Tag: Family

Project Mom Jeans

I ripped my jeans. Technically, I did it mostly on purpose. I think what I created is called ‘Jorts?’ They aren’t pretty but they are functional.

My new normal, it ain’t pretty but it is …. functional?!? Umm… nope! Purposeful??! Yes. My new normal is purposeful.

We undertook the adventure of becoming foster parents to infants on purpose. We welcomed a wee little man into our home on purpose.  We love and care for him with purpose.

Things I never thought I would say in my 40s:

“He puked inside my shirt.”

“You are getting your wiener all over my blankets!”

“Why are you licking the cat?”

“What’s that?? … oh…. it’s poo. There is poo in his ear.”

So why do it? Because. James 1:27

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Project Floor time

Our pup loves mud puddles and it just so happens our backyard is a giant mud puddle.

Floor time has become part of my new normal. Between puppy play time, baby play time and diaper changes, I practically live on the floor.

I have learned some lessons from the floor.

  1. I am not as young as I used to be. (The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.)
  2. Dirt is fleeting.
  3. Relationship trumps mess every time.

 

Project Leggo my Eggo

Depression is a jerk and a liar.

But depression is also the reason why I have the quiet confidence in the now…how I choose to spend my time on the good days and being OK in the stillness of the bad ones.

Depression is the reason that I have quiet confidence in the what…what I do with my limited emotional and physical stamina. My depression is like a sieve that allows me to really hone into what is important.

Depression is the reason I have quiet confidence in the who… I am fiercely loved and I love fiercely. My God is faithful.

Is it scandalous for me to say that I am grateful for this struggle?

 

Project Peek A Boo

Just because depression is part of my journey doesn’t mean that I need to be encased in bubble wrap. Although, now that I think about it, bubble wrap pants sounds like an excellent idea…. I may have to pursue that…

I want to tell you a little secret…….. I can still be me, be ok, do stuff, AND have depression. Don’t be afraid to ask the people in your life who also struggle with depression to do stuff and things. It makes us feel love and value.

sheldonmeme

Project ‘Contents Under Pressure’

When I invite you to dinner, I can almost guarantee it will be ‘dinner and a show.’

I made my blender explode recently. Well, not explode per say, but I did make it spew hot green ‘lava’ all over myself, my cupboards, floor and counter top. #winninglife#domesticgoddess#bettycrockeroncrack

What if we each were a bit more mindful to be kind today? You never know when someone is about to blow.

Project Good Grief

The journey through depression is different for everyone. Think of the happiest person you know, the funniest, the most extroverted, the one with all of the friends. Guess what? They might be struggling through a season of depression.

If I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t know that depression is part of my journey because a) I smile a lot b) I laugh a lot c) I joke a lot d) I hang out with friends a lot.

For me, depression=my get up and go got up and went.

Recently, with the passing of our beloved Princess Buttercup Bernard Campbell aka Buttersnuff, Flufferbutt, Babygirl, the Sweetness; I have seen some new symptoms emerge. A few of the manifestations were kind of funny:

  1. I have cleaned like a maniac (except I left the dog bones where Buttercup buried them in the house — in the couch, under the table, in the plant, under the  bathmat and in the basement.)
  2. I cooked like a fiend — not for my family but rather for our other dog, Sir Bozley (toots a lot) Campbell.
  3. I cried like a baby while sometimes laughing like a hyena and eventually more like a wheezing old man (visit http://thebloggess.com/2018/01/07/its-the-little-things-yall/ and don’t skimp on reading the comments.)
  4. I have watched so much America’s Next Top Model that I may now embody Tyra Banks (not so much the supermodel part of her but rather her fly dance moves and unique use of the English Language — booch tooch, smize, ‘work it girl’ and much, much more.)

Depression or no, life happens. How we deal is up to us. Remember, nobody is in this fight alone.

Project ‘Glad Game’

I would like to introduce you to someone I am all too familiar with; Madame Poopoo. Madame Poopoo has several aliases:  Negative Nelly/Nancy/Nathan, Debbie Downer and more.

Madame Poopoo offers criticism over encouragement. She squashes dreams. She squelches creativity.  Madame Poopoo wallows in negativity. She feels it is her duty to give people reality checks. Madame Poopoo dwells in all of us at one time or another. Male or female, young or old, Madame Poopoo reigns supreme.

Let’s all be a Pollyanna instead. What are you grateful for today? Who can you encourage today?

Project Winter 101

For your amusement I thought I would share about how I handle Winter.

  1. I don’t (Winter is hard! I want sunshine and beaches 24/7)
  2. I own appropriate Winter clothing which allows me to go outside and not die
  3. I snort Vitamin D (Well, actually I drink it … except for that time I choked on it and it came out of my nose… what is the opposite of snort?)
  4. I open every curtain and blind in our home every single day (This allows me to see all of the dusting I am not going to do)
  5. I do my makeup and hair in front of a ‘happy light’ which results in some pretty groovy makeup (those things are BRIGHT!)
  6. I watch the frozen poopsicles accumulate in our back yard with no intention of dealing with them until Spring (does this count as ‘coping’?)
  7. I move my body … whether it is from my bed to the couch or from my couch to the gym … I’m going to take the win
  8. I don’t hibernate. Life continues on as usual except just add in horrible, no good, very cold temperatures (I. AM. CANADIAN.)
  9. I still eat the rainbow but often I have to rely on the frozen food section … which is ironic because it is cold out and frozen food makes me cold.  (also, frozen Kale is still Kale)
  10. I complain. A lot. But also, I know Spring is coming. It always does. If I have to white knuckle Winter, then so be it because Spring will come.

Project Heartbeep

Kids say the cutest things.  “I can hear your heartbeep Mama!”

Music is my heartbeep. Music gives me a case of the feels when my demeanor would otherwise flatline. Music sneaks into the crevices of my being and ministers to my very soul. In my darkest days, when depression has had a tight grip on me, music has penetrated the darkness and given me hope.

Find your heartbeep so that your days can be a little brighter too.