Dear Reader:

I am currently pretending that school doesn't start tomorrow.   Ha.   It does, of course, and I did a few work-related things this past week, but I mostly made a conscious decision to take some time to myself this past week.   I read books.   I practiced piano.  I cleaned.   I napped.   It was lovely.   I have successfully planted an obsession with the Star Wars saga in my kids.   We saw Episodes IV-VI on DVD at home during the past two weeks.   We went to see Episode VII today.   They are fascinated.  They are constantly coming up with hundreds of Star Wars-related questions.  

But, it's time to re-enter the working world.   I am very serious about keeping my promises to myself about taking care of myself this semester.   I have yoga on Tuesday, a planned walk for Thursday and swimming on Friday.    I am going to get to bed by 11pm each night (maybe before!).   Because take a look at this:

Ah, the single parent curse.   Ha.   I think it's mostly because we always subconsciously know that we are the only adult in the house.   Vigilance, you guys.  

Anyway, I have lots of to-do lists for this week.   But, I am not feeling the stress very acutely like I usually do for some reason.   Maybe it's the meditation class that I took last Thursday and have been practicing each day.  Other than the talking and writing at the beginning (which just wasn't for me....it was too new-age spirituality-ish), the class was great.  I loved the mantra:  "I choose love over fear."  Simple.  TO THE POINT.   Good advice.  

I have also been thinking about the ways in which I can find my center outside of my roles and my work and my relationships.  Finding "me" and letting everything that I do radiate from that center rather than from the roles and the jobs.   I have thought about what I am attracted to and find fascinating about other people - it's ALWAYS curiosity.  Intellectual, emotional, psychological curiosity.  Curiosity that often manifests or results in awe and wonder and gratitude.  I mean, think of my line-up of my favorite writers/artists, etc.:  Yo-Yo Ma, Leonard Bernstein, Nadia Boulanger, Elizabeth Gilbert, Brené Brown, Jane Austen, Oliver Sacks, Mary Oliver....  They all have something in common:  CURIOSITY.   In fact, in Elizabeth Gilbert's latest book (which I finished a week ago) entitled "Big Magic:  Creative Living Beyond Fear," there is a lot of great advice (and some not-so-stellar advice, in my opinion).  But, the thing that resonated with me the most was her advice to choose curiosity over passion.   Passion is exhausting and disappointing and fleeting and myopic.  Curiosity is gentle and wide-ranging and long-lived.  There are ever so many things to be curious about, aren't there?

Ah, I ramble.   I should go to bed and keep my resolve to set my head on the pillow before 11pm.  I have decided to join the online nutritionist's program (self-paced) AND Weight Watchers (mostly for the ease of tracking food info.).   Getting curious about my relationship with food.  

Here's me being curious about which book I should read next :):

So, my mantra for this week will be "choose curiosity"  To tell you the truth, that's probably not a good meditation mantra, but it's a good life mantra.  Ha.

Until next time, dear reader, it's back to work for me.

Thanks for reading.