Lollygagging

Today, instead of doing a bunch of errands, Forest and I went for a walk.  We parked in a neighborhood.  He rode his scooter and I walked.  It was a shady walk through the greenspace between two suburban developments.  Much of it was boardwalk.  Because I'm taking doxycyclene for a tick bite I received, I wanted to stay out of the sun, and this was perfect.  At one point, we were standing in the sun and I said, "We can't lollygag in the sun, because I will get a sunburn!"  Forest, a lover of words said, "Oooh, what's lollygagging?"  I told him I would show him once we got back to the shady part.  So when we did, he said, "Now you can lollygag, Mama!  Lollygag!  Lollygag!  Do it!  I want to see it!"  What a funny kid.  I had to think about what active lollygagging really looked like.  I slowed down, looked up at the trees, smiled, danced around a bit, and waved my arms.  He giggled.  So, today, my wellness included lollygagging.  It also included listening to the middle school band with Eleanor and doing my workout when I couldn't sleep.  Now I'm sleepy.  I'm going to go lollygag in bed. 

Wellness colored glasses.

So, I decided to do this wellness thing, and then I started thinking about how I'm usually giving myself a bunch of crap for eating X or not doing Y or whatever.  I am starting back into doula work, and just thinking about working with new mamas again, has reminded me of all the lovely people that helped me when I was a new mama.  One of these people was my postpartum doula.  She had a grand suggestion:  Rather than make a to-do list, in the weeks following the birth of baby #3 in 3 years, at the end of the day, make a list of all the things you did.  Mine would look like this:  Nurse baby, stare at baby, change diapers, read stories to toddlers, make breakfast, nurse baby, unload dishwasher, do a load of laundry, nurse baby, eat a snack, change diapers, go for a walk down the driveway and notice all the new daffodils, nurse baby, make lunch, change diapers, change clothes of toddler who didn't make it to the bathroom, dance around the living room, take baby in the shower with me.... you get the idea.  It was a long list, and it only took about one day for me to see that I was really getting a ton of stuff done, even though I only felt like I was nursing the baby, which, of course, I was doing a lot.  So, right now, instead of focusing on all the crap that I do that may NOT be wellness, I am going to focus on all the wellness things.  Like yesterday:  I did some doula-related research outside in the sunshine while my toddler played--that falls into wellness.  I drank tea and water all day long.  I walked the dog.  I took my supplements.  I practiced gratitude. 
Today was one of the last Nia days for the term.  It was fabulous as usual.  Dancing with those women truly feeds me.  We were focusing on body, mind, spirit and emotion, whichever one needed the most focus.  I realized that my emotions are all over the place.  I'm like Pigpen, except instead of mud or dust or whatever, I am a spazzy ball of emotions, all. the. time.  What?  That must be fun to live with.  Oh, yeah, it's not.  What helps?  What contributes to wellness?  Dancing, breathing, yoga, working out, meditation, drinking water, eating well, enough sleep.  Quieting my brain that wants to knowknowknow nownownow.  Trees and ferns and moss. 
I have also been reading a book by Gay Hendricks called The Big Leap, as suggested by my friend and Nia instructor.  Awesome book.  One of the things he suggests is moving toward Einstein time, taking responsibility for time in our lives.  Never saying, "I don't have enough time, " or other time related excuses or complaints.  So, I'm just going to add that in to what I am doing in June and see how it works.

June: A Month of Wellness

In the interest of inspiring myself to be well in the month of June, and beyond, I am going to attempt posting about my wellness activities here on the blog.  I invite any followers I may have to do the same.
Here's what I did today:

In other Birthday news....

Gus turned 13--on Monday, and I am, thus far, enjoying being a mother of a teenager!
Several times a day, Big Guy says 'Happy Birthday Mama!'  It's everyone's birthday, isn't it?  I usually respond with 'A very merry unbirthday to you!' He sort of gets it.  All the birthday and unbirthday wishes make for a rather festive air around here.
Right at this moment, four big boys are sleeping out in a tent they set up by themselves.  I have a walkie-talkie just in case they need me.  I'm not sure any of them would ever admit to needing me.
I successfully baked and frosted a hobbit-hole gluten and egg free cake.  It actually tasted good, too.
I managed to lock my keys in the car which is not a good thing, but it meant that I had time to actually make the cake instead of taking Eleanor to her piano lesson--which wasn't great for her, either, but she just took it calmly and practiced for that time instead.  What a trooper.
I danced like a crazy mama in Nia today.  It rocked.
Daffodils are blooming!
We facetimed with our friend Jenny yesterday and it was so fun.  We got to show her all of the little things we were doing, many of which were directly inspired by her--Eleanor was playing the piano that Jenny scored for us.  Lucy's daffodil bunting (something Jenny would totally do) was drying on the counter.  I had just made 2 loaves of bread in prep for the influx of hungry boys.  Lucy and forest were reading together on the couch.  Gus and Forest had just finished lining up all the matchbox cars.  Jenny's influence is everywhere in our home, and it's so fun to use technology to share!  Yay

You say it's your Birthday?

Today was Lucy Sky's 10th birthday.  She was very excited about it all week and woke up early to get her 10 kisses.
Many wonderful things happened today:
It was a gorgeous sunny spring day, reminiscent of the day Lucy was born.
Lucy's siblings made her an awesome gift and she loved it.
The kids and I went ice skating, one of Lucy's favorite activities.  Forest loved it, too.
We found the perfect pair of boots for Lucy's next riding adventures.
We ate a fabulous sushi lunch with Robert.
We got to horse-riding early (!) and got to cavort with the horses a little before Lucy's lesson.
Forest took a nap (!)
Lucy successfully took her horse, Chester, through a puddle--not the same as riding on the beach, but interesting, nevertheless.
Eleanor got nibbled on by a huge draft horse named Wyatt.
Friends and family called and wished Lucy a happy day.
We all worked together to make the birthday meal including GF Chai Spice cake with cream cheese frosting, and homemade noodles, Lucy's favorite.
Eleanor started practicing a song that I played on the piano when I was her age.  Oh the memories!
The cat curled up in the lid to the cake keeper (which somehow landed on the floor) I don't necessarily think this is good, but it was funny.
We had a sweet and lovely celebration of the birthday girl!  We're so lucky she came to live with us!
I actually managed to do my workout despite not really wanting to!
It was an excellent day!

And now, to bed!

Life is good.

Life is good and life keeps me completely occupied doing things others than blog posts.  I like writing and updating this blog and I am wanting to move some stagnant energy around in my world.  Doing the gratitude practice in November really helped with that so I think I'm going to do something else called "This is the good that happened today:

Today, I helped two siblings put the finishing touches on a birthday gift for their sister.
We spent a couple hours with friends we haven't seen for a while.
I did my workout. 
I got to scratch my twelve year old's back and head for a little bit tonight.
We solved a chore-related issue with no one getting too frantic.
I learned how the koala lost his tail (Aboriginal tale).
Everyone liked dinner (lasagne and salad)

It was a good day.  I hope you had one too.