Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The Month of Love

Several blogs are devoting their entries during February to the topic of love. Love in all its forms: romance, family, friends, love for pets, passions or treasures. Love for February, for life, for beauty. Since my mind kept going blank when I searched for a topic to write about, I decided that I could write about love. Then my mind went blank again.

At lunch today, I was reading another of my million books about writing. Naked, Drunk, and Writing, by Adair Lara. She says to just write—sit down, type in a sentence, then type another one, then another one. Soon momentum will take over. She isn't the only one who says this: all writing books and authors give this advice. Just sit down and write. I listen, nod my head, and avoid sitting down and writing.

Instead, I started web surfing, reading some of my favorite blogs, and discovering new ones. I read that this month is NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month. Bloggers are encouraged to post an entry every day during February. In Becca's Byline, I read that people are writing about love during February. Christina at Soul Aperture has written beautiful entries about love that stir my heart. I read great posts that were only a paragraph long. (That isn't likely to happen for me—I'm way too wordy—even when I have nothing to say!) Then I closed my browser, opened a Word document, and started this post.

So—love. That's a big topic.

I tell my family and friends that I love them. My co-workers tease me about ending my personal phone calls by saying, "I love you!" They say, "Gee, we aren't supposed to tell clients THAT!" Or, "Gosh, she never tells ME that!" I don't let their teasing deter me.

As a child, I rarely heard my parents say, "I love you." Mom and Dad just weren't comfortable voicing their love. They didn't go in for hugging or kissing either. I loved being hugged, kissed, and hearing that someone loved me. When I had my children, I told them that I loved them—frequently. I hugged them. I kissed them. As an adult, as I and my parents grew older, I decided to do the same with my parents. I started to tell them that I loved them, to hug and kiss them. At first it was awkward; however, they quickly came to expect and enjoy being more demonstrative. I'm glad for that. They are both gone now, and I am so thankful for all the memories of the hugs, kisses and I love you's that I did get.

So, my first post on love is to remind you to tell people that you love them. What will the second post be? Will there be a second post? I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow and see what happens when I sit down and write that first sentence.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Where does free time go?

What happens to free time on the weekends? It just seems to disappear. During the week, I can squeeze tons of stuff around my workday. I do morning pages, log a few minutes on the elliptical, do laundry, post blog entries (sometimes—I'm not diligent about that!), call friends and long for the weekend when I can devote more time to these activities.

What happens? The weekend comes, I sleep in, I run errands and spend time with hubby, go to church, nap when I can (not during church!)—and before I know it, the weekend is over and I haven't spent any time doing any of my imagined activities.

I heard of a friend of a friend who used to believe that the weekends were totally his time to spend as he wanted. He would stay up until after midnight and then get back up at 4:00 or 5:00 AM, so he could enjoy his free time. He got a lot done and loved every minute of it.

I think about that for a little bit. And I know that I will never be like that—no matter how much I change my thoughts, change my perspective, or try to be more productive. It just ain't gonna happen! I like my sleeping in and napping too much!

I guess I should just enjoy my weekends and free time no matter how it turns out. Go with the flow, since that is my word for the year. If I really want to get in some writing, exercise, or visiting, I can slip them in in small slices, just as I do during my workweek.

I did manage to create a Full Moon Dreamboard collage this weekend. I have been creating these, along with Jamie Ridler, even though I haven't taken pictures, posted and linked them yet. This Full Moon was the Wolf Moon, and Jamie said as we pulled images to ask what we are yearning and longing for.

I love the time I spend collaging. I like looking back at my creations. When I started, I worked in a small notebook, about 5x7. Then I started using a giant sketchbook, maybe 11 x 14, filling one page at a time. Now I fill a two-page spread, and even that is becoming too small!

My husband doesn't understand why cutting, gluing and pasting give me such a thrill. He worries that I'm regressing to a second childhood! LOL I just smile and keep cutting and pasting. I love looking back at what I've created. The pictures satisfy me in some way that I don't understand and can't express.

So, today is Monday, and I'm back at work for the week. I will squeeze in as many creative moments as I can this week. Maybe squeeze in a nap some evening. And the weekend will be here before I know it!

I will have to make time to watch a least some of the Super Bowl this weekend—our Colts are playing. I hope we can make it Win #2! Go Colts!