🧁Lil Treasures #134: Short & Sweet
We're talking xylophones and Joseph's dream coat
Hey pals! I am unpacking my car and attempting to put my life back together after this week’s roadtrip. Only tweets this go-round, so you’ll have to supply this week’s treasures.
I’ll be back next week with a more robust Swipe Up. Until then…
Happy Friday Friends!
**cue One Last Time from Hamilton** We're saying all our goodbyes to Chicago this week and I am surprised at how sentimental I have been. We got Jeni's ice cream, Stan's Donuts, breakfast at Medici (seriously, if you come to Chicago, go to Medici on 57th, they have the BEST breakfasts), played at Maggie Daley, went to the Point, and of course, have been hitting all our favorite playground and parks (NO ONE does parks like Chicago).
Treasures:
~ This made me HOOT with laughter. Also, I just bought the first Harry Potter on audiobook for our trip - HOORAY https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cb0HrIIqMGd/
~ My husband and I watched National Treasure on the Fourth and the hair in that movie - wow.
~ Felt extra sentimental about Trader Joes this week https://www.instagram.com/p/CfuK6PbJmKv/
My oldest is currently singing "Here Comes the Sun", petting the cat, and it's overall delightful. How do I keep this vibe up all weekend?!Off to pack more boxes and drink lots of water WOOHOO
Hello, Friday friends! (Is that accurate for most of us? Just me? Okay. 🙃) I’ve actually had a lovely week of feeling like an actual, productive human being with all credit due to this accurate description of my summer so far:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CfbtU-OuxA9
One of the revelations I had during my week away last month was that I function best with a plan or a guide, if you will, and that I should structure my weeks in blocks of time with each day given its own specific purpose. This is not revolutionary in a work situation but it never occurred to me that I should do it in a home situation. But since my life as caregiver to my mom is also my j-o-b, I’ve realized that I function much better with structure. It’s taken a month to implement these thoughts but it worked *beautifully* this week. In essence, I designated Monday as COOK and used it to prep/cook several dishes to eat throughout the week, thereby having a true meal plan. I was *exhausted* after and my body refused to settle into rest, but it felt so good to know that I didn’t have to do kitchen work again through the week. (I don’t love it, the kitchen hates me, and it all just makes me sad.)
The other days this week allowed for ORGANIZE (finances, files for this go-round), REFRESH (laundry and tidy-up), and even a day to CREATE (birthday card for a niece). I’m still thinking through my categories and how to group tasks in my mind, but having a singular focus each day gave me permission to cast off all other thoughts when they threaten to disrupt my flow. I wrote down the thought and went back to my day’s plan. For the first time I felt like a true lazy genius! 💃🏻
Results of this new thang: daily accomplishments that were *completed* and not carried over to another day; actual rest/sleep in the actual nighttime hours and *morning* wake-ups (hallelujah amen 🙌🏻); a mind that resisted its usual pinball activity; long, quiet hours without tv noise that allowed for clear thinking and structured planning. This might be the first week I felt like I had a handle on “life” since my mom’s care became the focus. And that was a long stretch to feel so unmoored.
Because I’ve taken to the Gollum Cave (it’s hella hot in Texas, ya know) and basically stopped using my voice to keep up with people (apologies, Marco Polo pals 😬), I’ve had a good summer of reading! I’ve mentioned Sea of Tranquility (Emily St John Mandel) which I can’t stop thinking about, but I’ve also finished The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd (great beginning, devolved at the end) and This Too Shall Last (excellent KJ Ramsey backlist). I’m revisiting The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron) with thoughts to include this in my new LG structuring. And I just finished Trust by Hernan Diaz, which might be my only 5-star personal review this year. “Trust” begins with a novella about a Wall Street wizard in early 20th century who became a multimillionaire as the 1929 Crash occurred, and then proceeds to retell that story through multiple narrators until it reaches the climax of that history through the eyes of the man’s wife. So layered! It made me go back to reread all the previous chapters to put all the details together in my mind. I LOVED this novel!
Wishing you all a feeling of accomplishment and true rest. 💚