Habits
by littlesarahbigworld
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Teaching Myself New Tricks
~OR~
Lately, I’ve Been…
Reading like I mean it. Devouring books, tearing through at least one each week, on the train, during lunch, before bed, everywhere. It makes the 12+ hours/week spent commuting pass pleasantly, and feels better than dicking around on my phone (though I still indulge in a fair amount of that).
Weaning myself off of sugar and special drinks. Oh, how I’ve bribed myself with the promise of soy hot chocolate on a Monday morning (a happy, sweet start the week), or a Wednesday morning (hump-day treat)…or a Friday morning (reward for a week almost over). But now I am listening to my wonderful little body, giving it what it really needs and wants to thrive. Be not fooled by the photo above–I’ve been resisting! Eating my veggies, and snacking in the savory. Like this:
Eating kimchi or kakuteki before 10 am. I crave the crunch, and the spice, to combat my sweet tooth.
Doodling, drawing, penning and posting (the old fashioned way). I forgot how sweet it is to be simply creative. To make something with my heart and hands, then send it off and say goodbye. It’s a modest endeavor, but it makes me feel “like a child stringing beads in kindergarten–happy, absorbed, and quietly putting one bead on after another.”
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Really, what I’ve been doing, is just what I please. Of course I still go to work, do what’s expected of me, and keep my commitments. But my To-Do list has become less rigid, my demands on myself less rigid. Instead, I’m doing what feels good and right–what I WANT to do, not what I feel I should–and I feel liberated, creative and content.
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Oh, and one last thing. I’ve been falling more and more in love with this guy:
(The human, I mean, though that caterpillar was endearing enough that we took him home, where he died and mouldered under our ever-inept care).
In our defense, that caterpillar had just barely survived the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in a decade. And I made him a kick ass jar terrarium. He was on is way out no matter what.
Chad: Ask Sarah about all of the potato bugs that she used to keep in her Polly Pocket collections. They had kick ass condos, as well.
Sarah: that letter to Addie was so f-ing cute! I need to write to you just so I can receive them! Your words brought tears to my eyes. Even as I type this. You are amazing! You have been very non-judgemental about this whole situation and I love you for that. I am sure that she has your strength to adjust to a new country. It sounds so daunting to me….but I am old.
Be expecting a letter from me!
Aunt Angie
I’d totally forgotten about the potato bug Polly Pocket apartments.! Were they alive or dead? Mostly I remember burning part of my Polly Pockets in my wee pyromaniac stage, then regretting it every time I played with them, thereafter.
Glad you liked the letter, and hoping Addie did too (?). I don’t know about “non-judgemental,” but trying to be supportive and also insulate her against how much she might feel like a tool. Stay true to yourself, Addison!
I would LOOOOOVE a letter. And I’ll write back with something rad 🙂