Day 21: One, two, skip a few…

Yes, intention is a wonderful thing.  It gets you thinking about what you really want, and has you taking deliberate steps to get it.  It’s a good, good thing.

I knew a while back that the month of October would be insane, and it is.  I called that one!  It was probably the worst timing ever for me to take on a little blog challenge, but I couldn’t resist.  I thought the topic would help me on my path of intention, and it really has.  

BUT…

It’s insane.  (Oh, sorry.  Did I say that already?)   

I thought that in light of all the hub-hub that’s swirling around me, I should take a moment to share a glimpse of my life right now. 

This is my living room/ dining room.  Yes, yes it is.

This is the sitting room off my kitchen.

This is my mud room/ home office area and soon to be powder room. 

This is my side yard. 

Plus, I have a pile of design work (about 6 concurrent projects) to boot.    

Oh and two little volunteer projects in which I am intensely involved.

School?  Yeah.  That too.  Only our schedule is reduced to about 1.4% until we get through this reno.  We will ramp up to 100% in November.  (I’m so glad we schooled all summer!)

The icing on the cake came yesterday, when we discovered we have to dig two giant holes outside (possibly a trench) to address a water leak from the main under our front lawn and lovely new retaining wall.  Ugh. 

Chaos, I tell ya!  

Day 22: 

It’s okay to slow down the blog posts on intention if the purpose of the slow-down is to be more intentional about the other things in my life.   (Clearly, there are some other things that require my attention right now.)

There.  I said it.  And it feels much better. 

So, I am skipping a few.  My main goal over the next couple weeks is to get through all of this household stuff so I can get my main floor back in order.  I’m good with that and I hope you are too. 

Catch ya on the flip side.  

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.

Day 17: Eye on the Prize

Part and parcel of getting a new chimney and fireplace involves stacking the wood to burn in it.  We had the first half of our wood delivered on Monday, and after getting them started (and establishing the ‘ends’), the kids were really able to pitch in and help get it stacked. 

We do not pay our children for their household tasks, as we believe pretty strongly that much of what needs to be done needs to be done simply because we are a team.  We do it because it needs to be done, not because there is a dollar figure attached.  However, once or twice a year, for unique tasks like this, the kids get a little something for their hard work. 

In this case, they know there is a cash reward.  They are working their buns off to work that pile down to nothing.  Caleb and Eden have always been pretty diligent workers, but this time, Gabe is right there alongside them… WITHOUT me having to suggest it.  The boys were out there for over an hour yesterday morning before I even knew what they were doing.  Good on them!

Day 17: 

Sometimes a little motivation goes a long, long way. 

This has me thinking about other areas of my life that could benefit from a motivation boost.  Should I be giving myself little rewards here and there for journeying along on my path of intention?   

Maybe I should treat myself to a little something for getting some of the tougher things done.   A contribution toward a trip away with my beloved?  A new handbag or a pair of shoes?  Something to keep me from procrastinating. 

But sometimes motivation comes simply in the joy my kids express when I make time amid the busyness to play a game.  

And sometimes motivation is the simple desire of getting things done.  (Ahem.  Laundry.)

But if I could tackle things with as much gusto as my kids used tackled that wood, I’d be laughing.  LAUGHING I tell you.

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.

Day 16: Getting Outta Dodge

Don’t you find that you sometimes just need a brief change of scenery to give you perspective and awaken your senses?  

We’ve been working like dogs here lately. 

Actually, as I write that, I realize that it’s a dumb expression.  Like ‘sleep like a baby.’  Babies (mine at least) don’t sleep.  And dogs don’t work.   Let me rephrase that.

We’ve been working like a big team of Clydesdales lately.  (Yes, much better.)

Sunday, we went to church, came home for lunch, and then hit the road to spend the afternoon in Mahone Bay.  It was a lovely fall day, perfect for a stroll through the village.  It was just what our weary bodies and tuckered out brains needed to pick us up and carry us in to the following week. 

Like many moms, I suppose, I find it very hard to relax at home.  Even when I can sit for a breather, I can’t help but feel the pull of all that needs to be done.  There always seems to be supper to start, bums to wipe, calls to make, discipline to dish out, laundry to fold, Skip Bo to play, and. on. it. goes. 

