Forty-five minutes for me
Something that I think is kind of crucial to good spirits and over-all mental happiness is taking time for yourself — and totally for yourself. This can be done in all kinds of ways — if you happen to have a bit of time to read a book, or you’re out running errands, or…I’m sure there are more ways. Anyway! I’m talking about this because today I had to go to Target to return fans.
I went after Sean came home from work, which happened to be in the afternoon today. On the way there I listened to the news — this used to be something Sean and I did every morning while getting ready for the day, and every night while winding down. Since Jasper has started verbalizing his opinions about what we should and shouldn’t listen to (always should listen to: “Tangled Up in Blue”, “Big George,” and “Baby George.” And that’s it.), our news listening has decreased dramatically. When we have something on the radio in the morning it’s invariably music, because Jasper likes to dance and we like to watch him and sometimes join in.
So, I’m driving alone and listening to the news. I get out, go in the store, and entertain the person behind the counter. She asked if something was wrong with the fans and I said no, we just decided to turn on the A/C. This is another post in and of itself, but suffice to say my battle with the A/C is going to be long and hard. I think it’s bad for our health, bad for the environment, and in general not awesome… but it’s ninety-seven degrees here, you guys. NINETY-SEVEN. And it’s early June. When the inside of our house hit ninety degrees and I didn’t want to do anything but cry on the couch but even that would make me sweat more than I already was, I was like…ok. The A/C wins right now. NINETY-SEVEN IN EARLY JUNE. Moving on.
I returned the fans, bought a few cloth bins because we’re reorganizing Jasper’s stuff (also another post! We just donated a ton of his toys and are down to one unit in our living room that has his stuff in it. It’s amazing and wonderful and I love it and our living room is even better now). Then I went and tried on a lot of clothes I knew I wouldn’t buy but also knew would be flattering on me — a little pick-me-up for the middle of the day. I think stuff like that is fun — if you’re trying on something already knowing you’re not going to be dropping the dollars on it, and trying it on purely to feel good about how it looks, I think it’s awesome. I mean, not if you’re doing this ALL the time because then it probably turns into a vanity thing, or if it is already…then whatever. After that, I paid for my stuff, went and bought coffee, and proceeded to walk the long way back to my car and smiled at every single person I encountered.
I returned to the car and listened to the news again (NPR! NPR!). I learned that last week a study released stated that taking antiretrovial drugs and having a healthy immune system severely lessens the likelihood that a HIV infected man or woman will transmit the disease. Hello, awesome news. This means that we’re even closer to finding a way to prevent, and then cure, HIV and hopefully AIDS. After that there was an interview with one of the actors from Beginners, which I am so excited to see.
Then I came home and was all smiles. The Kaloi boys greeted me with smiles, and Jasper helped us organized his remaining toys in the new bins. My issue of People came in (omg, guilty pleasure), so I read that while Jasper played in his inflatable pool. In short: I was in an awesome mood (and still am) because I took forty-five minutes of errand running and turned it into a mini-adventure for me. Win-win-win-win-win.
I went after Sean came home from work, which happened to be in the afternoon today. On the way there I listened to the news — this used to be something Sean and I did every morning while getting ready for the day, and every night while winding down. Since Jasper has started verbalizing his opinions about what we should and shouldn’t listen to (always should listen to: “Tangled Up in Blue”, “Big George,” and “Baby George.” And that’s it.), our news listening has decreased dramatically. When we have something on the radio in the morning it’s invariably music, because Jasper likes to dance and we like to watch him and sometimes join in.
So, I’m driving alone and listening to the news. I get out, go in the store, and entertain the person behind the counter. She asked if something was wrong with the fans and I said no, we just decided to turn on the A/C. This is another post in and of itself, but suffice to say my battle with the A/C is going to be long and hard. I think it’s bad for our health, bad for the environment, and in general not awesome… but it’s ninety-seven degrees here, you guys. NINETY-SEVEN. And it’s early June. When the inside of our house hit ninety degrees and I didn’t want to do anything but cry on the couch but even that would make me sweat more than I already was, I was like…ok. The A/C wins right now. NINETY-SEVEN IN EARLY JUNE. Moving on.
I returned the fans, bought a few cloth bins because we’re reorganizing Jasper’s stuff (also another post! We just donated a ton of his toys and are down to one unit in our living room that has his stuff in it. It’s amazing and wonderful and I love it and our living room is even better now). Then I went and tried on a lot of clothes I knew I wouldn’t buy but also knew would be flattering on me — a little pick-me-up for the middle of the day. I think stuff like that is fun — if you’re trying on something already knowing you’re not going to be dropping the dollars on it, and trying it on purely to feel good about how it looks, I think it’s awesome. I mean, not if you’re doing this ALL the time because then it probably turns into a vanity thing, or if it is already…then whatever. After that, I paid for my stuff, went and bought coffee, and proceeded to walk the long way back to my car and smiled at every single person I encountered.
I returned to the car and listened to the news again (NPR! NPR!). I learned that last week a study released stated that taking antiretrovial drugs and having a healthy immune system severely lessens the likelihood that a HIV infected man or woman will transmit the disease. Hello, awesome news. This means that we’re even closer to finding a way to prevent, and then cure, HIV and hopefully AIDS. After that there was an interview with one of the actors from Beginners, which I am so excited to see.
Then I came home and was all smiles. The Kaloi boys greeted me with smiles, and Jasper helped us organized his remaining toys in the new bins. My issue of People came in (omg, guilty pleasure), so I read that while Jasper played in his inflatable pool. In short: I was in an awesome mood (and still am) because I took forty-five minutes of errand running and turned it into a mini-adventure for me. Win-win-win-win-win.
