Happy birthday to my oldest daughter Michelle. We had fun celebrating her today with a family lunch.
The dogs let me sleep in a bit this morning. That was a good thing as I didn’t fall asleep until after 3:00 this morning. Not sure why I struggle some nights to find sleep. I took them each for a walk after I woke up and then put them outside. Lewis got in his carrier so I took him out to the dog pen too.
I finished hemming Ellexia’s dress this morning. I wanted to take it to her today and have her try it on to see if I needed to put a slit in the bottom of it. I was grateful to get that project completed. I don’t think Mrs. Jones, my high school home economics teacher would have given me an A on the job I did but Ellexia did and that is all that counts. I was struggling to get that project started as I didn’t want to ruin the dress. Grateful it turned out OK and Ellexia is pleased. Sometimes my perfectionist tendencies come back up to bite me in the ass. I’m grateful I was able to rise to the occasion and silence the head chatter and get it done even if it wasn’t perfect.
Jason, Michelle’s family and Nancy and I met at Casa Romas for lunch today to celebrate Michelle’s birthday. Nicole and Geoff are out of town and couldn’t join us. I always enjoy family time and we had a nice lunch courtesy of Nancy. I passed off Ellexia’s dress and a cake for Michelle and her birthday present after lunch and then came home.
I have been going out and changing the position of the water sprinkler every 30 minutes this afternoon. I set the timer on my watch or I would forget to do so. The grass Kathy planted right before she left is finally starting to sprout. I was afraid I had killed it. It has been warm this week and I haven’t gotten any rain to help me keep it wet. Hoping the watering that I am doing today will keep it growing. I will attempt to water everything again tomorrow too. Yard work isn’t my thing – grateful it is Kathy’s!
Kathy’s son got married today. The pictures show a beautiful ceremony and setting for the wedding. I’m grateful Kathy has gotten this time with her family. It is hard to think of a more special day than when the whole family gathers.
No plans for tomorrow other than more watering and house cleaning. I still haven’t finished deep cleaning the whole house but am getting close. Now that the dress is done maybe I can relax and get more cleaning done.
I scheduled my next Covid vaccine and flu shot for September 24. From all I have read the end of September and into October is the best time to get it. I wanted to have a couple days free on my calendar afterwards in case I have a reaction. I decided to get both shots at the same time this year as I have read that provides more benefit. Hoping it doesn’t push me over the cliff. From what I am hearing there is lots of icky stuff going around right now, including lots of Covid. I don’t get out too much so my exposure is rather limited, however, I do believe in the vaccines and will trust it will help limit the damage if I do get Covid for the fourth time.
I am contemplating how to handle myself during this upcoming election season. I don’t think arguing on Facebook with a supporter from the other side is productive for me. I keep getting reminders from various sources that the best thing I can do is to continue to do my inner work and show up in the world shining as brightly as I possibly can. If I want a different world to live in, I have to be a different person. I firmly believe our current political system is broken with major problems on both sides of the isle. It is hard for me to find ways to contribute to the broken system in a meaningful way. I am attempting to spend a few minutes a day envisioning what I would like the world to be and then from that finding little ways that I can help that come into being. Contributing to a food bank, supporting a trans person, feeding a family that is going through a crisis, etc. feels like what I am to be doing right now.
The world is changing at a very rapid pace. It can leave me breathless sometimes as I witness us all clinging to the old ways. Detaching myself from this old pattern of behavior and not playing the old games takes awareness. I still don’t fully understand the new ways of being but feel the inner tug to step out of my comfort zone and allow myself to be guided into new ways of doing things. Our old systems are broken and are falling away. I think the chaos we all feel and see in the world is people clinging desperately to hold on to old ways. I am working hard to find more and more ways to let go and allow myself to grow in new ways, even when it is lonely and uncomfortable.
Grateful for family days, grateful to get to celebrate Michelle today, and grateful Ellexia’s dress is done.