When The Boy had his Devastating Injury, I realized something important: I had no emotional reserves left. It’s been a pretty not-great year – specifically a not-great summer on – which means a lot of coping resources have been deployed to survive. Then an accident comes along and knocks everything off-kilter and that’s when you […]
Needs
The Boy’s Request
The Boy – whom I have loved intensely for nearly 15 years – has asked me to do something. So of course I’m going to do it. For the next few days, I’m mentally unplugging. No work-from-homing. No rush-rush-rushing. No just-one-more-thinging. Instead there will be intentionality, quality time and rest. Let’s hope at the end […]
Walking Along the Edge
The Boy claims that I don’t know how to relax – I take on too many projects, can’t sit still and so on. I know he’s right. It’s not like this is a new thing. I’ve been thinking about this personal struggle quite a bit over the past few months. I’ve been feeling the edges […]
An Ode to Morning Coffee
Morning coffee should always always be prepared the night before. Why, you ask? Coffee gets you out of bed in the morning. (Don’t believe me? Chris Rice wrote a song about it.) It’s impossible to make coffee when you need to drink coffee. You will always need to grind beans, waking everyone else in the house up, […]
A Tidy Mind
Earlier this week, I had a very untidy mind. Note – I did not say that I had a filthy mind. I’ve been go-go-go-do-do-do ever since changing jobs at the beginning of June. A crash was inevitable. The classic warning sign of impending doom was my untidy desk at work. Files strewn everywhere on my desktop – there […]
A New List?
The Boy and I had a wonderful meal last night at The French Room in Dallas. I can't believe I didn't take photos. Anyway, it's now 12 hours later and I am still thinking about how wonderful the meal was. That could be related to having to fast for morning blood work. But that's not […]
The Can Conundrum
When I was a child, my parents constantly corrected me when I asked "Can I…?" Their response to that question was "I don't know. Can you?" That was their way of prompting me to ask properly: "May I…?" Irritating, funny (at times) – and effective. Now instead of mentally battling Can vs May, I find […]
On the Agenda
I have two things on the agenda for tomorrow. 1. Go for an 8.5 mile training run. 2. Spend the remainder of the day relaxing with The Boy. The latter is very exciting – well truthfully, nearly anything is more exciting than running at 5 a.m. on a Saturday. Though I'd be lying if I […]
Something for Nothing
To do something, sometimes you have to do nothing. Shut the calendar. Don’t answer the phone. Ignore emails. Spend uninterrupted time at home with those you love. The interesting thing about being intentional about rest is that you are given abundant energy in return. It’s almost as though intentionality serves as a multiplier for the […]
After These Messages, We’ll Be Right Back
We’re stepping away from regular programming for some much-needed family and friend time. Unplugging, recharging and the like. Hopefully fun stories and a much-more-relaxed Hayley household to return in a week or so.