Good Things

I thought this week deserved a post - lots of things have been changing, and all for the better.

So far, I have successfully gotten up at 6 every morning this week with Caleb to get some things done around the house while he works out for an hour before we have breakfast together, and he leaves for work. It is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Each morning I've battled with my sleepy self about whether or not to fight getting up, but each time without fail, I feel so good about deciding to get out of bed, only minutes after doing so. It's astounding - I really can wake up relatively quickly if I simply put my mind to it. It's just that. Putting my mind to it.

I'll even dare to say that I think I could become a morning person. For the longest time, I've considered myself a night owl (which is true,) and therefore incapable of molding what I thought was my nature into being a so-called morning person. I don't think that's the case though. I believe night owls can become early birds, though it may take time and determination to change the habit. (I'm not sure it works as well the other way around, but that's for another day.) All I'm saying is, I know I can make myself get up and survive through the day to tell the tale. I can even enjoy it.

And now that I'm actually getting up this early (instead of speculating about it with dread), it's the most refreshing, energizing thing I could do to start my day. I can get chores started and some finished in the morning, reward myself with a hearty breakfast with my husband, and then wait for Cillian to wake up as I have some time to do whatever I please. I'm discovering that this series of events making up my morning makes me an exceedingly joyful person. And then I'm more than ready to see Cillian's bouncing smiles once he wakes up and take care of him.

Within the last two weeks, Cillian will sometimes wake up at 8:00 when Caleb leaves, and then we have some breakfast and playtime, and he'll have a good morning nap while I take a shower or nap or get some more things done. I really like this routine. Most mornings he will sleep until 9 or 10 however, in which case he will only have one nap during the day, and our routine takes the Plan B route.

I think the kick for all of this started with a book I got out from the library the past week - it's another one of what I like to call Golden Books. It's my new organizational bible. And I wouldn't be surprised if God planted it there in the library to inspire me to get off my bum and do some real work around the house.

It's called "Secrets to Get Organized in Minutes" by Alex A. Lluch. Just picking up the book itself is motivating... it is a highly organized, easy-to-flip-through little book containing all the useful tips and tricks to organizing your lifestyle, your home, your time, your possessions, and more. And it is presented in such a way that is easy to read and/or refer to.

I was most inspired to work on our master closet, as it was (previously) packed to the brim with disorganized maternity clothes, mostly borrowed, clothes I knew didn't fit me anymore, shoes, and things that generally didn't even belong in the closet to begin with. Now, after a trip to the Container Store* (my new favorite place... see www.containerstore.com) in Cincinnati, a few choice purchases, about 5 hours total of sorting, organizing, purging, and rearranging, and some serious sweat, my side of the closet and my side of the dresser are now so beautiful you might think Martha Stewart herself had come in and spread a little of her magic.

Ok, it's not THAT good... but still, certainly a major improvement, and I couldn't be happier with my highly organized closet space and dresser. Now for Caleb's side of the closet - which, to be honest, really doesn't need all that much work.

I've walked into my closet several times without a reason save to inhale the glorious organizedness of it. It is a beautiful thing to a usually untidy, disorganized person. I intend to maintain its perfect state, not to mention move on to organizing the rest of our home, and work harder to keep my home tidy, neat and clean.

I believe I'm now catching a glimpse of what it means to work joyfully as well as to be joyful in the good of one's work. I'm amazed at the change getting up early and starting the day by working around the house has had in my attitude, my general mood, and my motivation. I think that when I'm in my "funk" kind of states, I tend to stay in them simply because it takes so much energy for me to climb over that hump of slothfulness into the realm of working hard. But once I'm finally there, it is easy. I need to remember how fulfilling this is when I fall into those lapses.

Another good thing is that I, for the first time during a pregnancy, have become interested in drinking coffee regularly. (For anyone wondering - yes, I am allowed to have a cup of coffee's worth of caffeine daily. :)) For some reason, the idea of drinking coffee has never attracted me so much as it suddenly has recently. I'm sure that the caffeine still doesn't affect me, but the knowledge that I'm drinking a cozy substance that normally perks up one's morning certainly helps. Plus, I really do love coffee. I just have never been this interested in having it while pregnant until now. So as a result, I've become pretty good at making delicious coffee!

As a whole, I just feel better and more like what a mother and wife should be. This is a fulfilling lifestyle - organized, motivated, and hard working.


Here's the Quote of the Day:

"Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can." ~ Lowell Thomas


* For anyone who is interested to know, I discovered that a Container Store is soon to open here in Indianapolis come October of this year. This makes me VERY excited. :)

Let Us Fast with Joy

Today is the second day of Great Lent, and already I can tell a difference from how I treated last Lent to this Lent. Not to be prideful or boasting in saying this, but I think I finally have a clearer understanding of what Lent is supposed to be about.

My husband and I read the first day of Fr. Thomas Hopko's "The Lenten Spring" on what the purpose of Lent is and what it means to go through it. What struck me is that he talks over and over about fasting with JOY. Not fasting in sorrow, nor fasting with solemnity. We are to fast with JOY.

So what does this mean? I believe it to mean that Lent is not a time for grieving, but to be absorbed in learning to be strengthened in God as we willingly place ourselves within the grasp of temptation. It is a time to sharpen our swords, to arm ourselves with the skills necessary to fight off temptation in everyday life. It is a time to repent, to look inward and confess our sins, repenting of them and following Christ in all things. It is a time for falling down and getting back up again.

It is also a tithe of ourselves - if you think about it, 40 days is roughly one tenth of the 365 day year. And yes, we should be giving of ourselves at all times throughout every year, but Lent is a time for us to give the best of ourselves that we possibly can to give back to God, in a reminder to ourselves that we are His.

We are fasting with joy so that we may celebrate His resurrection with the feasting joy in our hearts! Fr. Thomas Hopko says that we should never despair - it is numbered among one of the greatest of sins, he says. Lent is not a time to be sorrowful. It is a time to fight the good fight within ourselves, to deny ourselves that which we do not depend upon to live for God. This is why we fast from not only food, but other distractions and temptations as well. Media, especially, in our day in age. Simply anything that diverts our attention from God is something to live without.

I hope you have the chance to attend as many Lenten services as you can... they are my favorite! I'm looking forward to attending the Canon of St. Andrew tonight. It will be beautiful.

May you have a very joyous and blessed Lent! May God bless you as you journey through Lent.

Here's the Quote of the Day:

"Let us begin the lenten time with delight … let us fast from passions as we fast from food, taking pleasure in the good words of the Spirit, that we may be granted to see the holy passion of Christ our God and his holy Pascha, spiritually rejoicing.

Thy grace has arisen upon us, O Lord, the illumination of our souls has shown forth; behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the time of repentance."

~ Lenten Vesper Hymns