MY NEMESIS

It’s a perfect afternoon sitting in my outdoor space. Warm but not too hot. The birds are chirping behind me in the cedars. The traffic whooshing by in the background. Sheba’s asleep on the deck floor. I’m facing a blank screen. It’s the 9th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. What shall I talk about today?

Pardon me but I have to get up, stretch and shake out my legs. It will give me a chance to do my breathing exercise. Maybe movement and more oxygen to the brain will loosen and free up my creativity. This writing challenge is holding me accountable to my words. It’s been a week of an egg with no toast in the morning for breakfast. I decorate it alternately with hemp and chia seeds. I prefer the hemp. It has a pleasant nutty taste. The chia is rather seedy and snappy, getting into the teeth. I haven’t stepped on the scale nor plan to. I’ve been rewarded with less jowls. That’s my measuring stick.

Now I have to work on my other nemesis. It’s no secret that I hate paying bills and paperwork. They send my brain into a frenzy. Seeing that my credit card bills are due today, I had to sit down and deal with them and other crap this morning. The bills are paid, insurances and car plate updated. The paper pile remains on my desk. There’s only so much my brain can handle at one go. But I must follow up tomorrow with sorting and filing. There’s also a couple of things I need to send in the mail.

That very thought unsettled me. I had to get up and make a black decaf and eat a couple of chocolate covered almonds. It stayed at only 2. What will power, eh? I will work hard at avoiding unpleasant tasks. I will approach my bill paying and paperwork like my after-lunch dishes – mindfully. In the end, it will not be dreaded.

TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY

April 3. I’m plodding along like Big Foot, dragging a heavy load. Life feels heavy. I’m trying to do my paper work. It’s an agonizing chore for me. I’ve got the bills paid but I’m not good at all dealing with sorting, discarding, and filing things away. Income tax return is due at the end of the month. My head feels like it’s full of nettles. I want to bang it on the desk. Ugh! But I shall bear the pain and breathe through it. Tomorrow is another day.

How many times have I utter that phrase? Probably more than Scarlett O’hara. I better snap out of my smart remarks, get a grip, sit down and devise a workable system of dealing with my paper stuff. How much time and energy have I wasted letting things pile up again and again? Probably tons.  Each time I have to dig around to find and figure out where, when and what had happened. I have a log book where I keep track of my bill payments each month. It’s working well. I’m seldom late. Perhaps I should keep a log of my other activities such as health appointments, meetings with the banker, etc. At least it would be contained in one place. I would not be hunting for scraps of paper each time.

Then there’s my tendency to toss things on the diningroom table. I never open the mail right away. If I do, I seldom deal with it then. I leave everything till – whenever. I have to cut that out. I have to deal with things right away or it doesn’t get done. I have to train my brain to do it even if it is uncomfortable. Egad! I have had enough now. Tomorrow is another day.

 

 

LET’S TALK ABOUT LOVE AND LIFE

Here it is, 5 pm already. I’m sitting here with my cup of tea and a large serving of rhubarb crisp. I won’t be a slim Jim Jean any time soon. I guess it is not that important to me. I rather stay reasonably calm and sane with food than a starving screaming Barbie Doll. I have been screaming some. But somehow a screaming chubby woman seems more attractive than a screeching skinny Minny. Of course, I’m justifying, trying to make myself feel better.  There’s something to be said for self control and courage. I really admire Lexi Reed of FatGirlFedUp for having lost 300 pounds on her own. She has a very inspiring story.

Things are not as dire as I sound. Today I awoke with no pain in my left hand. I did not have to pry and snap my ring finger straight as I have been the last couple of months. No pain is good. One less thing to rag about. It does not make me an attractive woman at all. Another good thing is the temperature is normal. No extreme heat to fire me up, then wear me down. Life is good as they say. Any yay! No more summer cold or bad cough.

My brain and temperament are cooled to optimum. Going to Mass yesterday gave me peace. Today I am able to put aside everything that is unnecessary and focus on the necessary. My pile of life have been waiting patiently on my desk to be delt with. It’s surprising how much energy it takes to sort, scrutinize, answer, write out the cheques, put them in envelopes and file away the records. Then there are items that needed tending online – downloading and filing into folders, changing my charge card number and notifying the appropriate payees. This part of life is not romantic at all. But at the end of it, I feel a sense of satisfaction. I care enough about myself to tend to the matters. There have been times when I haven’t. I just let things to happen to me. I was lazy.

I’ve turned over a new leaf. I expect I will slip now and again. I won’t promise I won’t ever scream again. I would if I could be guaranteed not to be ever sick or stressed again. I have been sorry too many times already. I want to cut down those numbers. Whoever wrote that “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” must know what he’s talking about. Maybe it only applies in movies, to Ryan O’neal and Ali MacGraw. What do you think about that line? You’re probably too young to know the movie Love Story. It is kind of sappy.