Let’s do this, 2022!

Happy New Year! Sometimes it is good to head into the new year with a new blog. So, here we go. Life can be like a fruit salad. Fruit salad is a nice element of every perfect party meal. The textures, juices, and tastes are so bright. There is so much variety in color and flavor that when you put it all together it always taste good...as long it is fresh! In contrast, old fruit salad is the worst.

Looking back on 2021 there have been many days of life that were the perfect combination of fresh watermelon, grapes, mango, bananas, and honeydew melons. Only if the sweetness would have endured! There were also many days that I practically gagged as I experienced the worst of the old fruit salad around! Sometimes, the taste deceived me as only a few pieces of fruit were bad - but in the end those pieces ruined it for me. 2021 has taught me many lessons and has brought some clarity into my life. In 2022 I am living into these things: LOVE BIG, Believe W-i-d-e, and Live with Wisdom. 

 

LOVE BIG:

At times in 2021, I was wrestling with fear. There were several things that caused this, and this fear was making my love for others, shrink and slow down. The fear led me to minimize love and my ability impact others. This has been a difficult thing for me to change. Rainier Maria Rilke once said, “To love is good, too: love being difficult. For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.” Love is the great task that we have been prepared for! I believe that as we strive for BIG LOVE in 2022 we will come out from our fears. Today, I am wondering if others are wrestling with fear, too? Allow love to drive out the fear.

 

BBBEEELLLIIIEEEVVVEEE W-I-D-E:

Believing widely - in others and in God - is risky when skepticism actually leads us to believe narrowly like a small alley where we can barely fit in between large buildings. Let’s kick out the young skeptic in 2022. It is a trial of our faith to believe beyond what we can control. Socrates (think the Bill and Ted pronunciation) said, “We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.” Dude. That's deep, man. 
Having a vision for wider belief in our selves, others, and God will shockingly shake things up. In my neighborhood, widening homes happens all of the time. It takes a lot of planning but the steps are finite and simple. In the same way widening our belief will manifest greater space; we just need to believe more and give credence to those expectations.

 

Live with Wisdom:

Resentment is the heart of the rotten fruit salad - eeew. It is days old, months old, and even years old. Carrie Fisher said, “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” The see-saw is set with

resentment on one side and wisdom on the other side. They often are at odds going back and forth. In 2022, making wisdom supreme is my hope. Wallowing in resentment will truly sabotage w-i-d-e belief and BIG love. Instead, wisdom helps us to love big and believe wide, as it helps us focus on what matters.

Join me this 2022 in loving big, believing wide and resenting little. The greatest commitment is that I will strive, in and through my faith (cheers to JC), to overcome obstacles and live better. By setting our eyes on the goal of LOVE, belief, and wisdom we are sure to benefit.

Unlively At Home Living in a Pandemic: Taco Tuesday and The Beat That Saves the Day

 

“What day is it anyway?” I ask this of myself, and then for not the first time on this day, remind myself again, “Today is Wednesday.” The daily cycle of work, exercise, parenting, meal preparation, and homework continues. Living, working, and being at home seems monotonous and almost unfathomable but we have found a rhythm that is much better than Chopin or TobyMac that has helped us through. I have stumbled upon a secret in this rhythm that has kept me afloat. It has framed me in and made the monotony bearable. 

 

Monday is the night that the older portion of the family watches “The Crown.” That leads to Taco Tuesday: We have Mexican food (not just tacos) on Tuesdays for dinner. Everyone loves this! Even our dog gets dressed up for the big event. 

 

Then comes Wednesday. (You undoubtedly knew that and didn’t need me to write it…but I think it’s quite an accomplishment that I can still remember the order of the days.) Wednesdays begin with waffles…so it’s Waffle Wednesday at our house. A hot cooked stack of waffles gets us all through the middle of the week. Our kids actually do the cooking, which is good: By the middle of the week just getting out of bed is an accomplishment for me. 

 

We haven’t named the other days of the week, and they don’t all have a “thing” that we do on each of them…other than church on Sunday mornings. “Worship Service Sunday,” I guess? 

 

Of course, in the at-home lifestyle, there are other things I’ve actually tried to be more diligent about than I did pre-pandemic. I imagine this is true for all of us. For instance, after work I try to get out and walk or run the dog - or maybe it is vice-versa. This rhythm transitions me from the stress, commitments, and joys of my workday! I get to be just his wife and their mom when I get back. This takes the place of my commute and it is much healthier!

 

My husband has taken care of a number of home projects and “things to do” that had been waiting – from replacing cracked outlet cover plates to installing some cool “barn doors” inside, to putting in a 20-foot section of fence so the backyard is all fenced in, and more. Seeing projects finished gives further cadence to these days and weeks.

 

All of these kinds of things, from the regular and routine to the maintenance or one-time things that need to be done, have helped us stay sane in this time. And sometimes, I even know what day of the week it is.