August and February

I do not enjoy the months of August and February.  They are both the culminating months of the extreme seasons of Winter and Summer and they both stand in the way of my favorite seasons of Spring and Autumn.  I am so sorry and lazy during August...and I hate being sorry and lazy.  Thank goodness for air conditioning though!  I can't imagine how miserable Mississippi in August would be without that!  In fact, I believe I will attempt to turn around my bad attitude with thankfulness.  I am grateful and happy that:

It has rained a lot here and we aren't parched this August

It was cool (for August) during band camp and first football practice

August is only about 8% of the year

I have a great air conditioner in my house

I work inside

I still don't feel like going for a walk outside or doing yard work or anything else that will cause me to sweat...but I do feel better about life in August.  

Balance

I believe in living a balanced life.  Balance is what I strive for.  I think some people were born to do one thing extremely well and they won't be able to achieve balance because they have this consuming mission.  I also think that there are times in your life when balance is not possible:  When you are working toward a short term goal, have a sick relative, or a crisis.  Balance just isn't possible then either.

BUT I truly believe that most people can achieve balance most of the time and that balance makes a person's life better and more rich.

My main problem with achieving balance is that I love all of the parts of my life and when I get absorbed in one area, I don't want to leave it for another area.  When I am at work, I love what I am doing so much that I will work through lunch or stay late when I don't really need to.  I love working in the shop so much that I will neglect housework and exercise to work in the shop.  I love doing the Children's Ministries work that I do so much that I will neglect work to do it.  And on and on.  

Today at work I had to make myself go home at 4 so that I could get the shop work done that is due and cook dinner before I went to a ballroom dance class.  30 extra minutes at work would have wrecked that plan.  

I also tend to work at whatever I am doing right up to meal time and often end up eating junk instead of balancing work with feeding myself healthy food. 

I realize that I do a lot of stuff and people accuse me of being overbooked.  But I love my life and I want to squeeze all of the fun out of it that I can...and still balance rest, leisure, healthy eating and sleep. 

There is really no point to this post.  I just wanted to talk to myself about the need for balance.

Old Habits

I am a calendar girl.  I love a calendar.  I love marking dates off and writing in appointments.  I love using a calendar to plan multiple events way in advance.  There is so much mathematical peace in a calendar.  There is so much joy in letting a calendar help you plan your activities.  

I am a school teacher.  Not at the moment, but for 22 years.  Teachers fight to get one of the ten calendars that salesmen leave in the front office.  I always made sure that I got one.  You know, those big desk calendars with ample room in each day and lines to write on.  Oh, I love them.  Well, first we came out with spreadsheets and I had to give up my paper grade book.  That was pretty bad.  It took me three years to let it go. Then I got an iPad that had a digital calendar.  I have gotten an office job that takes me all over the school district and the state and I really needed a digital and portable and sync able calendar.  So I put away my paper calendar.  I have a color coded, go anywhere, never need an eraser, digital calendar that dings me when something important is coming up.  

But this afternoon, I grabbed one of those fantastic big desk calendars, ripped off July and I mechanical-penciled in all of my activities for August and September in my best print.  I feel good just knowing that it is sitting there on my desk.  Some things can't be replaced.

Death, life and other uplifting topics

Three things happened this week that inspired this post. 1. A friend's mother died of cancer. 2. Another friend is close to death and is a victim of Alzheimer's. 3. I went to the nursing home to play my monthly game of bingo with the residents.

The lady who died of cancer was a vivacious lady who was loved by many people and who was full of life. She had a big family and was a vital part of her family.  She fought like a tiger, but the cancer took her down quickly and she suffered greatly trying to endure aggressive treatments. 

My friend with Alzheimer's was an incredibly talented musician who blessed our church with his musical gifts.  He was well traveled and had an interesting life. Alzheimer's took his mind pretty quickly. His ability to play the piano was one of the last things to go.  He has fallen and fractured his skull and is not expected to recover. 

My bingo players are my hero's.  They have their minds and they have not gotten a deadly disease, but I watch their bodies crumple month after month as they sit and wait for death to come.

Now I realize that none of that sounds very good, but I was struck this week by the attitudes of the people in these three stories.  They all fought their particular battles with as much grace as possible and with an enduring enthusiasm for life that I want to emulate. 

Death is a certainty and not something to be dreaded I suppose.  But I do want to do my absolute best to live my best life while I can.  I'm not even sure what that means.  The Gospel of John says that when Jesus died he said, "It is finished."  That's the feeling I want.  He was only 33 and by all accounts he had not done what he set out to do or finished anything by the world's standards.  But He knew that He had done what He was sent to do.  I think we all are little bit parts in a really long play.  I want to play my part well. 

Evolution

I created this blogspot three years ago just weeks before I got a life changing job. That job has consumed me ever since and I have just not taken time to write. In that same three years I have remodeled my entire house, become a grandmother and Chris has been elected mayor of Ripley. I have evolved on several levels. I believe that evolution comes weather you seek it or not so you might as well take an active hand in your evolution and at least try to determine your own finished product. If you don't like the place your life is in right now, I have a project for you: pick a room in your house. Preferably a small space. Empty it out. Wipe it down from top to bottom. Leave it empty for at least a week. Imagine what you would like for that space to do for you. Dream on Pinterest. Surf the Internet. Cut out pictures. Every day. Every day sit in the empty space and imagine how it could serve you. Then create what you dreamed. Try not to spend much money. Use your creativity instead. Use paint. Find things in your house to repurpose. I truly believe that this process will get the juices of change flowing in your life and before you know it you will have metamorphosed from a caterpillar into a butterfly! Try it!