At the beginning of April 2020, I shared a post that said it felt like Groundhog’s Day (the movie). At that point, we were only two weeks into our stay-at-home order. The experience was still completely new. Now I find myself in January 2021 and that same Groundhog’s Day feeling is plaguing me. You’d think after 10+ months of this COVID business, it would feel normal to go nowhere and live such a quiet life. As far as days to live over and over again, these days are good. They consist of homeschooling, chores, baking, reading, family time… All good stuff. But when I go to blog, I feel stuck. Like what am I going to share? Each week is so similar. I apologize if this post feels like déjà vu, I can’t help but process my world through words. I must write.
The biggest excitement for me this week was the arrival of eight barnwood picture frames that I had ordered at the beginning of the month. There were some hiccups with tracking the package, so I was relieved to have the package finally in my possession. Last January, I used my birthday cash to purchase a United States travel map and prints for our dining room wall. Because I didn’t have extra funds for frames, the art has been displayed with pushpins. Super classy. Very much dorm room chic. I was happy to add the next phase of the display by adding frames to the prints. Maybe a year from now, the final phase will be framing the map. Baby steps. I am pleased with how the frames look on the wall. I’m also proud that I hung them myself. Almost all the prints fit well into the new frames, except for one. Our picture of Mt. Rushmore would have been Jeremy and I with a pile of rocks or Jeremy with the presidents. I decided to cut myself out of the photo and use it as a place holder until I can replace the picture. I sent Jeremy a picture of my crop job and he had good laugh. He told me that my forehead makes a great travel companion. I shared the picture on social media and my friends are encouraging me to leave the picture as it is as a conversation piece.
In the same theme as the picture frames, I used the last of my birthday cash this year to purchase some new desktop storage. I’ve been using clear plastic drawers on my desk for years and I decided that I no longer enjoy seeing all the colorful office supplies so clearly. The pieces I ordered feel classy and grown-up. They are also navy which just happens to be a color that makes me extremely happy. For both Christmas and my birthday, I’ve invested in new home organization or décor. We’ve now been in our home almost three years and while my systems have been good, I realize that I have room to make improvements. I’m a type one on the Enneagram which means my default mode is to make things better. Since we now spend a considerable amount of time at home, these improvements are a positive boost in how I feel about our space.
Speaking of the Enneagram, I’ve been taking a deep dive into the topic this last week. I gave myself a refresher course by reading a few books. One book was new to me and it addressed self-care for each type. One of the suggestions for type ones is to create something just for the fun of it. The author encouraged type ones to do something they love even if they aren’t good at it. I feel like baking often is my creative outlet of choice. I am by no means a professional baker. I have quite a few “flops” in my baking adventures, but I love honing my baking skills. The hard part for me is to do it just for fun and not to be disappointed in myself when my projects don’t turn out how I visualized they would in my head. I was frosting cookies today and I kept reminding myself that the goal wasn’t perfection, but fun.
Fiddling with my space, baking goodies, reading, hanging with my family… this is how I spend my days. We never did get the snow that the forecast teased us with (see last post). We did see snowflakes a few times, though they never stuck. The snowflakes graced us with their presence while we were out in the hot tub. It was a blast to watch them fall, catch them on our tongues, and examine their unique shapes as they landed on our heads. Winter isn’t over yet, so maybe we’ll get a good snow eventually. Our region in Washington State was just approved to move to “phase two” in our healthy restart plan. This means we’ll have some flexibility when it comes to seeing people. We will remain cautious and keep our circle small, but I will be thankful to have a play date or dinner with friends be an option again. Small improvements make a big difference!
Amy Scott's Thoughts 