I did something today that I haven't done in years - I meditated. I sat under a tree in a park, exercised deep breathing techniques and communed with nature letting the energy of the universe surround me and blend with my energy.
Sounds like hippie talk, right? It may be, but it sure did feel great. I look and feel like a different person. My eyes are brighter, I feel lighter and there is this new sense of hope and excitement burning inside me screaming to get out. It's amazing to me what a change in seasons and a little time with nature can do for one's soul. I needed the day to start this way because a series of stress was about to hit...
The day began well enough - I met my brother for an early breakfast, then came home and had my hair dresser come to my place, she's in between jobs right now. Her baby sitter cancelled at the last minute so she brought her adorable 9-month-old baby. Back story, for several months now I've been teasing my oldest daughter about making me a grand-baby. News flash - I'm not ready! This baby started out cute enough, giggling and playing in her stroller with her toys. But about midway through the color job, she started screaming to the top of her lungs, which frightened my dog and sent her running to my bedroom. I was so jealous because I had nowhere to go to retreat. This baby, small and seemingly harmless, spent the next hour and a half throwing her toys, screaming and kicking, no matter what we tried to do. We held her, we fed her, we played with her, we played music and danced with her, nothing stopped the screaming. It got louder and more nerve wrenching by the minute. I nearly stopped the cut mid stream, my left side didn't really need to match the right side, but "Mom" continued through it all. At the end of the cut, hair still wet and kitchen a wreck, "Mom" was in tears and I was whisking her and baby monster out of the door. Poor Ninja was traumatized as was I.
It wasn't the baby's fault. "Mom" should not have brought the baby or committed to doing my hair if she did not have a sitter. The point here is not that babies are bad, they just require a lot of attention. And patience. And help. This poor single Mom had nobody to turn to when her sitter bailed and she needed the money. I've been there and it sucks. It's the most helpless feeling in the world. It reminded me yet again how important friendships are, true friendships. And networks. There are a host of single Moms out there. What if they formed a group where they took turns helping each other out. Mom's For Hire kind of thing. I know I could have used that in my single-mom days and I'm sure I would have been thrilled to bail out my friends when they needed help knowing I could get the same in return.
Next on the stress list - my insecurities kicked in about mid afternoon, probably in part due to the whole screaming baby monster incident and the flash back to my anxious single-mom days. I did a horrible thing and texted a guy that I'm trying to impress with what can only be described as a needy, desperate, pathetic message. Ugh. Months of hard work to turn this relationship around shot to hell in the blink of an eye. Of course he responded with a typical male reaction "Wow." Lol, what the heck does that even mean? Anyway, we worked it out and it's okay but I felt like such an idiot. So I hit the trails and went for a long hike in the woods. Breathe in, breathe out. Awwwww. Much better.
Then, phase 3 of stressful day kicked in. My daughter came over after work with her puppy to play with Ninja. We took them to the dog park and they had a blast. It went so well that we pushed our luck. We left two dogs alone, one is only 1-year old and not potty trained, btw, in my house while we headed out to a bar for a beer and some food for her. What could go wrong? Let's just say what we saw when we got home was an amazing site. Two trash cans full of garbage spread out all over the entire house, remains of dog poop that had clearly been eaten, ewwwww, books and magazines ripped apart and scattered about the living room. Breathe in, breathe out. Deep cleansing breaths.
Was it the dogs' fault? Of course not. They are dogs. That's what dogs do. It was totally our fault for thinking we could leave them for an hour alone in the house (did I mention all this damage was done in one hour?) The point again is that pets, like babies, require a lot of attention, time, patience.
The world we live in is and will always be stressful. How we handle the stress is what separates people. We can let it take us over or we can overcome it. These are little, simple stresses, not like the big ones of finances, divorces, health issues, that we have to face in our lives. But little by little if you don't tackle them as they come along you can lose yourself to them. Turn inside and become numb. Don't let your insecurities cause you to make bad decisions. I know because I've done this in my past and it has caused me major set backs. Life lesson is learn to handle stress a little at a time and deal with it as it happens. Don't hold it in and let it fester and turn into a screaming monster or a pile of garbage in your soul. Get rid of it. Find a way that works for you. For me, I'm going to continue to just breathe.
