Checking In and Checking Out

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." -William JamesI thought I would check in last week. Had all kinds of plans about hitting the ground running once I’d turned in my final assignment. But it turns out travel is no less stressful than it’s ever been; getting to finished on that final assignment was every bit as stressful as you would have expected; and trying to see All The Family (and some friends) over the course of four days… Well. You get the picture. I ended up with a nasty flu I tried to ignore for a couple days–and you know how well that works out.

At least I was feeling well enough that I could start working on some of the book review posts I had promised for this round by the end of the week.

And today… I actually started a re-read of what I’d written so far on book three of Red Slaves. It wasn’t too bad. I may get myself into enough of the swing of things to start churning out fiction again by the end of the year.

🙂

This, after I had one of those conversations with family who’d noticed… I’ve lost weight this year that I didn’t need to lose. The exact words: “You look drawn.” Nice way of saying all that stress… Yes, it does take a visible toll. Even if I was choosing my thoughts with care through most of the things we’ve had to deal with. Even though I’d known there would be a crazy amount of pressure with all the changes we signed up for.

I don’t see we had many options, but I also see a few extra white hairs I didn’t have last year.

So I’m grateful the year is winding down with a little leeway for some rest. Even though the puppies are conspiring to mostly only let us sleep for no more than 3-4 hours at a shot, we discovered that we can drop them off after their breakfast so they all spend the day at playtime… and we get some uninterrupted rest. God Bless Affectionate Pet! The end-of-year slowdown and actual days off should give me the mental space that lets me face the new year with new energy. On that note, some dear friends have created a beautiful new song for the season that should get us all focused on how our thoughts contribute to the greater Light in the world around us.

I hope you join me in finding gratitude for the little things that move you forward–and in visiting my ROW80 cohorts who are also dealing with the stresses of the season. While I will continue my weekly check-ins, I’m planning on being mostly checked out from responsibilities and stressors for the next two weeks.

🙂

I wish the same for everyone else who is feeling like the past year has added too many challenges to the balance due side of the ledger.

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One thought on “Checking In and Checking Out

  1. This can be a stressful time of year, with all of the shopping, the cooking/baking, the prepping,the traveling and visiting. I try to focus on the things I like the most about this time of year–finding the perfect gift for a loved one, wrapping presents, watching a good holiday flick, or simply drinking lots of tea and curling up on a chilly winter night.

    I hope you’ve recovered from your flu and find some time to rest amid all the chaos. I went through a similar situation losing weight I didn’t need to lose. I feel so much stronger and healthier now that I’m at a healthier weight.

    Happy holidays and good luck with your writing!

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