PadawanOfHappiness

I saw a piece from The Next Big Idea Club on Heleo, it was an excerpt from a podcast with Susan Cain.  I was very excited because I thought finally I am going to hear someone say that no the sequester is not a dream for introverts. Well, I have to say that based on the excerpt and then going to listen to the full podcast I was still disappointed.  Ms. Cain says: Whereas if you were an introvert who had worked out the right balance before this happened, but now you’ve had to adjust that balance, it’s still probably going to be difficult for you. And that is as close as she gets to acknowledging that this is difficult for introverts. What no one is talking about, at least that I can find, is I had my balance for the most part and now everyone is in my house ALL THE TIME!  And now I think balance, what the heck is that? In the podcast, Ms. Cain discusses her kids being home but I get the impression that those kids are older and more self sufficient.  I laug...

How many people are going to get a bit of a shock when they see their electric bill or gas bill?  I was pondering that as I see people post on social media about how much more they are spending on food, either because they are eating more or simply because the food supply chain has been interrupted and that will cause pricing spikes. It is so freakin' cold here, it is the end of April and yes it is New England but oh my goodness my heat should not be kicking on as much as it has been and if we were not sequestered it would hardly be a blip.  However, we are sequestered so those times when I would normally turn down the heat because the kids were in school, Mr. Padawan was at his office, and I was working from the library or out meeting potential clients, doesn't happen. Also, we are using our computers more, watching more movies and T.V.  And let's not forget the new huge external monitor that Mr.Padawan has to facilitate his new working environment.  While I ...

I keep trying to celebrate the little things but honestly, time is starting to lose all meaning in terms of what day it is.  Sunday I keep because we still attend Mass via YouTube Live (or Facebook Live), but other than that time blends.  I go grocery shopping when I have to not on a set schedule, my laundry is done essentially on the same schedule but it is not enough to give meaning to the days. I feel like I work all the time and I don't have much time off.  I have seen and read a lot about working from home with kids and quite frankly they sound like they were written by people that don't have elementary age kids or have someone else to take care of them while you work.  I laugh at them because honestly that is not how life works for me or my family and friends that I talk to.  Those suggestions are fabulous in utopia and I think we can all recognize that we do not live in utopia now or ever. I have two very active kids, 7 & 9 and they are respondin...

One thing that Gretchen Rubin has talked about on her IG Live chats is that she has put her clipboard down.  I can relate to that a lot and I am an Obliger.  I have a crazy need to have schedules and know what is happening and when it is happening, it makes me feel centered and safe.  I do happen to schedule my spontaneity as weird as that sounds, but it works for me. I also know that it does not work for Mr.Padawan, in fact, it stresses him out and is overwhelming.  And for the little Padawans, it is a mixed bag.  I decided to put the clipboard down so to speak and let things just run on a loosey-goosey schedule, using our previous schedule as a guide but not stick to it. Well, that ended up backfiring on me in the most unexpected ways.  I kept letting dinner slide a bit later, which is not late at all by most people's standards but late by ours.  Well, the kids noticed they were not getting the same amount of play time after dinner with their D...

It is ok to not to want to transform your life right now. It is ok to take on a project right now. It is ok to putter around and do a little bit here and there right now. It is ok to sleep a bit more. It is ok to sleep a bit less right now. It is ok to be happy, sad, mad, frustrated, angry, annoyed, tired, anxious or any other feeling at any point in the day and then move on to the next emotion like you are riding a roller coaster. The post that prompted the "It is ok" statements above was something I saw on Facebook over the weekend, which I posted below. I had been contemplating that on my walks over the weekend because at the start of this whole sequester deal I was very gung-ho and ready to tackle so many lingering projects.  I even had a huge burst of activity in the office but since then the inertia has hit, Gretchen and Liz were talking about it on today's IG Live so I am not the only one feeling this. For now, I am ok, with just puttering and mak...