hello 2020!

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Happy New Year

“Take nothing for granted.  LIVE.” -Kyrzayda Rodriguez

In August of 2018, my family took a road trip (a 14-hour road trip) down to Miami with the then 3-year-old Buddy Man. Road trips remind me of a passage by May Serton: “One arrives through the uproar of one’s anxiety and panic, exhausted at the start.” That’s essentially me on a trip, especially with a toddler.

However, the Buddy Man was awesome.  With his iPad playing Blippi and other randomness about trains (which he is still obsessed with), we didn’t cry once.  Correction, he didn’t cry once.  I came close. You see, I had forgotten to get baby wipes (he still wasn’t potty-trained) and milk. What mother forgets those essentials? The plan was for him to stay with his grandma upon our 1 AM arrival while the Hubby and I were to have honeymoon-of-sorts in a hotel with a king-size bed.  I doubted the Buddy was going to go along with that plan. My anxiety was high: no wipes for his bottom, no milk, and I wasn’t going to get any sleep that night. I was fretting.  I was worried.

Then I realized that I was fretting and worrying.  I tried a few deep breathing exercise.  I thought “what’s the worst that could happen?”. I thought, “I haven’t slept before. So I will have a massive headache.  That’s what Tylenol is for. And as for wipes and milk, there are stores where we were headed. That’s what the Hubby is for.” That relieved the pressure. Somewhat.

Screen Shot 2019-12-23 at 11.48.15 AMAngst relieved.  Somewhat.  I went on social media.  There I saw Kyrzayda Rodriguez post (I had been following her for years) about starting her 5th round of chemo. FIFTH round because the other four didn’t take. She was wondering whether it was time to give up. The post was undeniably somber. She closed it with these words: “Never take anything for granted. LIVE.”

I was properly chastised.  We were on a 14-hour road trip to Miami – to sun, to water, to the wind coming off that water.  I was determined to make it a good trip. And I did.

Kyrzayda passed one month later. She was 40 years old.

I’m determine to make 2020 the year that I take nothing for granted.  The year that I live. Let’s do it!

 enjoy life…

 

happy thanksgiving

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 It is time for my annual list of very present things that I am grateful for this year.  This year, I tried to make gratefulness more of a weekly practice than a yearly exercise I have  compiled a lengthy list. Here are a few of the highlights.

  1. My Family. The Hubs, the Buddy Man, the Mother-in-Law, the parents, the sister and her family, the grandparents, all of the fam.
  2. My Friends. You know who you are.
  3. Anne Bogel. Being on the What Should I Read Next podcast and then ultimately becoming a part of her team are two dreams I didn’t dare to dream.
  4. My Home. After KonMari(ng) my home, I am grateful for and love it more than ever.
  5. The Modern Mrs. Darcy Inaugural Book Club Retreat. It’s awesome meeting people who have the same passions as I do.
  6. Lady Smith and Snail on the Wall books. Partnering with her has fulfilled so many dreams this year.
  7. Travel to places including Daytona Beach, FL for a personal writing retreat and my family’s first every vacay at the beach. Another dream come true.
  8. Books, books, and more books. Always books.
  9. Stepping outside of my comfort zone and doing things with fear. Wonderful things happened this year.
  10. And as for the not-so-wonderful things, what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.

And as always, I leave you with my favorite quote for this time of year.

Given the amount of unjust suffering and unhappiness in the world, I am deeply grateful for, sometimes even perplexed by, how much misery I have been spared.” -Dennis Prager

Happy Thanksgiving!

what i’m into – keeping me sane {october 2019}

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I don’t know if I can do this post justice. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, with good and wonderful things, but overwhelmed, none-the-less. And as I sit to write this, the Buddy Man has a fever and as a mom, I can’t help but be a bit concerned about him.

October was full!  I went to Winston-Salem and saw two of my favorite writers together in the same place: Anne Bogel and Charlie Lovett.  It was a wonderful experience.  But to make it happen, I drove, alone, almost 1600 miles in less than a week.  The solitude was a balm to my soul but as the Buddy told me one time, “my booty hurt(s)” and I am not interested in another road trip for a long time.

I did manage to keep my exercise streak going and tonight, it sits at 159. That makes me so happy.

I read the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport and promptly decided to take a hiatus from social media.  I want to talk about that more in another post but my experience has been surprising.

In addition, I have been doing Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way program and Week 4 was reading deprivation week. Yeah! It was almost as bad as it sounds but I got it done.  I felt a little antsy all week and figured out later that it was because I couldn’t read.  Reading is such a huge part of my life that not doing was noticeably different.  Instead, I cleaned out the Buddy’s closet, transitioned both of our closets to fall (which has finally decided to show up), weeded and trimmed the beds in anticipation of cooler weather, potted some plants that I had rooted, and bought new eyeglasses. Maybe, I should take a break from reading more often? I am glad that I can read again though.

I hosted my first ever #EnjoyLife Meet-Up also.  Two people showed up! I was so surprised!

An uncle passed away so there’s that.

While the Holidays aren’t generally a time where things slow down for people, they do for me.  I am looking forward to it.  After I am in-conversation with Anne Bogel on November 7th, that is. I am so excited and so terrified. Interested in coming? Get tickets here.

What has ya’ll October been like?

Let me know, or post a link to your overview, in the comments. We do this every month and frankly, that is the only reason I am writing this post  at 9 PM. LOL. We will do it again on Monday, December 2.

enjoy life…