I would have to say (regardless of my past few posts), overall I’m pretty happy with my life. I may, on days where I have gotten a reasonable amount of sleep, even go so far as to say I am very happy. But, like Gretchen Rubin, the author of [amazon_link id=”006158326X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Happiness Project[/amazon_link], I think happiness is something that should be worked on and courted, especially when times are good. I’ve read The Happiness Project twice, once with a bit of skepticism, and again with an eye to giving it a try myself. A lot of…
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If you reread yesterday’s post, you might notice a bit of fear under all of the stiff-upper-lipness. Fear is something the little man inspires in me a lot. His ability to run out there (literally) and face the world head on is very frightening. It is sometimes the practical things that worry me (running into traffic) and sometimes the realities of growing up (and leave me…). Right now, I’m sitting at the computer, listening to him slowly wake up. He’s slept about an hour and a half past his usually wake up time.In the past, that sleeping in would cause…
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We’ve been very lucky with the little man. In his three short years, he’s only been sick three times. Once with a minor cold, once with roseola (that was fun), and once again with a nasty cold today. Dealing with a child with a cold, especially with his first real serious cold, is an exercise in patience. He broke down in tears several times this morning because he just didn’t understand what was wrong. He kept whimpering and pointing at his nose and throat. And, while he is quite vocal and fairly good at understanding what we try to tell…
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As you may have gathered from some of my previous posts, I’ve been doing some reading about Buddhism. I’ve studied Buddhism in the past, in a limited way through a university course of Japanese religions and also as part of a meditation class I took for about a year before I became pregnant with the little man. I found it very interesting, but I could never really get my head around the idea of suffering. You see, the first Nobel Truth of Buddhism is “Life is Suffering”. I just couldn’t buy into that, since I found my life to be…
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It seems like the little man is going to be That Kid. You know, the one that is allergic to peanuts, so no one can have peanut butter or store bought cookies, or any of that good stuff. Okay, that isn’t entirely true. Yes, the little man is allergic to peanuts. We will always have to carry an EpiPen with us (the allergist suggests two in case the ambulance can’t get to us quickly enough). We will always have to read labels, and watch what he eats. One day, when he is away from home more, we may even have…
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The snow we had on Wednesday is still around, but it is melting fast. I can’t shake the feeling, though, that it is January or February. When I look out the window, I see winter, not spring. However, if you look closely, there are some reminders that spring is well and truly here.
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About a week and a half ago, I went on a little retreat. I stayed downtown at the Sheraton (and had great service and an upgraded room). I did some shopping, ate at some great restaurants, and tried to get some sleep. The funny thing about retreats, though, is that you (or at least I) never get as much done as you/I hope to. In my case, I got drawn in by cable TV, which we haven’t had at home since September 2009. And, my goodness, it sure hasn’t improved since then. I think nearly everything on was either a…
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Every year I make the same mistake: spring officially starts, and I put away the winter hats. And, of course, every year I have to get them back out again. This year they sat in the closet for a whole three days. That is the view from my bedroom window, overlooking our little park. Two days ago there was green-ish grass out there. Spring flowers were starting to poke through the earth. Yesterday it snowed. It snowed about 15 cm (around 6″). That doesn’t sound like too much, but when you aren’t expecting it, it is more than enough. There…
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Earlier today a Hollywood icon passed away. Dame Elizabeth Taylor, a true movie star, died at the age of 79. She was, at one time, considered the world’s most beautiful woman, a title I believe she completely deserved. Ms. Taylor lead a remarkable life, staring in her first film at nine. She continued to act, and even guest star on TV shows like the Simpsons, well into her old age. (Did you know she was the voice of Maggie?) Her support of charities, especially those dedicated to AIDS, was well known. She may have once been known as “the other…
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I’m taking this whole resolution thing pretty seriously right now. The realization that I accomplished almost none of my 2010 goals is pretty shocking. Even if you take into account my crafting related goals, I only accomplished three and a half of my goals. (The half comes from the fact that did do Tarot readings every day for about the first eight months or so of the year, but then I kinda started to forget to do them…) Now, if I had only made four or five goals, that wouldn’t be too bad. But I made a lot of goals,…