All the Small Things...

I have a lot going on in my head today.  I could probably write 3 or 4 posts.  Perhaps I will.  For now I'll keep it simple.  My husband and I are are resolved to see to the little things this year.  Little things like, making the bed, keeping up with the dishes, brushing our teeth, making healthier choices.  How mundane.  Yes, Annie this is where your life is.  How necessary.  If I can't master these little things how am I supposed to move on to bigger things?  I find it very hard to tend to the mundane details of life.  I love my interior journey, and helping my kids develop.  I loath routine, it takes away from my thinking, but if I'm actually going to develop into a more "whole" person I have to get out of the comfort zone.  How am I supposed to give the boys opportunities for selfless service if I can't remember to call charities, let alone show up.  Neither of my kids have been through first communion because we do religious education at home and I can't remember to sign them up for Religious Education after Mass on Sunday.  It's not on my Radar, the homily is.

Will and I. An old collage I made.  A statement on my way of "being"

It takes way more effort and energy for me to establish a routine and see to tasks of everyday life than it seems to take other people.  I have a planner.  If I don't write an appointment down in that planner it doesn't happen.  I don't think I could survive a week in the "real" world without it.  I even have to write down things like, "go to the grocery store", "call your family", "put on deodorant", and "drink more water".  I see other mothers effortlessly keeping appointments, looking very "together", while I struggle to keep up.  In fact, I get my hair styled so that I don't have to comb it and it will still look great.  If I had longer hair the world would surely know my secret.  I have baskets and drawers in my house so that I can literally throw things in them, close them and my house will still look neat.  Note to friends, beware before opening ANYTHING up in my house, I am not responsible for any injuries that may occur.  I often wear mismatched socks.  I don't care if they match so long as they serve their purpose.  Luckily it's a fad right now.  I really try hard to look "good" when going out in public with the "guys" in my life, but if the folks we encountered followed us home they'd find a slightly different story.  Don't get me wrong I love to get dressed up and be shown off, and this is true of everyone to an extent.  I just bet they'd be surprised at what they'd find in my dresser drawers. (One day I brought the boys into our bedroom, opened drawers on either side of the dresser.  One side was neatly folded and organized; the other side looked like a few families of mice had been nesting in it for a decade or two.  I said, "Which side is Dad's?"  They both pointed to the organized side, and started laughing.)

I'm not going to try to change who I am, fundamentally as a person.  I just want to show myself a little respect, and to be a little more "with it" for my family.  I want to practice being present in the now, instead of far away in my mind.  So this year, I am going to attempt to be a little more grounded in tending to daily tasks.  I plan only on changing those things which will make me healthier, and more "responsible".  Even if I have to make charts of charts in order to keep on it.  Good luck to me.