Unit 5 - bleatedly

It's funny how life gets in the way of the things you want to do.  While we're being distracted we can find something new.  The past few weeks have been a jumble of emotion, stress, exhaustion and giddiness.  A couple of months ago, my husband and I noticed a leak in our ceiling that progressively got bigger.  Several visits from plumbers, insurance adjusters and leak detectors later the problem was discovered.  The waste and overflow valve under our bathtub was cracked and leaking onto the sub-floor and the ceiling below.  About halfway into this problem, my husband ran over something on the freeway and blew a tire (with our children in the car).  There was also some damage done to the undercarriage and cost us a bundle of money to repair.  Then we found out that his grandmother was in the hospital and not expected to live for very long.  She was 94 and had lived a long full life.  She died a week later.  My husband, my father in law and my brother in law were devastated. 

I got stuck doing double duty to cover the things that they couldn't do through grief.  I had to explain to my kids what happened.  I had to put on a calm demeanor, be gentle and loving and kinder then normal.  All the while stressing over the bills, how we were going to pay for the damage to the ceiling, the bath tub, the sub floor, the car maintenance, etc.  On top of running a business, planning events for a city association we're a member of, planning events at our shop, booking musicians, carting my kids to school and extracurricular activities AND attempting to complete my school work.  Something had to give, something had to be neglected and sadly this time it was my school work.  I am almost two weeks behind and trying desperately to catch up not that things are starting to settle down. 

On the upside, the mechanic cut us a deal on the repairs, Bathfitters is giving us a new bath tub AND replacing the waste & overflow valve AT NO EXTRA CHARGE, there is an extra paycheck before the mortgage is due this month and our shop had the best weekend we've had EVER last weekend.  So while I'm behind in school and we're still pretty broke.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel afterall. 

I haven't done the meditation for this week because I haven't had the time but I figured a blog post to explain why not might suffice, at least for a few points.

Unit 3 - Wellness

This week's blog assignment was to  to self reflect on our overall sense of wellness in three areas of our lives: physical, spiritual & psychological.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my physical wellbeing at 7.  I'm healthy, I've managed not to get any of the colds my children & husband have had recently.  I'm strong and able to manage my job which involves a lot of walking, standing and lifting.  I have about 15 to 20 pounds I'd like to loose at some point but other then that I feel well physically.  Spiritually, I feel really grounded and comfortable in my place in life so I would give that a rating of 9.  Psychologically, I'm at a 5 but that is probably a temporary state as I am dealing with the recent death of a loved one.  My husbands grandmother passed away earlier this week.  I don't feel her loss as keenly as my husband does, I do have to carry the extra weight of supporting my husband and his family through this difficult time.  That puts a lot of strain on my mind and emotions but I think I'll live. 

The goal I would set for myself in the physical side is to get back to my program of fasting and be more strict with the hours.  No calories after 9pm until after 1 pm the next day.  I did really well with this program for several months but just recently lapsed into my old habits of eating the past two weeks.  I can feel the physical changes (lack of energy, bloating) so I know that the fasting is a much better path to walk. 

In the spiritual side, I think a healthy goal would be to practice being present in the moment when I spend time with my children.  I find myself so distracted by text messages, Facebook, homework, housework and phone calls, that a day has past and I feel like I haven't done anything with them.  I've been around them all day but the time hasn't been quality. 

For my psychological goal, I think that I will try to bring joy to those around me.  Lifting the mood of sadness through music and laughter.  If my husband smiles, I smile.  When I smile, my kids smile and all is right with the world. 

This time I had a little more success with the relaxation exercise.  My husband was home so I was able to concentrate and pay attention this time.  I felt more grounded and quieter in my soul after finishing the exercise then I did before I started.  So I think in that aspect I found it successful and beneficial. 

Back to the grind!  Best of luck everyone!