Sometimes Tuesday ...

... is a day for both anticipation and patience!

I have bread and mayo at the ready for my first delicious tomato sandwich of the season!

Which Little Word?

In the beginning of 2019, I had chosen Patience as my One Little Word, but then I read Kym's extraordinary post at the end of January and it felt like an important moment. I thought about it for ten minutes before finally realizing that I had to change my word. Kym's logic and reasoning for choosing Intention as her word this year made so much sense to me, but it was really her simple diagram that showed me why I needed to change my word to Balance:

Balance ==> Focus ==> Intention

This is such a logical progression, but you have to start with Balance. Everything starts with Balance! Right now, I feel quite unbalanced after several years of my father being sick and spending quite a bit of time contributing to the care, help, and transport that he needed, his death in 2018, buying the house in MD, traveling back and forth between NJ and MD, and the death of my mother-in-law last month. I desperately need to feel like I am living a life in balance again, but I know that has not been the case for several years, maybe even longer. I would love to "jump ahead" to focus or intention, but I know that's not what I need. So Balance it is, equilibrium between work and leisure, fun and serious, physical activity and rest, thoughtful consideration and spontaneity.

So far, my actions have been mainly questioning, reading, and thinking about Balance - what it is, what it might mean to me in my own circumstances, what it looks like to lead a balanced life, and trying to practice small steps towards Balance. It will be a slow process, but I think that by the end of the year, I might be able to place myself in the photo of a Life in Balance.

I am joining Juliann and hope you will, too, to read where others' words are leading them.

A Quote on Friday

I would have shown you my amaryllis, but they are at home in NJ and I'm in MD, so they will have to wait. Instead, I've been thinking about quotes. I use them a lot, and collect them in both paper and digital forms. It's interesting how a few well-chosen words often speak to us more meaningfully than long explanations.

So in keeping with my chosen word this year, patience, here is a pertinent quote. It's often harder to be patient with yourself than with others, and I think it's also difficult to be patient with yourself without blithely excusing all your wrongs, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to find the right balance.

Here's hoping the first weekend of 2019 finds you where you want to be, doing what you want to do.

Amaryllis Watch

I haven't shared my amaryllis in almost a month; they were off to a slow start but now that that they've gathered their resources they've all got leaves and the very beginnings of flower stalks showing. Not particularly exciting, but they are hopeful and a reminder that all good things happen in their own good time and usually involve patience.