First off, I wanted to thank everyone who shared some kind words and stories with me in reaction to my blog post yesterday. I was debating whether or not I should share my thoughts, and I’m absolutely glad I did. Please feel free to continue to reach out to me in private or in public. Sometimes life’s difficulties are a little bit easier to bear when you know you’re not alone in your experiences.
And now, here are today’s daily reflections.
Day 2:
Something I'm Thankful For: The caring people I know. Many of my friends have taken time to share some thoughts with me or to send good vibes and positive thoughts. It was nice to hear from both people I’ve met in person once and others I haven't heard from in a while (including childhood friends I haven’t seen in almost 20 years). Whenever I, or anyone for that matter, decide to share some highly private emotions, there’s always a risk that it won’t be received well or (even worse) won’t be acknowledged at all. Those “likes” on posts (or lack thereof) sometimes make one feel like it’s a high school popularity contest all over again. When the posts are as vulnerable as yesterday’s was for me, the stakes are even higher. So thank you for reassuring me that I made the right decision to post.
Challenge O' The Day: The dawning realization that my mom will arrive in less than 8 hours and the office/guest room, aka our personal dumping grounds, still has giant heaps of highly important and random documents and various miscellaneous items piled everywhere (mostly on the bed, of course). Oh, and our cleaning lady canceled on us. Hip hip hooray! :-D
Lesson Learned: Obviously planning ahead and cleaning NOT at the last minute would seem like the obvious lesson to be learned. I honest to G-d actually attempted that this time (for once). But for the last two weeks, I just happened to have events or work literally EVERY single day and night. I actually can’t think of a free evening I would have had to clean up the room – between deadlines or guests or late night meetings, I’ve just been on an express train of busy-ness and haven’t even thought about getting off because, frankly, who has the time? I already don’t get much sleep (“enhanced napping” would probably be a more accurate description), and I can’t sacrifice what little I do get. So my lesson for this one is to just shrug it off, clear off/hide as much as I can in twenty minutes time before my mom comes, or just wait until after she arrives when she can watch the kids so I can make the room roomy for her, so it doesn’t cut into my work day. Let’s be honest, it’s not like it’s some big surprise to anyone that I’m a highly messy person anyway…
Daily Insight: While the excitement of a productive Sunday night allowed the strength for me to survive Monday on 2.5 hours of sleep, today is when I’m really paying for it. It was totally worth catching up with friends over dinner last night, but I didn’t catch up on Z’s like I needed to. Made sure to take an hour to myself before 9 am to relax sans kids this morning before getting to work, because the “Hulk Smash” side was beginning to rear its ugly head. I’m trying to recognize what I need to keep a level head and cut off any potential meltdowns before they make a full-blown appearance. My final Positive Parenting class is tonight, so I won’t be home before 10 PM. It’s going to be a long, eventful day, that’s the bottom line. Will try to take a few extra breaths, and take a chocolate or two as needed (prescribed by myself). Now, to blast my “Inspiration Needed” music playlist and get to work!*
*Full disclosure: this sentiment is a heckuva lot peppier than I actually feel at the moment. But that’s okay. Fake it ‘til you make it, right?