Or I could leave for my breather.

Day 16:

Every once in a while, it’s a good idea to go somewhere that requires absolutely nothing of you, besides deciding where to purchase a snack. 

And for what it’s worth, I purchased my snack at the best market ever. 

 

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.

Day 14: Embrace the Dirt

 

Courtesy of Etsy via Pinterest

I love this, because it’s so true.

Over the years, I have repeatedly commented to the boys about their ‘dirt’ smell.  You know the smell I mean.  The one where you’d swear they were rolling around in the top soil, shoving musky earth into their pockets and under their nails, because… oh yeah, they WERE!

We have a pile of top soil in our yard that my kids, even at 11 and 9, still love to play in.  All summer, I wanted to deep six the dirt pile use the soil for other things and put in a sand box instead.  But the boys and their child-at-heart father all told me what I already knew (and was hoping they’d skim over):  the soil is way better than sand, because it can be shaped, formed and moved to make a highly complex system of roadways and tunnels.  Sand is just too dry (and they didn’t even accept my suggestion of soaking it with a hose). 

So, the soil stays put for another year.   Who am I to put the kibosh on their creativity? 

The result of course, is the constant dirt smell, and a filthy and continuous haze all over my floors.   But whatev.  They are having fun, often spending 1-3 hours at a time working together, planning, building, testing and then problem solving, revising, improvising, and improving.  There are a lot of really good things happening in that soil. 

The noise can keep the dirt. 

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.

Day 13: Accepting the Chaos

It has come to my attention that a couple of people apparently have the impression that I have a pretty perfect life.  That really makes me laugh, though, because anyone who has popped in unexpectedly has witnessed first hand how crazy things are around here.  Our house frequently looks like it’s been ransacked and we experience a lot of child melt downs ’round these parts.  I don’t make any bones about how unorganized things are, how saucy and impossible my children can sometimes be, how exhausted I am at times.   I joke about how calling our home Casa del Wacko.  And with good reason.

Perhaps the ‘perfection’ vibe I’m sending out has to do with the fact that I try to just accept the chaos for what it is.  TRY.  And what it is, is this:

I am a homeschooler, who is very busy.

I am a busy small business owner, who is very busy.

I am a wife and mother, who is very busy.

I am an involved volunteer, who is very busy.

I can’t get to everything.

Parts of my house are an embarrassment, because I simply can’t get to everything.

My kids will watch as much television this week as they are normally permitted in a month.  But we are renovating and I’m juggling 5 or 6 projects on top of everything else, so I’m okay with that.  And… guess what?  I CAN’T GET TO EVERYTHING!  

Intention isn’t about making it perfect, it’s about making choices.  For me, part of this quest is accepting the chaos for what it is – a chosen and temporary blip reflective of my season of life.  

Before I know it, my kids will  be out of the house, it will be dreadfully quiet, and I’ll have all kinds of time to do all the things I postponed in the busy-years.  

For now, however, my unorganized basement and filthy windows are there because I have consciously decided to spend time on other things that are way more important to me.  That’s where I am now, and that is A-okay. 

Day 13: 

This crazy, temporary state I’m in now is not perfect, but it IS perfectly okay. 

Does your season of life have you in a crazy place?  (If you are a mother, I’d say that’s an automatic yes.)  Join me in accepting it for the choice that it is.

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.

Day 12: Interruption

Answering before listening 

is both stupid and rude. 

- Proverbs 18:13  (The Message)

I have three very talkative children.  They are expressive and engaging and a delight to chat with… 

However Caleb, in particular, goes in to agonizing detail with every story he tells, and in the vast majority of cases, what he’s elaborating on is entirely irrelevant to the story he’s telling.  He could start out telling you about one funny line in a movie, and end up telling you about the whole movie!  On top of that, he speaks a bit slowly and so, something that should take about 15 seconds to say ends up taking 4 minutes.   Of course, the stories usually come when I don’t have 4 minutes to spare. 

Too often, I interrupt him to speed the story along.  Not good.  

