Five Uncomplicated Things..

Yesterday I tried an experiment, and it seemed to work, In the midst of the overwhelm I've been feeling lately, I decided to focus on 5 things that I consider to be uncomplicated, (because everything feels complicated when you're overwhelmed), and to focus on and do those 5 things first before anything else.  It kinda worked yesterday and I was pleased because when I'd done those 5 things, I had a sense of achievement and ended up feeling really good about my day and it ended up being productive.

So today I was keen to try it out again..
My first task was to get dressed (yes really!). Seems uncomplicated enough right?...I was doing so well until a minute before I had to leave the flat to go to my singing lesson, I realised that I didn't have any socks. I didn't even have time to sort through the tumble drier to see if I could find any, and I knew my older daughter Daniella didn't have any socks in her drawer either because I borrowed her last pair yesterday. (My ineptitude with laundry is a continuing saga..) So off I went out the door with bare ankles and wearing very purple shiny shoes. I wore these shoes because the only other pair of everyday footwear I have are my black boots but the laces broke and I didn't have long enough ones to replace them, so on each boot I had two sets of laces, one black and one blue, and my 9 year old told me the other day that I look like a tramp. So I decided not to wear them today. The problem with my purple shiny shoes is that they are hideously uncomfortable. I bought them online because I couldn't resist their purple shinyness and when they didn't quite fit I couldn't be bothered to send them back and I deluded myself into thinking that I could break them in. They are so uncomfortable to the extent that after walking to the end of the road I was worried that I had fractured my big toe, but I was running late and so I couldn't go back to change into my tramp boots...which leaves the bare ankles..I ended up rushing into a shop in Euston station to buy socks because I felt embarrassed about my bare ankles and it was raining and I really didn't like the sensation of dirty street water splashing on them. Then I had to put my newly bought socks on, (the most tame ones in there were black with sequins on them) in the cramped and very warm shop whilst juggling two heavy bags and a large umbrella and feeling like I was going to spontaneously combust.

My Purple shiny shoes..

So off I went in my purple shiny shoes and sequinned socks to my 2nd uncomplicated thing, my singing lesson. My singing lesson went well which is great because I cried all the way through the last one. There's something about feeling wobbly and having to breathe deeply and put sound to emotion that meant that I couldn't stop crying which is kinda fine except that I was properly crying, snot faced and everything. But today was better, I laughed lots and sang well which was good. (I think my teacher was relieved!)

My 3rd uncomplicated thing was to come home and have lunch. I had some leftover beef stew with some bread I made last night.

Number 4 and number 5 I am yet to do, because I have just spent the last hour wrangling with bloody Sainsburys about my grocery delivery which didn't come. (Good job I wasn't waiting for the delivery in order to have lunch because that would have ended up being very complicated indeed!)

 Number 4 involved me doing some sorting of my shelves in the bedroom but I've decided that that's very complicated because I will descend onto the slippery slope of perfectionism and I'll start to look at everything else that needs sorting round the flat and how the walls need repainting and we have too much stuff and I don't know where to start and I don't particularly want to get rid of anything because I quite like our stuff even though there isn't enough space for it all.

I had intended to do some sewing as my 5th uncomplicated thing. I have my sewing class tomorrow and I thought it would be a good idea to practise, but time has overtaken me and the kids are in from school and I have choir tonight so I'm going to do the most uncomplicated and beautiful thing of all,..spend time with my children.

xxxx

Life in a bowl of Lentils.

It's a Monday evening, I'm cold and very tired (which is a bit grim because it's only the beginning of the week!)  The flat is a tip, the laundry basket is full as usual, and I have two kids who are home from school and hungry, waiting for dinner. I'd like to be able to say that within all of this I am struck by the wonder of little things and small moments of gratitude etc etc, but actually I'm not. We all have moments like this when every little thing feels overwhelming, and I feel so prickly and cranky that I don't know what could make it better.

But at least I have a pot of lentils on the hob. Not because it's a cold autumnal day outside and I thought that a bowl of lentils would be lovely and warming, but simply because it's the only conceivable thing to cook in my cupboard, because I haven't got round to doing the weekly shop.

So here we are, a bowl of the lentils...

There's that saying from the film Forrest Gump, 'Life is like a box of chocolates...'

My saying today is, "Life is like a bowl of Lentils because sometimes that's all that's left in the cupboard."

Much love to you dear friends. Have a great week! xxx