One of the important things I thought about while on vacation was how to become more balanced in my life. For years I have struggled with trying to do it all . . and of course at lightening speed. Sometimes I am quite successful at it and bounce to the next level and other times I completely flop and take months to recover from my failure.
I think my greatest flaw and strength is that I hold myself to a pretty high standard. . . ."Perfection". It can be the most rewarding feeling when everything comes together in perfect harmony but when it doesn't, my self critical little side kick always chimes in to remind me how much I have failed.
But now that I am getting older I am starting to realize that we all are human! We all make
mistakes and the important thing is to learn from them. Its important to take risk and to fail to keep you grounded and to also enjoy the rewards of those successes that do work out.
I find myself asking all the time . . "How to they do it?" . . ."they do so much" . . ."they never look exhausted". . . ."they seem to have it all!" Well, they don't really. There is only so much time and so much energy. Its an image they create . . .just like the perfect lives of all your friends on
facebook. This is not
Pleasantville and why would you want it to be?
What got me to thinking about all this was reading "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert
http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylove.htm It's really a great read that I highly recommend. Very
witty and inspiring. Her journey to find balance really inspired me to live life a little fuller and to try and find some balance in my life. I may fail a few times in my journey to relax and enjoy life more rather than accomplish EVERYTHING yesterday . . but hey failure is OK!
So in this new search for balance. . what did I do on vacation?
1. Baked - I really have missed baking. . it's relaxing, challenging, and YUMMY! This is also one of my favorite things to do with Brooke. My mom baked with me as a kid and even though she is young she loves to watch and is really interested. An amazing bonding moment for us.
2. Running - I got up early in the morning and ran with Barley quite a bit on vacation (23.5 miles) in total while on vacation for that matter. I really love it and its so rewarding and good for you. We have a great rail trail by our house and being outside and the fresh air early in the morning was just heaven :) Some people meditate. . I think my meditation is running . . really clears my mind and relieves all the built up stress I carry.
3. Reading - read two fabulous books over vacation (Eat, Pray, Love and The Help). Can't say enough good things. Just pick them up and read them!
4. Crafting -
finished this cute little number for Brooke. . .fits great and she really likes it. Took her to the Beer, Wine, and Cheese festival in
Middlebury and had a great time. Great wine, great food, great company. . .just a really nice evening. Hope to have more family outings like this in the future for sure.
Brooke in her "backpack" and her Papa. If you have a little one, get a backpack and get them outside. . she loves it and is constantly asking to go in the backpack. . its one of her favorite words:)
Brooke and I reading. . .my cute little bookworm.
I did knit a little but not enough to finish a project (but that is ok!). I mostly sewed because it was hot and what I felt like doing. I actually finished pillow cases and the Amy Butler Cabo Halter
http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/patterns_display.php?id=23 . . I just have not had time for photos yet. (but that is ok!) I will get there. . .at my own speed:)
What didn't I do on vacation? Work, Study, Stress, Worry . . .oh it was great! And yes, I did have to come back to reality but a better balanced reality with hopefully better focus, understanding, and boundaries.
