My Personal DNA

Benevolant Leader?

ODAT

From the long forgotten folder in my desk drawer at work, tucked in between letters exchanged in the 1970s...

"There are two day in every week about which we should not worry; two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of those days is Yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All teh money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word said... Yesterday Is Gone!

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with is possible burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds...but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

This leaves only one day...Today! Any man can fight the battle of just one day. It is only when you and I have the burdens in those two awful eternities - Yesterday and Tomorrow - that we break down.

It is not the experience of Today that drives men mad... it is the remorses of bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.

Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time."

I was suprised to find this little bit of wisdom in a stack of old papers that came into my perview at work. I'm really grateful for the reminder, especially at work right now, because I'm heading into my busiest six weeks of the year. And sometimes, if I don't focus on what I have to do TODAY, I feel like I might drown.

Good Times, Bad Times

Today was a good day. I worked hard and what I'd been working towards went off very well. So, still, I have this amazing ability to focus on the ONE thing I wish I'd done differently. It really does baffle me. Everything else went perfectly, absolutely as good as could be expected. And that one thing, it was really small. It's time for me to let it go now.

Babe, I'm gonna leave you

Earlier today, a friend and I were talking about who we miss, but really the conversation was about not missing. It's strange. I've been away for so long from back "home" that I don't consciously or frequently miss my friends. It's not that I love them any less, but out of necessity I've had to create my life where I am. To do that I have to attach here, which is hard enough as it is, without constantly comparing them to some of the best friends I'll ever have, but that aren't here. Or rather, that I've left.

You shook me

Orson just cracks me up! He has to be one of the funniest creatures I know. I regularly get a full belly laugh shake going from his antics. He wiggles his butt like he's a sprinter gearing up for the olympics and then goes two feet - walking. This weekend his new thing was getting a running start at the tree trunks, climbing a few feet and then jumping down and non-chalantly walking away as if he's the coolest cat in the world. Then there are the times, like this evening, where he plays inspector and follows you around the yard checking on what your doing, but being sure to stay out of the way of the water stream. Some nights, he'll come in from being outside and tell you all about it - meowing for at least a minutes. He's really becoming a quite nice cat. All that time with the cat psychologist has really paid off.

Dazed and Confused

Mark and I are going to the big island of Hawaii in December. On Monday night, I got in to one of my obsessive planning fits and spent two hours researching lodging options. Which is all fine and dandy, if I could leave it there and go to sleep. But NO! I didn't know what we were going to do or where we were going to stay, and the wheels in my head wouldn't stop until I figured it all out NOW. I realize we're not going there for FOUR months. I have time. Honestly though, I turned the light on twice, after having tried to sleep, to make further notes about possible itineries and accomodations. This behaivior is just a little bit crazy. I'm the first to admit it. Losing sleep over vacation somewhat defeats the purpose.

Communication Breakdown

Every month Mark and I have a Chocolate Chip Cookie meeting. At this meeting we talk about the things that we don't want me bringing up at the dinner table - like "So, How about selling a car? How are the taxes coming along? What about buying a house? Do we have the right insurance? Are we saving enough for retirement? Do you want to have a baby soon?" I make up an agenda a few days before. I bake the cookies. We review our goals (financial and otherwise) and we talk. We pick the priority project to focus on (or not) for the next month, look at our calendar (so I don't plan too much) and eat cookies. It goes a very long way towards preventing communication meltdowns and keeps me from growing the nose of a nag. We have made huge progress on a lot of the "planning our life together" stuff. And, did I mention the cookies? =)



I've been playing a game, initiated by MamaKohl, where I pick the band and iTunes pick the (song) titles for the post. This band is super easy to guess. I could probably even get it if I didn't have iTunes right in front of me!

Harvest

The plums are ripe. Thankfully, they're not all ripe at once. I made chutney out of a gallon of them on Sunday. Technically, I made lazy plum chutney, because I didn't pit them. They're pretty small, about the size of hulled walnut. This picture is of just some that fell over the weekend. We had to compost about three gallons of them because they're bottoms split or they're rotten. Pretty, but rotten!



In other garden news, we've planted about a dozen more plants. The potatoes and strawberries LOVE it here. The tomatoes are doing Ok. The marigolds were a birthday present from my mother-in-law (along with a shovel and rake!) Overall, the plants are doing great. Only two have died.



On the home front, Mark is extremely pleased with his new bookshelves. Besides looking cool, they're able to hold most of what was still in boxes. Of course they're all full now.