Sanity

Sanity is probably not all it's cracked up to be, but having a grounded approach to life seems worthwhile, and it feels like I might be getting better at finding that ground on those days when the world tilts too far to one side or the other and my feet are swept out from under me.  It doesn't take much to feel out-of-whack, and in particular on those days when being Alone would be challenging enough, but lo! There are wee children to care for as well? Egads. Here are some things that are steadying the boat this week...

Coffee. Mmmmhmmm, hate to say it, but when things are rocky, the act of making and drinking a cup of coffee makes me feel human again, and nearly grown-up.

Library books!! There are a few that I have been renewing for over a month now: The Joy of Pickling (did you know pickling could be so joyful???) and Print Workshop (and if you are at all interested in printing or stamp-making, this might make you drool.)  I also just finished a fantastic read by Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses, a band I was obsessed with in college - it's something of a journal, called Rat Girl, and while I would have read it regardless, it was so well written and interesting and well, I am sad that it's over.

Pickling things. Like beans. And cucumbers. I'm thinking about okra...

Bando. This is a Burmese system of martial arts; what we mostly do is Dandha yoga (which uses a long staff), with some jabs and blocks thrown in. I have only just begun attending this class, which is  for women and girls and is held two blocks away from our house, but already after a month I can really feel when I have missed class.  I had a moment tonight when Dan was running home from one thing and I was making supper and it was really time for me to literally run to class, and I felt torn for an instant between doing the class for myself or finishing dinner and joining the family to eat, and I chose to go, which might be a first for me. It still felt like the right thing when I came home an hour and a half later;  though I missed catching up on the day, I felt cared-for and energized by making sure I didn't miss class.  Nine years it took me to learn this.

Ok, I'm feeling better already. Also on the list might be: visits from a friend who is nuttier about food than I am and gets geeked out about trying the dilly beans I made, which makes making them even more worthwhile;  finding a mixed CD 5 years old with a beautiful rendition of Love Keep Us Together by Martin Sexton; and BLUEBERRIES, fresh, frozen, on the bush, any way and any how. Got'em.

The last time I wrote a list of what was keeping me afloat during my week, I was thinking of an old tradition Mon from Holistic Mama had started, called (I think) Thankful Anyway Thursdays - funny enough, Mon commented on that post, saying that she now calls them Joy Pockets and you can find them or join in here on her new blog...Maybe someday my need for this post and the timing of the pockets will coincide, joyfully...