June.

Welcome to June!

Time is just flying by these days.  In many ways, I'm fine with that, because this stage of life--with an almost three-year-old and a new baby--is intense.  At the same time, I want to remember everything.

However, with my track record and knowing how tired I am these days, I'm aware that in a year or two I'm not going to remember much from these days.  So I've made myself a little proposition this June, to give up two things and take on two things.

To be less tired and more present, I am going to give up processed sugar.  I'll allow myself a little honey or maple syrup, but none of the baking or treats that I've been relying on to get me through.  I have a hunch they're actually dragging me down because each time I indulge I have an energy crash like you wouldn't believe.

You know what also drags me down?  The time I spend each day online.  I can't say that the time is truly wasted, I do and read and learn lots of useful things.  But it drains me.  So I'm going to cut it back.  To do this I use a free app for Firefox called "Leechblock" and set it to limit my time on Facebook.  I could lock myself out of the whole Internet if I wanted to.  I'll start with limiting Facebook to 30 minutes a day.

In place of sugar and Facebook, I want to put my "me" time into two things that build me up.  I'm giving myself a little challenge to write 500 words per day for the whole month.  There is grace (it is, ahem, already the second day in June...) but this is a habit I have always longed to instill in myself as a writer.  There are so, so many things that I'd love to record for this blog, if only I had the time.  So this month I'm going to make the time.  Short posts.  Deep thoughts.  (Almost) every day.

Today I'm writing in stolen moments while Lucy plays outside in the warm sunshine.  Earlier she jumped on the trampoline in a pirate costume that I pilfered from a post-garage-sale-free-pile yesterday (along with a bunch of other costumes for the dress up box I've been hoping to make for her).  Now she's playing in the water table and a clear rubbermaid tub full of cool water.  We've already had an early morning tea party and done some laundry and planned our week's menu and eaten lunch and tried on several new outfits from the dress up box.  She's not neglected.  And I can steal some time in the shade of the deck with the baby sleeping in the carrier to write.

The other item I'd like to add more of to my life is reading.  I'm inspired by Annie Bogel's (AKA Modern Mrs. Darcy) recent post at The Art of Simple on tips to get in more reading--especially the tips to ditch books you don't love and to read whenever you get a few minutes.  I'm currently reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, then I plan to make use of my signed copy (EEK!) of her next book Home.

So here we go!  A quest to record the beautiful moments and deep thoughts of this crazy stage in life.  I can't wait!  (But first I need to go blow some bubbles with Lucy).