I'm back, baby!*
Here I am, sitting for approx 15 minutes at a time. Punching through for a half hour if I'm lucky. Rest and repeat. Although significantly reduced since last Tuesday, oh how tired I am of being in pain. I can't thank you all enough for your kind good wishes via comment, email, Facebook wall posts and in person for one or two of you (sorry about the stained, crumpled dressing gown and, oh my god, the frizz). More on this in this week's Grateful post, of course!
So, I'm back at my computer and I'm mostly mobile. Stairs continue to test me, but then, given how the accident happened, perhaps this was always so. I am just very happy to be back at work (yay for me! I'm in love with Village Voices!), regardless of how many hours it takes to get an hours work done
I've had lots and lots of quiet time. Pinterest was by far the best drug I was on the whole time. It saved my sanity as I browsed and pinned, browsed and pinned. All sorts of fabulous 'what ifs' and 'going tos' going around and around in my endone ravelled head. I sparked a few of them off on this blog's Facebook page. Much merriment ensued.
Time to contemplate is good for the soul. Listening quietly around home and pondering life in general led me to a couple of conclusions. After lengthy consultation with my darling LOML, things are going to change around here.
Top three things we are focusing on:
Screen time
Screen time is insidious. We thought we were rather careful with the amount of time our children spent on iPads, iPods, Wii, computers and in front of the television. We were not. It all adds up very, very quickly. From now on, we have a timetable with very set rules around who is doing what in front of a screen.
Being kind
It has worried me at the back of my mind for quite some time how my children treat each other. They are competitive, dobby, rude and inconsiderate. I talked to them about the importance of treating your siblings with the same courtesy as you would a friend. We are going to be working even harder at this.
To Doing
I am a prolific To Do list maker, but often they remain lists with no action plan and no end in sight. From now on, every To Do list will include a To Doing component to make sure we are heading in the right direction. Life can just go on without focus if we let it.
There! Not a bad use of a week stuck staring at the ceiling, I thought. There are a few other revelations, but I thought I'd focus on the top three for now. I'll update you how we are tracking in a month or so.
Are you a To Do or a To Doing?
What are your Top Three things you're focusing on right now?
* Please excuse terrible pun. You know I can't resist!
[Image found here, author unknown, words added by me. Please let me know if the image is yours.]
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32 comments:
Please tell me your strategies for "being Kind". Huge worry here too.
In the fabulous book 'Simplicity Parenting' (Kim John Payne) there is a short checklist about things you say: is it True, is it Kind, is it Necessary? I've been thinking of writing that up on a wall in our house... the 9y.o. has such a habit currently of picking on every little thing the 4y.o. says when mostly, it's entirely unnecessary to correct him. The book has great things to say about screen time and, well, it's pretty much all great and my copy is covered in highlighter! (And it doesn't make you feel too guilty for being imperfect either.)
Oh Bron. I'm so pleased to hear you're feeling a tad better, you poor sausage.
As for your list, good for you! We have been having the same concern about screen time on Planet Baby. We agreed we needed to set limits but haven't done it. Time to move it to the 'to doing' list.
And for your 'to doing' list, make sure every task is SMART (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria) - I find that helps. J x
Hi Bron, So glad you're back.
Hmm top 3 things -
1. Reducing the clutter
2. Scheduling time to get away as a family more often. (we're terribly insular)
3. Working on a List.
My list is a dream list. Due to lack of finances I'm a bit on hold when it comes to actioning some of the things on the list. Some of the things on the list I'm realising I'm going to have to rely on the kindness of others to help me get things done - like painting the house.
Ow! I do hope you are feeling much better soon.
I love receiving your posts in my email - yes I probably should be doing something else right now, but you made me smile.
I particularly LOVE your to-doing list.
As to getting things done (from a chronic list writer and Pinterest fan) small achievable steps and only have three things on your main list at one time. Grab the moment that the opportunity arises - it makes anything achievable.
I had been looking at a beaded bubble blower on Pinterest for months. I was looking in the cupboard for a needle to sew up some jeans, when I came across some old beads I'd saved from a doorhanging. They were big enough to take the wire I had hanging on a hook in the shed.
Jeans went on the table with the needle and thread sticking out - I ran to the shed to get the wire, cut some pieces, twirled one end around and handed the bag of beads to Miss 6 and she got threading. I sewed - within 15 minutes the jeans were up, I bent the top of the blowers over and packed up the left overs all back to the same cupboard. A squirt of detergent and a bit of water - bingo - we were laughing and blowing bubbles for ages. Brilliant.
Teaching kids to be kind - that's achievable too. Catch them being good and when they have done something mean to someone - if they are 4 - they can make a four step apology. 1. What you are sorry for (including how it made the other person fell). 2. Why it happened. 3.What you'll do next time if 2 comes up again. 4. Is there anything I can do to help fix it?
Seriously - this reduces squabbling and fighting SO quickly if you are consistent. It makes them take ownership of their behaviour and simply because they won't like doing it - they won't muck up as much lol!
So glad you are on the meand - what a freat way to use that time!
My 'to doing' top three ...
1. Stop eating my 'to doing lists' and actually complete them.
Ummm ... well, ok, let me just think about that while I digest this list ...
Hello! So glad you are on the mend. I am not a to do-er. I simply make a lot of to-do and then.... er.... often do nothing. Hence, I am learning to curb my OWN screen time. Downside is, I don't get around to nearly as many hang-outs as I used to. Including my own *sob*
Oh yes the kindness is lacking around here. We have been working on that too. Would love to hear your strategies too.
three things I'm concentrating on at the moment are all about me for the moment. Happy Me = Happy Mum/wife/friend/superwoman
1. Sleep. Too many self induced late nights.
2. Exercise. Doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred to up my fitness levels and trying to have an hour three times a week of walking or netball or running.
