Shanamadele’s Coffee Break
Pet Peeve #162Archive for in/gratitude
The new normal
5 a.m. Get up. Find clothes to wear. Wash a few dishes, pick up clutter in public living areas.
5:30 a.m. Shower, dress, etc.
6:10 a.m. Make smoothie, coffee, pack lunch
6:30 a.m. blow hair dry
6:40 a.m. Leave house to pick up van pool
6:50 a.m. Drive van to work.
7:50 a.m. Analyze, argue, read, consider, discuss (10 %). Oh, and meet and write memos (40 %). Also, put out fires (50%).
noon Over lunch, hit the interwebs or head to yoga, if not continuing with 7:50 a.m. pursuits.
1 p.m. See 7:50 a.m. Repeat.
5 p.m. Leave for van
5:10 p.m. Ride home – hit the interwebs or read or fail to escape chatty van rider.
6:15 p.m. Eat dinner with family. Endure tantrums, enjoy giggles, clean up. Possibly go for a short walk.
7:30 p.m. Begin bedtime routine.
9 p.m. End bedtime routine. Good night: climb sleepily out of bed and clean dishes, fold laundry, pick up house, clean until 10 p.m. Most nights: fall asleep and fall woefully behind.
Rinse, repeat. Weekend variations include longer walks with kid during the day, play dates, playground visits and menu planning and grocery shopping. W00t.
gratitude
Today, I am grateful. I am. And it is easy today to feel grateful
Yesterday, the day before, the week before, for a while, I could not find the gratitude.
That’s why there are blessings. That’s why there are religious and meditative practices. Gratidtude must be cultivated. I must cultivate gratitude.
Must?
Only if I want to be happy. And I do want to be happy. I want to be happy.
I’m grateful for the sunshine of the last few days.
I’m grateful for this long commute, which is allowing me to check things out, write, think. (I am also grateful for the other vanpool driver.)
I’m grateful to be headed home — my beautiful home with my loving partner and sweet, healthy Boo Bear.
I’m grateful to have had the luxury of spending my lunch hour practicing yoga.
Again with the gratitue
Today, I’m grateful for
The achy feeling that tells me that I worked hard in my yoga class today.
The tired and satisfied feeling that tells me that I used my brain real good at work today solving a vexing research dilemma. (How do you account for doctors who belong to more than one plan, by geographical region, when each of those plans serves overlapping zip codes. And, oh yeah, zip code is your finest geographical measurement. But I digress….)
The toasty warm, smooth-driving van.
The lack of snow on the roads, the pretty snow on the trees.
habitual gratitude
In these last 60 seconds, I’ve been appreciating,
- the not driving.
- public radio, even ‘tho it’s begging.
- quiet camaraderie.
that’s it, for this exercise. I was also grateful for banter and colleagues and having dodged another bureaucratic hoop to get my project done.
Another grateful minute
I am grateful for:
This job I’m commuting home from.
The home to which I’m returing.
The people at the home to which I’m returning.
The decision I made to buy yoga pants. I did not understand why anyone would want them, until I started taking yoga over lunch hour. They look nice enough for me to wear to work, and they feel great for class.
My yoga break in the middle of the day. I feel good. I can feel the physical effects. I also finally understand the importance of taking time for myself now that I am taking time for myself. I am searching for, but not finding, a better way to say that. I feel stronger in mind, body and spirit after yoga.
