Quieting My Mind

To say I have been struggling lately would be an understatement. I just feel disconnected and spiritually unfulfilled. I have enough spiritual awareness to know that is a dangerous place for a person like me to be. My mind is my greatest muse. Fed she is lovely and tame, but not fed properly, she is like a misguided missile, darting back and forth with no method to her madness, and with no clear place to land, she has the potential to leave serious damage in her aftermath.

I'm not sure what is internally upsetting me so much except to say, I have been under a lot of personal and professional pressure as of late, and in the quest to hold all my shit together, I have realized I am doing a really bad job of being true to who I am and I'm not listening to what my body says I need to be doing. I've been living like a 9-year old kid left home alone: my boundaries are absent, I eat whatever I want, go to bed late, and spend money like it's my job.

I have reached a breaking point several times recently, and that's when it became clear, I need to quiet my mind and to just be still in order for the answers to show themselves to me. So, I have come to the mountains to reflect, to disconnect, to write and to feed my muse. I needed to remove myself from the noise, the chatter and the drama of everyday life. My phone and I needed a separation, and Facebook and I needed a break like two lovers on a 2 week cross country road trip in a Chevy Chevette in the 1980's. (Google search that car if I am showing my age by using that as a reference....)

So far, I have lived without my phone for three days. I have been writing, reading, and have not gotten out of my pajamas, except to get in and out of the hot tub. My mind is a little more clear, and I feel a little less maniacal since there are no imbecilic people on the mountain with me. I hope that I can come off this mountain with a renewed mind, and an clear understanding of what my next move should be....

Write On!

Standing behind me, as an author, are the most supportive folks I could ever ask for.  Tonight, as I struggled with a fiction story I am writing, honestly wanting to give up, my daughter and her friend picked up my rough draft and started reading.  They both assured me it was really good, and they wanted to know how the story ended.  I probably would have sabotaged myself with self doubt for the rest of the night, not believing them, had I not snapped this picture of them reading.  It was evident when I looked at this photo later, they weren't lying about my writing.  You can't lie about being enthralled, and the focus on their faces tell the truth.  Write on...

Crashing news! Literally....

This morning I was going through our local McDonald's drive-thru, running late to work in a usual Monday morning fashion, when I happened to glance to my left and there peering out of the newspaper stand was an article titled: A New Library in Tipp.  It took my brain a millisecond to realize that the picture under the heading was of me!  Naturally, I had to back up and look again, just to make sure my eyes were not playing tricks on me in the early morning hours.  Unfortunately, I did not notice the small black car with it's headlights off behind me.....

Bump!

I get out of my car, assess the very minor damage to both cars, apologize to the woman I bumped into, and start rambling on about how sorry I was while I try to explain what I was doing.

"Oh my gosh!  I am so sorry!  I did not see you there.  I was just looking over at that news stand, backed up for a better look at myself and BAM!  There you were."

She looked at me as if she was already having a bad morning that had just gotten worse, and said:  "Were you trying to see yourself in the reflection of the glass?  Were you trying to fix your hair?"

"No, I wear my hair like this all the time!"  I exclaim.  "See there?," as I point to the news stand.  "That's me!  How cool is it that I'm in the newspaper this morning, and look that that font size!  It is HUGE!"

I can see she is not impressed.  Quietly I give her my insurance information, apologize once more and we part ways.

I knew my next call was going to be to the Reluctant Farmer.  I had to call her for two reasons.  First, I needed to have her drive to McDonald's to buy a copy of the newspaper because I had no cash on me.  (Priorities!)  Second, I needed to explain to her why our car insurance premiums were going to increase.  Sadly, she was not impressed with the latter half of the conversation, therefor she was really not impressed with the first half of the conversation either.

My good mood was not going to be derailed though, even when she later texted me a picture of the article with a message that read:  "Hooray for slow news days!"

I think someone is bitter about my font size.....

Little Free Library Project

Several years ago I read about a program called the Little Free Library.  It's a take a book, leave a book program that offers a way for people to share books in their neighborhood.  As a lover of books, I was immediately intrigued by this concept and really wanted to host my own Little Free Library.  

My uncle and I made plans to make a box for my library project, however things like weather and time got in the way.  Several weeks ago though I bit the bullet and purchased a pre-assembled box off of the Little Free Library website (www.littlefreelibrary.org).

My box arrived last week, and I was so excited to get it in the ground but I knew I needed help with the installation due to the fact it weighs 45 pounds and I did not want it to fall over on anyone!  

Much to my surprise my mother called me yesterday and mentioned during our phone conversation, that my Uncle Craig was in town.  I knew if this box was going to make it out of my living room and into my front yard, this was the day.

Generously Uncle Craig agreed to come help me make my dream a reality, and after a visit to the hardware store he got down to business!  (If you ever get the chance to watch a true craftsman work, it's pretty intense.) He measured everything 14 times, made it all flush and perfect, and I can assure you there will be no teenage thug ripping my library out of the ground!  (Nor, will it fall on any small children.)  His work is top notch!

The finished product is everything I hoped it would be.  I am so excited!  If you are in the neighborhood of 319 S. Fifth St., Tipp City, Ohio, please come by and visit my little library.  It has a bit of something for everyone.  Or better yet, visit their website and start your own Little Free Library today!