Monday Musings

There are certain times of the year when I stop to think about time going by and what I've accomplished, what I've failed to accomplish, and what I hope to accomplish.  At the turn of the new year I really do that, but this time of year I tend to also.  As the days start cooling off and the night comes earlier, I start turning inward and pondering my life.

Right now I'm being wistful about the passing of the summer and thinking of the many things I meant to do but didn't do.  I didn't do much hanging out with the bees in the garden this year.  Partly because their favorite bush is now hiding behind some huge tomato plants, and partly because I haven't taken the time to just stand in the backyard and watch bees.

I never got this done.  It was supposed to be a bunting to pretty up my patio.  I haven't had nearly as many meals out there as I had intended.  All winter I dream of eating dinner al fresco, then summer comes and in my rush I throw the plates on the dining room table instead.

One good thing I've been doing is reading this book.  It's about the author's journey to find more happiness in her life.  It's broken down by months, and each month has a theme.  I'm on July now, and even though I haven't gotten to the worksheets (I think there are worksheets) or read the blog, I am finding more happiness.  One of the things Rubin talks about in the book, and I don't remember what month, is figuring out what activities really make us happy.  She has put comments from her blog in there and one in particular really resonated with me.  The commenter said she figured out that although she can do anything she wants, she can't do everything she wants.  That is something I really struggle with.

In my attempts to do everything I want, I fall down the slippery slope of trying to multitask.  That combined with the fact that I have the attention span of a first grader with ADD whose mother feeds her Pop Tarts and Dr. Pepper for breakfast, my attempts to do two things at once end up with me just screwing up two things at once.  And it usually ends up costing me money.

I am also trying to find time stealers that get in the way of me doing more of the things that I really want to do.  One of those is the internet.  I have certain tasks that I need to do each day.  If I did those tasks in a systematic way, and set a time limit, then it would be ok.  But no, I get sucked down the rabbit hole and into Pinterest and Facebook and Twitter.

So as I muse about time and accomplishments, I'm figuring out what it is I really really really want to do most, and I'm figuring out how to make time to stand outside with bees, because that is something that does bring me happiness.  Another happiness bringer is spending time with friends, so today I have a play date with a friend down in Orem.  I expect we're going to find lots of shenanigans to get up to.  I'm hoping for it;)

I hope you find lots of happiness and fun shenanigans today too!  See you Wednesday.