If We Were Having Coffee

I am so ready for summer! I know it has been a while since I’ve done anything on the blog. Do you believe that I have written no less than seven drafts in the dry spell even though I’ve published basically nothing?

If we were having coffee right now there’s a lot that we could catch up on.

Health

If we were having coffee right now, first of all, I’d be drinking decaf. You know I went off it cold turkey about six months ago. Well, once an addict always an addict? Sometime around the new year, I went straight back to regular, and let me tell you, there was no withdrawal from the decaf and it was exactly as glorious as expected. Except that my sleep problems immediately returned. Also, things were happening digestively that just didn’t quite seem right.

The truth is, everything about the coffee ritual in the mornings (minus the actual brewing part because weirdly I’m terrible at it) is something that makes me look forward to waking up. Folgers got it so right! And arguably, the high from the caffeine was largely part of this, a detail I would not have admitted until I got rid of most of the caffeine and realized I wasn’t feeling quite as happy as I used to within a few sips. All that aside, I’m going strong with my decaf only, despite the madness of brewing two different pots in one kitchen.

I feel great. The digestive situation hasn’t been this good maybe ever. My eyes close within minutes of going to bed. And unless my two-hundred pound husband has suddenly taken to soft-stepping and leaving all cabinet doors open while he makes snacks for Sports Center (he hasn’t) I’m also no longer being bolted out of what crappy sleep I was in by every teeny tiny noise happening downstairs.

Accomplishments

If we were having coffee right now I’d tell you that I ran a half marathon about a month ago and am trying not to lose my endurance and stamina like I usually do immediately following a big race. But I’m also taking things slow, listening to my body better, and for the first time in my life, attempting to work out with better goals in mind. Goal 1: pain prevention. Goal 2: actual enjoyment. Goal 3: improving my speed. I’ve already signed up for the same race again next year, the Tobacco Road Marathon, because everything about it was exactly as enjoyable as the 2003 Motorola Marathon in Austin, TX. Something about well organized small races in cool cities.

We just said no to spring sports this year and I’m not sure I’ve fully realized the smartness of that decision, but every weekend has been fantastically wide open for making plans to do things we actually want to do. Much of it has been working in our own yard and garden, which means it was a record-breaking year for getting plants in early. One recent Saturday was devoted to cleaning up the yard of a dear friend who has needed help for quite some time at tackling a project that was simply too big for one person. I put out a very short-notice plea to a small group of cool people, and the help poured in. It turned out to be a fantastic day.

Kids

We have made some serious decisions about school next year and I’m pretty excited to say that three out of four kids will be attending Redeemer School in the Fall. It is a K-8 private school that I originally avoided because it is so small. However, after a few years at Calvary and a few years at Clemmons, somehow the size and environment seems to be just the right fit for us now. As a former educator and the grown up version of a kid who always loved school, I never dreamed of the challenges I’d face as a parent when it comes to educating my kids. Hell, isn’t getting rid of them for six or so hours a day the best part of stay-at-home motherhood?

I wish it were that simple.

And I wish I could say that making this decision has been a breeze. But you know me better than that. Decision making usually comes with a big fat slice of ongoing anxiety, the kind that has before resulted in significant losses of weight. I can’t say that I suffered myself into smaller sized jeans this time, but there were a few months there that I was in a fog of fear and apprehension. And I can’t say that I’m completely over it. Yes, the decision has been made, but looking forward to an entirely new routine and the usual amount of worry that comes with big changes still lingers.

I’m coping. I promise.

Meanwhile, we went to the beach, we’ve had Elementary Battle of the Books, are training for another Running Club 5K (as a family!), and are winding down to Preschool and 5th grade graduations end of an era ceremonies.

Totally Personal and Somewhat Spiritual

I’m currently reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and actually taking the writing tasks and time-commitment seriously. I even downloaded printable worksheets because you know how much I love an excuse to get out my 3-hole punch. It’s an old book and written from an openly spiritual but not necessarily Christian perspective. I realize there are those who would caution me to run, lest I should be tempted into something inadvertently pagan. I would simply say to these people, I’m enjoying the book. I’m enjoying the focus, the inward reflection, and even, for me, the decidedly God-centered spiritual aspect of it. (God: Jesus’ dad and the Creator of the Universe.)

Meanwhile, I also recently discovered Jesus Calling on audio book. If you ever considered meditation but don’t know where to start, I am simply throwing out there that this is an unexpectedly good stumble-upon. I’ve had the Headspace App on my phone for at least 2 years, and while I was really tapped in at first, I have admittedly lost interest. This one I downloaded on a whim, because it was available immediately from the public library on the Overdrive App.

If you know me, you know I am not into daily devotionals. Can’t do them. Don’t like them. Stopped pretending about this and haven’t picked one up since the Purpose Driven Life craze first hit in college.

But this is different. First, I most often put it on while straightening my hair, a task that arguably takes more time than I’d like to admit and renders me incapable of doing anything else as it requires the use of both hands.

Though I don’t actually straighten my hair every day, I do it often enough that in less than a month, I had listened through this entire book and now am circling through it again. I’m not just listening to one a day. Instead, I just hit play and let the thing go. One afternoon I heard the entire months of April and May. And here’s the thing. It always takes me a little while to get into an audio book. The voice and cadence of the reader are important. But there is a decided mental shift that takes place as well, and when it hits, it is the same kind of calm that I assume people talk about when experiencing a runner’s high.

It is just an all-over sense of calm. Well? Consider that this book is scripture, re-written as though letters to us from Jesus himself, and you can see where it would and could be a form of meditation that is a little deeper than the Headspace App alone.

I’m simply saying, if you were thinking about it, you should try it.

I hope to be a little more checked in and active around here but as usual I make no promises. If you made it all the way through my wordiness today, thank you. I am perpetually fighting the media driven societal beast that says, “Enough already get to the point too long we’re bored!!” and often delete the wordy posts for fear that everyone (including me) now hates them. I think I see some sunshine. Let’s get after it, shall we?

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