and we admire each other's creativity, and we laugh and laugh and laugh together. Lucky me.
Working On - Oh, that list is long and distinguished! I'm continuing to work on making writing a habit, perhaps even a spiritual practice, and I'm working on staying in the moment, the now, more. I'm encountering the concept of mindfulness a lot lately, and it's something that the experts on happiness say contributes greatly to being happy, as well as reducing those things that detract from happiness. I'm working on finding motivation and time to tackle some big projects, including a huge clean out of our garage, which I hope to complete before winter arrives. The difficult part will be going through my mother's stuff, sorting through her belongings, deciding what to keep and what to do with those things, and what to let go of and how to best do that. For several months, I've been working on cleaning out our house just to eliminate clutter that's been growing since we moved in nine years ago. We also may be moving before too long, so I want to be prepared for that.
Contemplating - As I wrote about in this post a couple days ago, I've been thinking a lot about my memory-keeping process and how I might want to change my focus to more meaningful stories, particularly from the past, rather than the everyday life variety. Not that the details of daily life aren't important, but they get preserved in other ways. I'm thinking about what's next for me, as my nephew continues to improve, and my caregiving responsibilities become fewer. What have I always wanted to do? What new dreams do I want to pursue? Those are the things that are rolling around in my head.
I love this! So introspective (is that a word?!) I like how doing these posts really make me think about how I spend my time, like if I have nothing to put in the 'Reading' section, then what HAVE I been doing?! I also hear you about the cooking. I love big elaborate "project" cooking, but am terrible at the day-to-day "we have to eat dinner" cooking. Really trying to work on that, too.
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