Simplicity Series: Halfway Update!
We’re halfway through the Simplicity Series!
It seems like a good time to stop and check my goals. (Remember the goals?).
Here are the goals for this and the past few weeks:
Home (Clear) Need:
- Decrease stuff in rooms and closets. Donate, repurpose, recycle, sell or rid ourselves of what we are not using, what doesn’t work, what we don’t want or what we don’t need.
- Want: Declutter and reorganize playroom for art, movement, sleep, reading, and music. (Want for partner: Attic.)
- Hope: Artsy craftsy materials gathered, organized and accessible to me and/or to children as needed and desired. (Hope for partner: Garage)
So far, we met some of the “Need” and decreased stuff. Not as fully as I want to get to, but it feels better. I also got to the “Want” of my daughter’s playroom. I love to rearrange things to fit the needed use. We are all constantly growing and changing, and we need the space to live in the now! In fact, not only did I rearrange all the upstairs rooms but the downstairs as well. Finding the flow…
Body (Cleanse)
Need: Alkalinize (greens, Omega-3, Vit D, magnesium, fermented probiotics.
Want: Get outside 15 minutes a day.
Hope: Get in some movement once a week — stretching, yoga, Zumba video from my mom, whatever once a week
The body stuff is vital. (More on the teeth business another day.) It has been more challenging to do the “Need” at times depending on who is around and what is going on, but I still feel much more conscious and at ease with my eating habits. I no longer crave wheat, sugar or chocolate. The “Want” has been easier with the warmer weather, although we’ve been getting out even though this week’s been in the high 40s/low 50s. So far we have explored the garden, the newly acknowledged climbing tree out front, all the spring flowers that have been blooming one after the other (on tulips now), and short and long walks. Often, we simply pop outside and pop back in after a minute or two. Glad to be able to do it!
Head (Create)
Need: Disconnect for one whole day each week. Continue stopping every day to have regular slow down moments of connection and presence.
Want: A ritual of candlelit connection and gratitude at night for my whole family.
Hope: Reflect when I have big feelings on how my Inner Child is showing up in my present through self talk. Ask myself: What would I do if I were coming from a place of love?
On to the real reason for this whole Simplicity Series. Yes, this right here is why I wanted to create (ha) the series in the first place. I was feeling disconnected (from my family) and I wanted to disconnect (from electronics).
So far, we agreed on a day to disconnect. On that day, I did not do so, although since then I have felt more conscious of my computer use. The whole day made it clear to me that I have a good amount of work in this disconnection department. It was hard. We will be taking May as a month to find a family rhythm that works.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all I want to consider when setting our family rhythms.
We realized that we have two seasons to our year — CSA/farmers market on season and off season. May usually starts a lovely long stretch where we get to kiss Whole Foods goodbye. This year we will be without our beloved organic produce coop to order cases and non-food products from. Still, we will be working hard this season to store and keep more than last year. (I am finishing up the last of the blueberries in my smoothies now!)
This takes work and systems that work. Did I say the word work enough? Because on top of it, I want to find a rhythm that allows me to do my work with A Living Family knowing that there are anchors of connection for me with my own family.
The candle lighting ritual at the end of the day seems to have quickly become my daughter wanting to sing Happy Birthday to herself. I think it’s a grand idea to sing, and the flame is lovely. She blows it out immediately, though, where I had the idea for a longer, more lingering time with the firelight.
I will think on some other ritual of connection, but in the meantime, I have been working way hard to truly connect with my daughter. I bumble along, but I want to have time that I know is for my children and time that I know is for me to create.