To kick off spring I am doing a low carb, low protein diet that is helping take some of the winter weight off. I started this morning with a lovely breakfast on the patio. Here is the recipe for anyone who may wish to give it a try:
Green Kale and Eggs
1 hand full of curly kale, de-stemmed and rinsed
1 small shallot chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
1/4 small red sweet pepper
2 baby portobello mushrooms
Pam cooking spray
Salt and pepper to taste
1 fried egg over easy
Saute shallot and kale in warm pan sprayed with Pam. I covered the pan and let this simmer for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally to keep kale from burning. Add garlic, peppers and mushrooms and saute for another 3 to 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more Pam if you need to.
Remove kale mixture to a serving plate. Fry your egg how you like it, I prefer over easy, and top the kale mixture with the egg. I drizzle sriracha sauce over the egg.
Sounds like hippie talk, right? It may be, but it sure did feel great. I look and feel like a different person. My eyes are brighter, I feel lighter and there is this new sense of hope and excitement burning inside me screaming to get out. It's amazing to me what a change in seasons and a little time with nature can do for one's soul. I needed the day to start this way because a series of stress was about to hit...
 |
| Who, Me? |
It wasn't the baby's fault. "Mom" should not have brought the baby or committed to doing my hair if she did not have a sitter. The point here is not that babies are bad, they just require a lot of attention. And patience. And help. This poor single Mom had nobody to turn to when her sitter bailed and she needed the money. I've been there and it sucks. It's the most helpless feeling in the world. It reminded me yet again how important friendships are, true friendships. And networks. There are a host of single Moms out there. What if they formed a group where they took turns helping each other out. Mom's For Hire kind of thing. I know I could have used that in my single-mom days and I'm sure I would have been thrilled to bail out my friends when they needed help knowing I could get the same in return.
Next on the stress list - my insecurities kicked in about mid afternoon, probably in part due to the whole screaming baby monster incident and the flash back to my anxious single-mom days. I did a horrible thing and texted a guy that I'm trying to impress with what can only be described as a needy, desperate, pathetic message. Ugh. Months of hard work to turn this relationship around shot to hell in the blink of an eye. Of course he responded with a typical male reaction "Wow." Lol, what the heck does that even mean? Anyway, we worked it out and it's okay but I felt like such an idiot. So I hit the trails and went for a long hike in the woods. Breathe in, breathe out. Awwwww. Much better.
Then, phase 3 of stressful day kicked in. My daughter came over after work with her puppy to play with Ninja. We took them to the dog park and they had a blast. It went so well that we pushed our luck. We left two dogs alone, one is only 1-year old and not potty trained, btw, in my house while we headed out to a bar for a beer and some food for her. What could go wrong? Let's just say what we saw when we got home was an amazing site. Two trash cans full of garbage spread out all over the entire house, remains of dog poop that had clearly been eaten, ewwwww, books and magazines ripped apart and scattered about the living room. Breathe in, breathe out. Deep cleansing breaths.
Was it the dogs' fault? Of course not. They are dogs. That's what dogs do. It was totally our fault for thinking we could leave them for an hour alone in the house (did I mention all this damage was done in one hour?) The point again is that pets, like babies, require a lot of attention, time, patience.
The world we live in is and will always be stressful. How we handle the stress is what separates people. We can let it take us over or we can overcome it. These are little, simple stresses, not like the big ones of finances, divorces, health issues, that we have to face in our lives. But little by little if you don't tackle them as they come along you can lose yourself to them. Turn inside and become numb. Don't let your insecurities cause you to make bad decisions. I know because I've done this in my past and it has caused me major set backs. Life lesson is learn to handle stress a little at a time and deal with it as it happens. Don't hold it in and let it fester and turn into a screaming monster or a pile of garbage in your soul. Get rid of it. Find a way that works for you. For me, I'm going to continue to just breathe.
To kick off spring I am doing a low carb, low protein diet that is helping take some of the winter weight off. I started this morning with a lovely breakfast on the patio. Here is the recipe for anyone who may wish to give it a try:
1 hand full of curly kale, de-stemmed and rinsed
1 small shallot chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
1/4 small red sweet pepper
2 baby portobello mushrooms
Pam cooking spray
Salt and pepper to taste
1 fried egg over easy
Saute shallot and kale in warm pan sprayed with Pam. I covered the pan and let this simmer for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally to keep kale from burning. Add garlic, peppers and mushrooms and saute for another 3 to 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more Pam if you need to.
Remove kale mixture to a serving plate. Fry your egg how you like it, I prefer over easy, and top the kale mixture with the egg. I drizzle sriracha sauce over the egg.
No comments:
Post a Comment