I'm keeping positively Tuesday in 2022 as I need a kick from time to time to recognize when good things are present and not dwell on negativity. It's also going to be affirmation that I can seek help and support when truly needed, and that's such a huge positive in what feels like an increasingly self centered world. In 2022, my Tuesday posts will focus on mental wellness and appreciation.
- Shuffled in the new year with no one in my immediate family sick. My sister, not with Covid, is feeling better after getting socked with something over the weekend.
- Well wishes needed and appreciated for my niece in law-the same one hospitalized last spring with Covid and put on the ventilator. She had a horrible fall and broke several bones in her leg and will need surgery. I'm thankful though that she is getting in with one of the top surgeons and at one of the top hospitals in the metro area.
- I appreciate that the cost to mail my son's Christmas package was $10 less than I was expecting. I was a master packer-like a game of Tetris getting it all to fit in an old Fab, Fit, Fun box, so was sturdy, and a semi standard mail size.
- The internet can be a good thing. I like to Google recipes for food I have in hand. This week found one to use up olives, peppers, and artichokes and a homemade sausage gravy.
- You all know I hate waste and I'm happy to share I salvaged most of the surplus Christmas food or found a place in my freezer for future meals. I carry guilt for having so much when others have little. At least not wasting it helps me manage my inner shaming I sometimes am prone to do.
- I went into Thanksgiving/ birthday week, the official launch of my holiday season with the goal to not gain any weight. I'm so happy that I was successful. Yes, I'm very overweight, but I didn't compound the problem and have more realistic goals for the year. First is to lose the 11 pounds I gained during the time I started working from home until the new office opens likely April 1. After that push, I'll just try for slow, steady, and sustainable. Saturday will be my physical health day for blogging since it follows my first knee appointment for the year, but mentally acknowledging this physical goal is important to me.
- I got a nice note from a team member who said they were out and about walking, freezing cold, and used the gift card I gave her for coffee on the go. It was such a little thing, but don't we all like to know gifts are appreciated?
I'm a bit stressed on behalf of my youngest. The weather is being difficult and conditions where we live are different than where our daughter is driving. She leaves today-drives likely into a mess. If she leaves tomorrow, she'll still be in a mess down here, but the roads should be cleared farther north. She already is preparing for a stressful semester and I'm trying ot reassure her she can ease off work and get more sleep and perhaps even some down time. Every college student faces it, but no one likes to see their kid stressed. Send her good vibes for a better balanced spring semester than fall.
As I wrote about yesterday, it doesn't take much to be kind to others and support them. I have pity parties as much as the next person on days I think my life is lacking in comparison to others, but that doesn't give me license to hoard what I do have in opportunities, knowledge, and care. In fact, I find that it subdues the poor me's. What are you most appreciative this week? Have you received any gifts or acknowledgments that made you smile? Any simple pleasures to bask in?
I'm most appreciative that I live in a warm home here in the freezing north. It's been ridiculously cold here and I know there are people who are still living in unheated homes here in the city. How landlords are allowed, in this day and age, to fail to maintain a heat source is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to your daughter and your niece-in-law.
Seeing the stranded motarists in Virginia is scary. Not good to see when I'm sending my daughter back to school today.
DeleteI love the positive vibes I’m getting for your blog. It’s so nice to read positive things. How nice of your coworker to let you know they picked up a coffee on their walk with the gift card you gave them. That was thoughtful of her to let you know. Glad the package you sent to your son cost less than expected.
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of being accused of only focusing on the good, I am going to reach for the positive things in life. We all know the crap will surface so why dwell.
DeleteLoved that your coworker let you know about grabbing coffee with your gift. I similarly sent feedback to United about an amazing flight attendant on my return flight back. She was so lovely, and you have to imagine that COVID + holiday travel + cancellations means most feedback/customers are super grouchy. Yet, there she was, being awesome & positive at her job. I got a note back from United that she's being recognized by her team because of my feedback, which made me feel good. It really is the small stuff sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI've been listing things on Buy Nothing, as part of my ongoing purging/staying on top of stuff. It always makes me feel good to match people with items they need/want.
Good luck to your daughter. I have definitely been there. I worked three jobs in college, and took a full load, and really wish I had been more balanced. But, there wasn't much of an option for that. I gained weight, didn't get enough sleep, and had minimal social time to experience college.
Congrats on avoiding weight gain this holiday season. That's a huge win!
We had a great experience out for lunch last week. People good at their jobs makes such a difference in the enjoyment or in the case of flying, the angst of travel. I know my daughter will get through it. She flip flops between being overwhelmed and being bored!
DeleteI am very grateful that my husband is progressing well on his recovery. Seeing him returning to his old self is really quite a pleasure. I am indebted to his care team--still has OT and PT coming out. They have kept him motivated, and we are now at the point where even he can see the progress he is making.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I remember those stressful upperclassman semesters. Frankly, I felt working once I earned my degree was easier than earning my undergraduate degree.
