Weekdays are family and work. They are quite hectic. I live with my wife and three boys ages 4-9. I get up around 6:30, have a couple of minutes with my wife in the kitchen before the boys come downstairs, we have our various breakfasts and then are in the car going to school work at 7:30. Back from work by 5:30, an hour of playing catch or homework until dinner, then an hour or so of showers, brushing teeth and ipad until they go to bed around 9. And 'me' time I get is from then on - either my my wife and I or I alone read the news, read a book, talk, etc,, for the next hour or so and go to bed bw 10 and 10:30.
I love sports, gardening, fishing, reading, and music. I get to do far less of all of these than I would like, but in place I get to play with my kids all the time. Sometimes that gets to be overwhelming, but then I do a pretty good job of reminding myself that I'll have plenty of time to myself once they're all frown up, this stretch goes by quickly so don't miss it, etc.
So generally the things that "fill me up" are my kids and my family, and music. We also have some family land in Vermont which means a lot to me. If I'm in a place where I'm incredibly anxious (in the minutes preceding having to do something like a speech, for example) I think of that land.
Without these things I'd get first bored and then, ultimately, depressed.
The word or phrase would be hectic and family. I work a lot but my heart is in our kids growing up, our house and family. etc.
I forgot to add that the environment is extremely important to me. We just installed solar panels and are going to really try to be a one-car family, which is alreadt hard and adds to the hecticness of things.
I am addicted to the news and to an extent gossip and sports. I check every morning in this order: Wash Post, NY Times, NY Post, Prov Journal, Boston.com, The Superficial, Barstool sports, and sometimes: politico, huffington post, CNN, fusion.net, buzzfeed.
If I could have another hour to the day I'd take an hour in the morning. I know a couple smart people who go to bed at 8 and get up at 5 and I wonder if they're onto something - the incredible peace of the early morning hours, most likely.
Brands I like: LL Bean, they're just reliable, different, and permanent. Ben and Jerry's because of their (original) at least incredible social commitment. I understand they are now owned by Unilever. Finally, Izzy soft drinks - I just love their packaging - the pastels, the positivity, and simplicity. I also like 365 (Whole Foods because although that store is an incredible ripoff in some cases (you can see literally the same product at Target for < half the price) the 365 stuff is generally simple, reasonably priced and natural, which is a winning combo in my book.
Reagrding what depletes me: work a little, sometimes it just seems a process of enduring slight but unmistakable indignities for $, but in truth that day is the exception not the rule. I have one very tough son, very anxious and high maintenance, he depletes sometimes because in the larger picture I worry about him and in the day to day picture he just takes all the oxygen out of the room.
I love sports, gardening, fishing, reading, and music. I get to do far less of all of these than I would like, but in place I get to play with my kids all the time. Sometimes that gets to be overwhelming, but then I do a pretty good job of reminding myself that I'll have plenty of time to myself once they're all frown up, this stretch goes by quickly so don't miss it, etc.
So generally the things that "fill me up" are my kids and my family, and music. We also have some family land in Vermont which means a lot to me. If I'm in a place where I'm incredibly anxious (in the minutes preceding having to do something like a speech, for example) I think of that land.
Without these things I'd get first bored and then, ultimately, depressed.
The word or phrase would be hectic and family. I work a lot but my heart is in our kids growing up, our house and family. etc.
I forgot to add that the environment is extremely important to me. We just installed solar panels and are going to really try to be a one-car family, which is alreadt hard and adds to the hecticness of things.
I am addicted to the news and to an extent gossip and sports. I check every morning in this order: Wash Post, NY Times, NY Post, Prov Journal, Boston.com, The Superficial, Barstool sports, and sometimes: politico, huffington post, CNN, fusion.net, buzzfeed.
If I could have another hour to the day I'd take an hour in the morning. I know a couple smart people who go to bed at 8 and get up at 5 and I wonder if they're onto something - the incredible peace of the early morning hours, most likely.