Day 12: 

Stop interrupting. 

Two little words.  Should be easy, right? 

(Ha!)

Yes, I am going to make a point of not interrupting.  But on top of that, I really must make a point of working with him on his story telling abilities (starting when he’s not telling a story at all).  

Good luck to me. 

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.

Day 11: Saying No

Saying ‘no’ has always been hard for me.

Like, really hard.  

I just want to help where I can, and sometimes it seems that there is just so much to be done.  Surely I could pitch in a little… times ten.  Or fifty. 

Seriously.

But the good news is that as part of my quest to be more intentional, I am also learning to say no a bit more often.  It’s not great yet, but I’m getting there. 

I recently told the director of our education board at church that I was no longer going to stand as a substitute for Sunday School.   It was tough (almost every part of me wanted to say yes) but I’m really working on doing the most important things, and right now, that just isn’t it.  It’s not even that I get called up to teach that often, but it feels good that it’s no longer taking up head space. 

Day 11:

Intentionally saying ‘no’ (instead of automatically responding with ‘yes’) frees me up to be intentional about other things that are more important to me.  I can’t say yes to everything.  (Say it again, Trina…)  I can’t say yes to everything. 

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.

Day 10: Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving

Photo courtesy of Pinterest

Don’t you love that?  Me?  I love it! 

This was Thanksgiving weekend for us Canucks, and what an exceptional weekend it was!  

There’s been all kinds of talk on Facebook about how thankful people are for this and that.  That is a wonderful thing!   But much like Valentine’s Day, it also makes me question why so many wait for a special holiday to proclaim their feelings.  Shouldn’t we be thankful year round?    I’m not saying we shouldn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but in this world rife with entitlement and self-centeredness, it would be nice to witness more of a sentiment of gratitude?   

It feels good to be grateful, and to witness gratitude among others… with or without the turkey.

Day 10:

Here’s to intentionally taking time during each and every ordinary day to recognize the things we are to be grateful for… the obvious and the not-so-obvious.   

 

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  (Yes, I’m running about 6 hours behind, but I’m working on catching up…)     You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.

Day 9: Making Church a Priority

I love my church.  LOVE it.  I love the worship, the pastors (!!), the people, the sharing, the music, the learning, the message.  It’s become a very big part of our life and I can’t imagine what our life here would be like without it as an anchor. 

At the beginning, it was work to make sure we got there each Sunday.  We had a 2-year-old and a 2 month old; it would have been much easier to just stay home.  We didn’t know anyone.  We were a bit shy and apprehensive.   But we marched on because we knew we should.  We knew it would be good for us as a family in our walk.   We didn’t quite know how important it would become, and we certainly wouldn’t have guessed that our weekly attendance and everything else that stems from it, would be such a pivotal part of our lives.  

Over the years (9 to be exact) attending church has become habitual.  We love going.  It’s what we do.  It’s a part of our life. 

BOY are we glad we marched on in those early days. 

Reflection of Day 9: 

Being intentional about important things in my life makes it easier to continue being intentional about important things in my life.  

And that smart fish Dory comes to mind again:  “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.

Day 8: A Hard Deadline

Yes, I am late with Day 8. 

Sure, it fits with my tendencies for procrastination, but it also fits with my desire to be more intentional about what we do as a family.  Fact is, yesterday was an early morning… up and at em to go deep-sea fishing.  

We have lived in Nova Scotia, dubbed “Canada’s Ocean Playground” for nine years now.  For nine years, we’ve talked about going deep-sea fishing with my dad.  Well, this was the year.

Groupon had a crazy deal on a 4-pass (only 4 would be interested in going) so I scooped it up back in May.   I had to get in this week, or I’d miss the boat, literally and figuratively.    So I booked it. 

Day 8:

Setting a hard deadline can be an extremely helpful tool in accomplishing goals.  Booking an activity (especially if you pre-pay for it) increases the likelihood of actually doing it.   

It was a wonderful day, filled with great memories for all of us. 

This post has been linked to the 31 DAYS series.  You can start from the beginning here, and check out the other 31 Dayers here by visiting The Nester.