I love going to the ocean and looking out into the vast horizon. It reminds me of how big the world is and how small my problems are.
The amount of time we spend on this earth is tiny. It’s so small and it goes by so quickly. It seems a shame to waste any of it on worrying about the small things.
And yet I don’t remember that as often as I should. As often as I wish I did.
Our evening took an unexpected turn when my husband’s leg was in a lot of pain last night after we left the movies.
A trip to the ER during vacation isn’t anyone’s favorite way to spend time and during covid times it means sitting in the ER for four+ hours all by yourself.
Even though it took him until 3am to see a doctor, it turned out that he had a bacterial skin infection so the long night was absolutely worth it.
Now we’re all enjoying our lovely little house in paradise by relaxing as much as possible. Powering our brains all the way down and letting our bodies rest and recover.
That’s what vacation is all about.
This is not the way we planned to spend this one but sometimes the universe has other plans and when the universe speaks, we listen.
Today’s been one of those days where I find myself context switching often. Major presentations at work, setting up tree people to come look at my fence, sitting on a work panel, setting up PCR tests for my kids so they can go back to school, packing, downloading data for my husband for an ML project at work, scoring my son’s test results, and 1-1 career conversions and more within an 8-hour window.
It’s a lot. And it’s the fullness of life. I am grateful to have this richness even if it’s hard sometimes.
I’m reading an ARC (advanced copy) which is a novel based on Thomas Mann’s life. I have never read “The Magic Mountain” or any of Mann’s novels and I am finding this book fascinating.
People are fascinating. The choices we make, the stories we tell ourselves, the secret lives we lead.
Earlier today I was listening to a podcast where the speakers are trying to talk about topics we don’t openly share. The topics themselves are innocuous but the way we talk about them is the same way we respond to “Hi, how are you?” when a friend passes you by on the street.
We don’t tell them the truth. Because the truth is that life is messy and people are complicated. And things that involve people are also complicated.
Any time people, books, movies share the true, messier nature of humans, I find myself deeply engaged. True connection can only emerge from being able to see each other as we are and accepting each other as we are.
And I find the complexity of human nature to be deeply curious. The more I see, the more I want to learn. Because we are messy, imperfect and marvelous in our uniqueness.
Yes to the mess of it all and yes to those brave enough to live and speak truths so that the rest of us can feel less alone.
Finally feeling calm after a long week of roller coaster. Starting my day at 4-5am every day this week was painful (worth it and still painful) and my emotions and thoughts have been all over the place. This was also the “let’s do all the things before school starts” week so we did the orthodontist, dentist, dental x-ray, tutoring, car maintenance, and hose cleaning all in one week. There was a lot to juggle and a lot to finish.
And we did it all.
As we approach to the last four months of the year, I’ve been thinking about what I wanted to do this year and how I wanted to grow. One item that was on my list was to take a class. I used to take a lot of online classes and in-person classes at local university near me. This year, except for a few art classes, I haven’t taken any and I am still craving it.
So I’m hoping I can make some progress on that this weekend.
I don’t have anything’s pithy to say today. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to change the way I interpret things and how to be more open and present and optimistic. This was my big goal behind picking yes as my word. I wanted to become a more optimistic person. Which I think starts with being open and willing to receive in a positive way.
