A Month of Mondays
My kiddo, Ashlee, came by the library before she went home on Monday and gave me inspiration for this week’s bookworm. I want to talk about the “New Year, new me” concept, resolutions, goals, etc. The only bad part, I didn’t time it right. So, you are reading this on January 6th, almost a week into the new year. Are you still a “new you”? How is that resolution holding up? Are you on the way to meeting your goals?
Ashlee didn’t mention high expectations, she specifically (well, maybe not specifically) said, “How about making a resolution that you can keep? Read more, maybe 10 pages a day. So much more enjoyable than saying you will never eat yummy food again and way more attainable than losing 50 pounds.” I thought, what great timing and so appropriate for the upcoming holiday, then, like I said, I realized I was a week behind. Oh well, a week into the new year and you are probably ready for a dose of positivity or encouragement to take a moment for self-kindness.
I follow Vitus Spehar, the host of Under the Desk News. Two times in the last couple of weeks I have shared their TikTok with family and friends. 1. December feels like a month of Mondays. 2. The week between Christmas and New Year’s is so hard. Yep, amen! December is rough, we are fully into the days of darkness when we leave our jobs and we work through the Holidays; overspending, overeating and interacting with family. (Yes, we love our families, but add the darkness, and “overeverything” and it just might not be all toots and giggles.)
Vitus reminds us to “take it easy…if we don’t return text messages, that’s okay…if you can’t find the strength to shower, that’s okay…if you do the absolute bare minimum at your job, that is okay…there is a lot going on, you don’t always have to be in active mode, you can be in reflective mode and rest mode…” We are not good to ourselves, we push too hard, honestly, it is the “American Way.” Work, work, work, pursue that American Dream. I know you are shaking your head and mumbling, “Not everyone is pushing too hard, working too hard, the American Dream is getting your money for nothing.” Blah, blah, blah, stop it, this is for you, don’t worry about everyone else and what they are doing, let’s concentrate on you.
Do you have a good work/life balance? Probably not, if you live in the U.S.A. (A fact “proven” by at least 99% of House Hunters International participants – Why are you moving? “We work so hard in (insert any town in the US of A), we want a better work/life balance.)
What is wrong with us? We live for the weekend, then spend Sunday night depressed about Monday. We make it through a year and decide that we need to be better in the upcoming year. Why? Why are we so hard on not only ourselves, but others? That last one really is awful, we need to mind our own business and that first one, what the heck?! We don’t always have to be in active mode, we don’t always have to be pushing ourselves. This is our only time here in this place, it is a gift that we often overlook by looking too far forward.
Ashlee and I like to discuss deep topics, and one time while discussing the reality of a heaven, she mentioned, “What if this (our lives on Earth) is a bigger gift than we realize?” Kiddo, you inspire me constantly, not only for bookworm topics, but to live a better life. Let’s take this year to do things that don’t rob us of our happiness or make us feel like we are not living our best life. Maybe read 10 pages a day, or don’t give everything to your job, leaving you with nothing left for those that you love, don’t eliminate all the yummy things in life, etc. How about this as a New Year’s resolution, be kind to yourself.
Upcoming Events: 1/5 Story Time at 10am, 1/8 LEGO Play at 10:30am. The Young Adult Reading Challenge has started (Adults can participate), swing by the library for more information.