I honestly do not like giving advice. What works for me will probably not work for others.
Also I don’t want to be that sanctimonious know it all that has all the answers because honestly I don’t. I am muddling through life just like the rest of you hoping I am making the right decisions and doing what I know is best for me and the ones I love.
Today however I am going to break that rule just a little bit.
Lately I have had a lot of time on my hands and sort of floundering.
Ironic isn’t it? How I have wished for more free time and now that I have it I am directionless.
Sort of.
I have gone from being highly needed by my elderly mother, work, young grandkids, a dog to walk, a big house and then”poof” in less than a year things changed.
My mother is in heaven, I retired, our dog Max crossed the Rainbow Bridge, my grandkids are teenagers and we sold our home and are not so patiently waiting for new one to be ready while living amidst boxes in a small rental until it is completed.
Boxes everywhere
After spinning my wheels for awhile and being on social media and email WAY too much I realized I was giving away something I could never get back…my time.
I was giving it away to:
Worrying about things, people and situations I could not change
Self doubt
Being in a sea of indecision
Binging TV
Okay an occasional binge session is not a huge problem until it is…that is sort of my guilty pleasure but even that got old after awhile.
I am at that age where even healthy friends are discovering serious problems and their days may be numbered.
I have lost friends that don’t have this gift of bountiful time.
I was turning into Maxine the cranky but funny old lady.
Mostly I needed to turn my thinking around. I have about 4 tools I use to do that and when I remember to use them they work magnificently.
Today I will share one that I scoffed at but actually works. ( I will share the others soon)
It’s called “and-ing” Crazy right? Strange thing is, it works. If you have a negative loop of thinking in your head that will not stop start looking around you and say “and I have a nice cup of coffee”, “and its sunny out”, “and my frig is full”, and “my laptop is working” and “I have electricity”
You get the picture. You can choose just to name the things you have around you, positive happy things..honestly anything that interrupts the “stinkin thinking”
After a bout of “and-ing” I decided to use this time to finish the many unfinished projects I have and do some more writing. Turns out I have a bad habit of getting bored with a project at the 3/4 point and start another. It is my “squirrel” for sure.
Some of you may read this and think “must be nice to have so much time” As Erma Bombeck said ” The grass is always greener over the septic tank”
Your time will come I promise but in the meantime do the things you really want to do . The old saying “Life is Short” doesn’t hit home until you realize it really is and I want to spend it laughing, being outside, finishing what I start, reading good books and loving on my family and friends.
So until further notice, Celebrate Everything. That’s an order 🙂 And as always, keep on triing.