3. Writing. Me time. mmmmmm
So glad you seem to getting better! Pinterest is a life saver... and a slippery slope into anti-craft hell! I find I spend more time pinning crafty things on there than I do actually crafting!!!!!
Glad to read you're feeling better! I'm a to-do list person currently actioning my to-dos! Xx
Hi Bron, Huge congrats on your new gig at VV - that's awesome! Sorry to hear about the back injury, back pain is not nice at all. I have both To Do lists as well as To Doing lists however a lot of items on the To Doing List I wish were done already! Ongoing battles with bickering and "stop flying from couch to couch" in this household. My top 3 things right now are 1) enjoying 2nd Trimester of this pregnancy after horrible all-day sickness the first. 2) simplifying things around here and 3) staying focussed instead of procrastinating about everything. Mel xx PS I sold the Wii last year. Drastic measures were required. I'm harsh like that. I actually got sick of being asked about it every 5 seconds!!
Great how life sometimes can force you to stand still! It sounds like valuable insights! For all of us! Glad you are better!
Glad you are staring to feel better! We are currently focusing on the same things at home. I have to say, sometimes I'm horrified when I hear what Piper says to Lily when she thinks I'm not around(more the way she says things than what she says) & then I think, 'shit, she sounds like me'. Really gets me thinking about the way I speak & how if affects others xx
So great to hear you're on the improve! Life always throws these things at us when we need to stop. x
Wow, you have a top 3 list, you're doing great as far as I'm concerned! I don't even know where to start at the moment, although we are focussing on picking our battles, not being too hard on the older one and I'll have to get back to you on the third one! Glad you're feeling better, atleast some positives came out of a negative x
Sending lots more kind, healing thoughts your way (and virtual chocolate...I'm sure it helps)
I'm hopeless at "to do" lists...maybe that should be my first to do?
Hey Bron. I'm glad you're starting to feel better. It sounds like the bed rest was a good opportunity to have time to think when usually everyday life keeps you too busy and you're usually too tired too. I'm definitely a list maker, changes all the time but mostly it involves keeping on top of my garden and getting through a bit of sewing and mending. Take care. x
So pleased to hear you're on the mend, take it nice and easy! I like your number 2, siblings can be mean, we are forever on that one.. My top 3 right now are so jumbled up like a whirlpool in my head with all the rest its making me dizzy to think about! So for now, I'm definitely not 'to doing'..x
I just read about your accident, you poor thing! Glad to hear that you are on the mend.
I'm a to do list maker without as much of the getting done. Am very bad at getting done.
Love that you are BACK..and not so much flat on it. Thinking time is good. Talking time is better. doing time (no not that one) seems like a plan. Xx
Oh so glad your not in pain anymore..... The being kind... Need more of that here but not sure if I mix up Ninja Turtle fighting with unkindness when just play. must take note more..
I am a complete to doing.. I have to cross things off each day or I can't sleep and anything that stays on the list more than a few weeks upsets me greatly!
we just had a screen free day, was a great evening and there was more time to be, just with each other.
I think I will follow your list too! Good idea on the sibling thingy... Hope you are back to 100% real soon! X
Didn't know about your accident but hope you are feeling better. Great list. Hope things work out for you.
Great to hear you're back Bron. I'd have to say my top three this month are:
1. Study
2. Clean out the pantry
3. Work on my patience
ummm.... I'm a daily where's a scrap to write that stuff I MUST do on...like bake bread or there won't be any tomorrow and I am a fantastic starter of many good intentioned things.... sadly not such a great finisher.
So sorry to hear you've been feeling rubbish! Hope you're up, completely pain free and dancing again soon.
The list thing is tricky, I can easily be whipped into a list writing frenzy creating completely unnecessary projects etc - and yet can't live without them. Tricky! Good luck with your new attack. : )
Love the list. And while I hate that whole strategic planning thing we do at work all. The. Time. It actually works for home too! Glad you've put all that pain into some gain. Hugs to you gorgeous girl! Xxx
Oh darling we are living parallel lives once again! I've had a lot of thinking time too with a few unplanned days in hospital. I'm back home (still none the wiser!) but yes loads of time to think. I'm naturally a good list do-er, but I'm lucky I married a man who is a a good list maker and follows through and inspires me to get things done. Hope your feeling ok - glad to have you back...even though i wasn't around either! xx
Bron, I'm feeling for you, big time. Wow, that must have been one hell of a stack.
I've had my share of back problems over the years, some hospital time and a year in bed once too. If I could go back and replace my rickety spine with a nice strong model, I would, but still, there are absolutely benefits that come from a spell in bed, sore, weepy, bored and scared.
For a start,like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, there is that fact that it feels SO GOOD when it stops. Gratitude is a wonderful thing to have in your life, and when you've really looked down the barrel of disability, you will profoundly appreciated your mobility once it returns. (And it will Bron, even though it can feel like the pain will never end.)
A good, extended session of pain can, in the end, make you a more compassionate, kind and patient person. It's like a kind of baptism of fire.
I hope that every day, it gets a little bit better Bron.
xxxx
Catching up on some blog reading. So sorry to hear about your fall Bron. Yikes...SCARY :( So glad you're doing ok though! Sending lots of virtual hugs & lurve.
x
I'm a terrible to doer. I need to implement your idea of to doing.
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