My superintendent came by the week between Christmas and New Year's to tell me I wouldn't see any activity on our new build that week. (I hadn't expected it.) He showed up yesterday to pick up the draw check, and give me a status report. Electrician will be delayed because at another place the electrician had wired, someone came in and stripped the panels/stole parts, so he had to go back and redo it. Can you imagine? Why does is this a pleasure? I am glad we built this place, and it's warm, clean and comfortable. It's not like we're suffering while we wait. Meanwhile, the tenants in our old place are keeping the outside ship shape, which will only help us when we sell.
January is a no-spend...so far so good. Kids are even on board. I like seeing that!
Thank you for this post. It was uplifting.
Its so good to hear your husband is improving each day. I'm sure you are still reeling a bit from the experience and the ongoing support you need to provide. I'm going for a low spend January.
DeleteI bet your daughter probably isn't too worried about driving in bad weather (the joys of youthful confidence), but we are destined to worry even if they aren't. Hope everything goes well for her trip!
ReplyDeleteOh no-she's adamant it won't be so bad. DH is already expecting the worst and keeps shouting weather reports to me. I am calmly pulling up the winter driving map that gets updated every 15 minutes. She won't be on the road for another 2-3 hours, so by then the plows will be out and rush hour done.
DeleteSending positive vibes to youe neice, hope she heals quickly.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to get that message from your work colleague, how lovely that she appreciated your thoughtful gift. xxx
My niece in law has been through so much in the last several years-my nephew hasn't helped this at all-another story. I appreciate the positive thoughts her way. I really was happy to get the message that the coffee card was used and enoyed.
DeleteWe just received some gifts in the mail yesterday (late Christmas gifts) from a friend. She has been going through a tough time for awhile and her gifts were thoughtful and much appreciated by both dh and myself. Both of us messaged her separately.
ReplyDeleteI figure my son will get to enjoy hs gifts when they come and extend his holiday a bit-even though he didn't really get much of one. Your friend was very sweet.
DeleteWhat a lovely message to receive.It was obviously a much appreciated gift, and the sort of thing I would have been happy to have been given.
ReplyDeleteYour poor niece is really going through the wringer. I hope the treatment goes well.
I managed a decent workout at the gym yesterday, and have had a really good clean up at home today. Unfortunately that has been tempered by an upset daughter after her vindictive, spiteful future mother in law stuck the metaphorical boot into her own son again causing stress and worry. I swear if I encounter the woman ever again I won't be responsible for my actions!
There's so much more my niece in law has been through in the last five years, so the Covid crisis and now this leg is just cruel. It's tough when our family is not treated right. Perhaps they can go completely no contact with her.
DeleteIt is amazing how, when you look for them, how many small precious moments can add up to a lovely vibe of positivity. 💗
ReplyDeleteI need to channel the positivity today as well as my daughter takes the road. I'm fully enjoying my coffee right now, so that's my first joy.
DeleteIt is nice to know that what you give someone is so appreciated. And worry about your daughter is something that I would do big time. I love your weekly posts as they remind me that life is really grand most of the time.
ReplyDeleteDH is frantically looking up weather and shouting the wind speed. I'm trying to just pull up the winter driving map, and she has a couple hours before she will leave, so hoping things improve.
DeleteYou are wise to focus/appreciate the 'good' in all that happens.
ReplyDeleteBy doing so it wires the brain to think/see positively. Really.
And by focusing only on the negative, the brain becomes wired to think/see only the dark.
I feel like you have confirmed my instinct. I know if I go down a dark scary hole, it is hard to bring myself out. Janaury and February are long and still dark, so this might be my mental escape.
DeleteI hope your daughter's drive is uneventful! Mothers just have to worry.
ReplyDeleteI will worry, and prepare her for the worst.
DeleteI am thankful we caught that the thermostat in the pump house was not working BEFORE we got hit with negative feel like temps.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful my EEG went faster than they warned me it would be. They said 2 1/2 hrs. and it was 1 1/2 hrs.
I am thankful we have a full pantry that when our English neighbor couldn't find something she was comfortable enough to ask if we could find it and I had extra.
I am thankful for our Amish neighbor that asked if we were in a need of meat before they started butchering for their family (parents and siblings)
I am thankful for Hubby's friendship with a prepper (guy's job is to deal with emergencies for communities. He has been supportive of us in preparing this home for a lack of power including fuel as gas stations shut down also when there is no power. He thought it was funny I out canned him last year. He is now searching for some unusual seeds for me that is not common around here but good for storage crops
I am thankful for this blog and all the bloggers and commentors out there that share the wisdom, the struggles and the good times.
I love your community appreciation! ITs so nice to have neighbors and friends that we can rely on when times call for it. I can relate to the heater. We've had a couple furnace issues, and now we have -13 degree day. So happy to not be dealing with it in a polar vortex.
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