I've wandered off for 7 months or so and basically ignored this blog, mostly because I haven't had anything to say. Shocking, I know, to those who know me well as I always, always seem to have something to say.
Once upon a time, when I put together a weekly newsletter for my then-church's singles ministry, I would often feel compelled to share a little bit of something with my friends in that ministry. I was usually careful to pray about it before writing anything because I often felt that I enjoyed the feedback I received on my newsletters a bit too much. I wanted it to be about something that felt like it needed to be shared, rather than about how much I might like having someone email me back and say that they appreciated my words. There's not really anything wrong with that appreciation, but it can easily go to your head. I admittedly like the attention. Hence, blogs like this one. *grin*
But what do you talk about when you feel like you've run out of things to say? I can't imagine how hard it is for writers to face something like that when they make their living telling stories and sharing their voice with the world.
These days I'm just trying to stay afloat. My nature is to always want the new, the different. To crave change (which is funny since I also tend to live with at least one foot firmly planted in the 1980s). I like the idea of living in different places, having different jobs. My co-worker has been in the same job here for the better part of 30 years and I can't even fathom that. It sounds like prison to me, more than security.
I'm trying to pause a little bit more now. To be thankful. To appreciate my life and the world around me. Nothing is perfect and my life is certainly far from it, but I'm trying to sort out this jumbled mass of crazy that is my existence on this planet. Sometimes that means standing in the parking lot at work for a few minutes to let the spring breeze wash over me and listen to the early morning birds calling back and forth. Other times it's reminding myself that my arthritic feet and back may ache a bit, but I was able to get up and walk on my own and didn't have to give it a 2nd thought. My eyes can see, my ears can hear. My car cranked this morning and I had a job to go to that pays the bills and doesn't make me miserable.
Scents are big with me I have discovered and they remind me of people and places, of (mostly) good times. I have some perfume that I use often that I bought while in Charleston visiting my friend Elizabeth last year, so when I wear it it reminds me of getting to visit with her. I brew up some caramel apple spiced tea now and then, which takes me back to vacation in Virginia last August when my friend Cindy and I walked into a shop that smelled very much like that tea. There's a lotion I like, scented with aloe, that I must have taken with me when I traveled to Australia in the 90s because one whiff takes me right back to that time and those experiences in a place I had always dreamed of visiting. I'm so appreciative of the good memories that I can keep carrying with me.
I'm not the most social person (again, those who know me well are laughing and scratching their heads over that, but it's true! I'm an introvert by nature.) so I'm trying to be more so when I can be. My volunteer work requires that I speak to the public, so that's a good push. I have always loved and been connected to community theater, both on and off the stage, and I found a theater in town to volunteer with (after only 3 years of living here, haha) and hopefully I'll get to work with them more in the future as well. It's hard for me to talk to new people, but I'm trying.
I've struggled my entire life with my weight and put myself into a research study this year that forced me to count calories and deal with the reality of the situation and so far I've lost about 15 pounds. I had given up hope that I'd be able to ever accomplish that, but now it's becoming part of who I am. I watch serving sizes, count calories, try to get more exercise and enough sleep, and I am seeing progress. I notice when I walk down the hall at work that I feel lighter - whether it's a spring in my step (I can be annoyingly perky some days) or the fact that my joints truly are carrying a lighter weight, I don't know, but whatever it is, it makes me happy. And I deserve to be happy. We all do. I'm not always sure how to make that happen, but I'm trying.
Once upon a time, when I put together a weekly newsletter for my then-church's singles ministry, I would often feel compelled to share a little bit of something with my friends in that ministry. I was usually careful to pray about it before writing anything because I often felt that I enjoyed the feedback I received on my newsletters a bit too much. I wanted it to be about something that felt like it needed to be shared, rather than about how much I might like having someone email me back and say that they appreciated my words. There's not really anything wrong with that appreciation, but it can easily go to your head. I admittedly like the attention. Hence, blogs like this one. *grin*
But what do you talk about when you feel like you've run out of things to say? I can't imagine how hard it is for writers to face something like that when they make their living telling stories and sharing their voice with the world.
These days I'm just trying to stay afloat. My nature is to always want the new, the different. To crave change (which is funny since I also tend to live with at least one foot firmly planted in the 1980s). I like the idea of living in different places, having different jobs. My co-worker has been in the same job here for the better part of 30 years and I can't even fathom that. It sounds like prison to me, more than security.
I'm trying to pause a little bit more now. To be thankful. To appreciate my life and the world around me. Nothing is perfect and my life is certainly far from it, but I'm trying to sort out this jumbled mass of crazy that is my existence on this planet. Sometimes that means standing in the parking lot at work for a few minutes to let the spring breeze wash over me and listen to the early morning birds calling back and forth. Other times it's reminding myself that my arthritic feet and back may ache a bit, but I was able to get up and walk on my own and didn't have to give it a 2nd thought. My eyes can see, my ears can hear. My car cranked this morning and I had a job to go to that pays the bills and doesn't make me miserable.
Scents are big with me I have discovered and they remind me of people and places, of (mostly) good times. I have some perfume that I use often that I bought while in Charleston visiting my friend Elizabeth last year, so when I wear it it reminds me of getting to visit with her. I brew up some caramel apple spiced tea now and then, which takes me back to vacation in Virginia last August when my friend Cindy and I walked into a shop that smelled very much like that tea. There's a lotion I like, scented with aloe, that I must have taken with me when I traveled to Australia in the 90s because one whiff takes me right back to that time and those experiences in a place I had always dreamed of visiting. I'm so appreciative of the good memories that I can keep carrying with me.
I'm not the most social person (again, those who know me well are laughing and scratching their heads over that, but it's true! I'm an introvert by nature.) so I'm trying to be more so when I can be. My volunteer work requires that I speak to the public, so that's a good push. I have always loved and been connected to community theater, both on and off the stage, and I found a theater in town to volunteer with (after only 3 years of living here, haha) and hopefully I'll get to work with them more in the future as well. It's hard for me to talk to new people, but I'm trying.
I've struggled my entire life with my weight and put myself into a research study this year that forced me to count calories and deal with the reality of the situation and so far I've lost about 15 pounds. I had given up hope that I'd be able to ever accomplish that, but now it's becoming part of who I am. I watch serving sizes, count calories, try to get more exercise and enough sleep, and I am seeing progress. I notice when I walk down the hall at work that I feel lighter - whether it's a spring in my step (I can be annoyingly perky some days) or the fact that my joints truly are carrying a lighter weight, I don't know, but whatever it is, it makes me happy. And I deserve to be happy. We all do. I'm not always sure how to make that happen, but I'm trying.