Brands I like: LL Bean, they're just reliable, different, and permanent. Ben and Jerry's because of their (original) at least incredible social commitment. I understand they are now owned by Unilever. Finally, Izzy soft drinks - I just love their packaging - the pastels, the positivity, and simplicity. I also like 365 (Whole Foods because although that store is an incredible ripoff in some cases (you can see literally the same product at Target for < half the price) the 365 stuff is generally simple, reasonably priced and natural, which is a winning combo in my book.
Reagrding what depletes me: work a little, sometimes it just seems a process of enduring slight but unmistakable indignities for $, but in truth that day is the exception not the rule. I have one very tough son, very anxious and high maintenance, he depletes sometimes because in the larger picture I worry about him and in the day to day picture he just takes all the oxygen out of the room.
I'm just adding an explanation for the pictures: the bike helmet because my bike means a lot to me, I've had it over 25 years, it's been with me through thick and thin (both the bike and the helmet), it symbolizes simplicity that is important to me, and is a huge part of an environmental (and financial) attempt to be a one-car family and not drive when you can avoid it (and get exercise in the process). The guitar has also been a part of my like since I was 17 or 18, I've never gotten that great but is a values part of my life when I want to decompress or express myself or simplify. Speaking of decompress, the last picture is me at the end of the day. As I think I mentioned I get an hour by myself after everyone else has gone to bed, and that's basically what it looks like: lying on the couch, vegging out and reading the newspapers online.
ReplyDeleteThank you for setting up your blog and sharing your first post! My name is Allison and I’ll be reading and commenting on your blogs throughout this project, adding any follow up questions in the Comments section. A couple of questions for you:
ReplyDeleteTell me a little more about gardening and fishing… when you can find the time, why do you choose to spend your time this way?
What do you do for work? Typically, do you enjoy it—why or why not?
What are some little choices you make throughout the day, or little indulgences you enjoy, that bring a bit of happy to your day?
Can you post an image from Google Images or another source that captures what your life is like right now, and explain why you relate to this image.
How do you feel about this phase of your life? What’s great about it—and what’s not so great about it?
If you have a day where work goes well, and your family and higher energy son are all calm and smooth sailing, how does this affect your day and your mood?
Thanks, and I look forward to reading your next blog!
Hi Allison, gardening and fishing are both peaceful solitary activites, but that's not why I do them" both get me outside, which I love. I love fishing because the electricity of when a fish hits is incredible. It is such a charge. I also esp. like stream fishing because it involves wandering and exploring. Gardening I done even love that much as an activity: planting, weeding, who needs it?, but gorwing your own food seems like the ultimate way of skirting "the system" that doesn't necessarily have your best interests in mind: you have a relative high degree of control over your food, its (virtually) free, you can gorw what you want, it tastes better than its store-bought counterpart, and you appreciate it more having grown it.
ReplyDeleteI'm an Associate Registrar - its middle management in Higher Ed administration at a University. The work doesnt exactly "feed my soul" by any eamsn but it is challenging, varied, and the right level of responsibility and visibility for me. It's a desk job, so I sit around a lot, but it lets me listen to music, news, etc., which I really really love. I can't imagine a job where I couldnt do that.
Little indugences: swimming, a $4(!) mocha at Starbucks, beer when I get home, a snickers bar.
If I have a day where things are smooth sailing at work and at home it improves my mood, but not quite as much as one would think. I think my mood is also effected by a lot of other things: sleep, exercise, the weather, something going on in my head, that has a strong determination on my mood. It's almost the other way around: there are these intate things like sleep, exercise, weather, etc. that are so determinative of my mood that effect my outlook fundamentally that in turn determines whether I view a day as a positive or a negative one. The one exception is my high energy son: I worry about him enough that something good there or bad with him will pretty clearly send my mood one way or the other.
Thank you! And when you have a chance to post an image from Google that captures what your life is like right now, that would be great. Explain why you relate to the image and what it says about how you feel about the current phase of your life... what’s great about it... and what’s not so great about it.
DeleteAppreciate it!
Thanks for adding those "little indulgences"! Why are they important? If you couldn't get in that swimming, starbucks, beer, snickers bar, what would be different?
ReplyDelete