Friday.
It’s so nice to see you again.
Fall.
Fall has officially settled upon the Blue Ridge portion of Virginia.
I’m hoping that I’ll have some moments to get out and capture some photos this weekend.
Sickness.
If you read Monday’s post, where I announced my November Challenge, then you know that Miss Sunshine woke up sick on her birthday. No soccer, no party..just pain and sleep. Saturday meant everything I had was dedicated to trying to keep her hydrated and soothed.
Even after our return from the clinic, there was a period of time where I was debating a trip to the emergency room because the breathing was becoming more labored.
I have no nursing skills, but I was monitoring the color of her nails and lips. I am not new to the health concerns of children. I am well-weathered in this department. I have had my share of experiences with the 17, 16, and 14 year-olds. It was a nasty viral infection and left her with laryngitis for the next few days.
Rain.
Monday, it rained all day. It was bringing in the cold. Miss Sunshine felt well enough to head to school on Tuesday.
Hair Time.
And I went and got my hair done!
I always wait for way too long between appointments. Mainly due to the fact that I’m still not good at my putting myself as a priority.
Are there certain ways that you make yourself a priority?
Massage?
Pedicure?
Soaking in the tub?
Spending hours reading a book?
Something else?
Reading.
When I was looking for a book on meditation, I saw this book, 10% Happier
Synchronicity.
But synchronicity being what it is, I had read something recently about 10% Happier, so I decided to check it out. I thought it was really good. In fact, I had trouble putting it down. Interestingly, while reading 10% Happier, Light Watkins, who is leading the meditation challenge that I am doing through Wanderlust, mentioned a quote by Dan Harris (I think it was on day 16 of the 21-day challenge).
Meditation.
Since I am new to meditation I am learning and still have lots to learn. One type of meditation that Dan Harris mentioned, which I had not heard of, was Metta Meditation. After a particularly hard parenting morning (teenagers…need I say more), I decided to try it. I found one on YouTube that I really liked. I have a hard time with “actual” visualization but found this specific type and that specific day, I was able to see the person in each part, clearly in my mind.
Hemingway.
Not to worry, I did finish and am back to reading Hemingway. I had a hard time with the story in the beginning because he introduced so many characters at the beginning that I was struggling to keep track of who was who. I’ve got it now! Plus it’s a short read.
Middlemarch.
Another book that I heard everyone should read was is Middlemarch by George Eliot
Halloween Reading.
Then, my library has a display of “stranger reads” for Halloween. How could I really walk passed a book titled The Queen of Bedlam? So I checked out that rather large book by Robert McCammon.
I think I may have a problem.
New Boots.
Another problem that I have is that I LOVE shoes.
I think that my favorite shoe style of all may be boots. I don’t wear boots in warm weather. I’m not even sure that I ever wore boots when I lived in Florida. I prefer sandals when the sun is beating down. After the move to Virginia, I started wearing boots during the colder weather and I always keep my eye out to add to my collection. Now it’s fall, glorious fall, and I can pull out my boots.
Autumn.
I think autumn is my favorite season.
Crisp air, bright colors, another page turning.
What is your favorite season?
Music.
YouTube once again did well with recommending a new band to me. I had a hard time choosing which of their songs to share. The band is Hollow Coves and they are out of Brisbane, Australia. In the end, I’ve chosen “The Woods” for many reasons. One of those reasons is because I read that the song is about escapism…about how we often get caught up in distractions and forget to enjoy the important things. So much of my public journey has been about learning to be mindful and not so distracted. Even my blog name was created from a concept of stopping to recognize the beauty around even when everything seems as though it is in chaos.
I hope that you all have had a wonderful week and that you have a beautiful light-filled weekend.
Let your light shine!
Amy
