BLISSFUL IGNORANCE

Michael’s been talking about the weather for a week and I’ve been listening but not listening if you know what I mean. Then I had a friend cancel a lunch date and Terry moved the sock party from Thursday to Wednesday. Someone else said something about a storm and then I got a little shaky and woozy because I don’t think I planned our meals around snowy weather, which is what I get for only listening. I have a real bad habit of just ignoring the happenings of the world around me and just going about my business as if any of those said happenings are not going to impact my ability to go about my business.

To be fair, there was at least thirty four years of my life when I could get away with this mentality. If it snows or ices in Oklahoma, things just down and the whole do I or don’t I go to work question is answered for you. Meteorologists start screaming about the sky falling two weeks before hand and do a pretty decent job of putting the fear in you so that you have all the things you need to make French toast. The Meteorologists here are less YOU’RE GOING TO DIE IF YOU EVEN LOOK OUT THE WINDOW and more practical. They say things like make sure you have a decent supply if ice-melt and give yourself plenty of time to get from point A to point B and if you don’t really need to get from point A to point B, stay home. Now I have to decide if I need to get from point A to Point B. Since I tend to lean towards danger, I usually choose the worst possible scenario. Even though Michael says things like “I am not cleaning off your car or shoveling the drive way. You can stay home like a sensible human.” Though, he never says the sensible human part because he knows I’d punch him in the throat for saying it. Also, it makes him feel bad when I clean off my car by myself and shovel the driveway, but then I feel bad for making him do it.

It is a vicious circle.

Monday morning, the weather talk was getting to me and I texted Michael that I was freaking out about food, weather and my credit card (another blissfully ignorant thing I’ve got going). He told me that I would go to work on Tuesday. He said I would go to work on Wednesday, but probably come home early and Thursday we would most likely be Netflixing and chilling. Then I remembered we bought fancy cheeses at Whole Foods and I bought bread. We could make fancy grilled cheeses and I felt better because this felt like a real plan. He said some other reassuring things about my credit card and now, I think maybe I won’t lean towards the dangerous option for Thursday.

Winter is for real happening here this week. Be sure to gather your French toast ingredients sooner rather than later.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Placed

3 Likes, 1 Comments - Cindy Maddera (@elephant_soap) on Instagram: "Placed"

Yesterday morning, as I was cleaning up my breakfast dishes, the weight of all the things that need to be done settled down onto my shoulders. I looked down at the soapy sponge in my hand with a frown and wondered how on earth I was going to get everything done by the time it needs to be done. I had slept fitfully, dreaming about searching for a campsite, reading the map wrong, finding a place to pitch a tent and then pitching that tent in a pool of water. Standing at the kitchen sink, I had a sense that maybe I have taken on more than I can handle and that I'm about to make some serous mistakes that will leave us sleeping in a tent filled with water. This is what I get for filling my calendar with things I care about like marching for science and fighting the AIDS epidemic on top of just daily life stuff. 

I will get the things done that need to be done in the time they need doing. 

It's a good mantra. So good, that I will even share it with you so that you may use it in those moments when you are overwhelmed with the tasks ahead. With this mantra fully planted in my brain, I looked back out the window and noticed that the rain had stopped and the skies were clearing. I rolled my scooter out of the garage and Michael came out to head to work. He said "You know it's raining?!" and I replied "I know that is was raining, but it isn't now." I zipped to work, dodging rain puddles and reminding myself to at least try to be careful on the wet roads. I arrived to work dry and unscathed and filled with joy. 

My friend, Eagle, posted a thing on facebook this week about "what if" and how often the 'what if' keeps us from moving forward. He said that instead of asking "what if?", how about asking "why not?" It is a wise flip of the switch and one that I have always struggled with. I'd like to think that I am really good at playing the 'what if' game, but the truth is that I am constantly losing at that game. Why not just do my best and try to get a little bit done each day? This question lifts the weight of 'what if' clean off my shoulders. I am thankful for the reminder to flip the switch and I am thankful for my mantra. 

I am thankful for scooter days and time spent on my mat. I am thankful for green beans and Brussel sprouts. I am thankful for successful moments at work. I am thankful for this cup of coffee that is setting to my left. I am always always always thankful for you. Here's to a weekend of celebrating the importance of doing our part to protect this planet. Here's to a weekend of celebrating the importance of science (which plays a big part in protecting this planet). And here's to a perfectly peaceful Thankful Friday.