Gratitude # 52

I had come up with some fabulous gratitude post idea, but it currently eludes me. So, I’m going to go for the tried-and-true list of five.

1. I am grateful to have produced such a strong baby boy. Not everyone is so blessed, and I’m so happy to enjoy such him.
2. I am grateful that it’s Friday, and I will get to try catching up on my sleep.
3. I am grateful that the newsletter proof is on my desk and awaiting approval and pickup for Monday. I’d say this is as good as printed by the end of next week.
4. I am grateful that next Friday should be a serious pay day thanks to the IRS. We will be paying off credit cards and my Perkins loan (a student loan).
5. I am grateful that yesterday’s bad weather didn’t negatively impact my family.

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Validation

Today my heart swelled with pride. You see, every work day I go home for lunch. It’s a simple thing, really, mostly meant for me to breastfeed the baby. I’ve had this arrangement in place since I started, and my daughter was still breastfeeding then. It was fantastic because my boss’ wife was breastfeeding their son who’s a month younger than my daughter — basically, he was not only following policies, he was truly understanding of the breastfeeding relationship. Anyhow, the baby finished eating but didn’t empty his plate, so-to-speak. So I set up his blanket on the floor next to the couch where my husband was sitting and placed my son on his belly for some tummy time. I sat down and got started putting away his “leftovers” in a “doggie bag,” if you catch my drift. We were watching little Junior start wiggling around and trying to push himself up, and he watched him creep inch by inch nearly two feet over to the couch. He went wiggle-worming over to see his daddy! Please note that he just turned 11 weeks on Tuesday. What a difference it makes when you haven’t had any drugs during labor and delivery! My two oldest children didn’t develop this fast, and they both were c-section babies exposed to whatever was in the spinal block. So between the all natural birth and whatever’s in my milk, this busy little bumble bee’s developing at an astonishing rate. Someone slap a warning label on me because I must be full of growth hormones!

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[Mindfulist] January 22nd

[January 22nd] “We Exist Temporarily…”: “We exist temporarily through what we take, but we live forever through what we give.” – Vernon Jordan

Wow, this is quote that I think Brenda Della Casa will absolutely love. I think this quote conveys an important message that what we are taking is merely enjoyed by our own selves for the moments we enjoy that item or intangible concept. However, what we are giving to others impacts them by the show of our characters. For example, I take a sandwich from the lunch meetings as part of that benefit I enjoy. I eat the sandwich, my hunger is satiated, and that’s that. I donate money to a charitable organization, which in turn takes care of those less fortunate than me. The people I have impacted are living a better life through assistance I have given them. Instead of only benefiting myself, I have benefited others. Of course, my examples probably don’t portray the true meaning behind the quote as well as I would like for them to, but I’ve given it my best effort.

On the subject of giving, I had $2.78 built up in my PayPal account from YouData ads over the past few months. I decided to take $1.00 and donate it to Haitian earthquake relief. I plan to use another dollar to become a member/ supporter of the Florida Friends of Midwives. The other $.78? I’ll let it accumulate again.

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[Mindfulist] January 21st

[January 21st] Tabs: How many windows/tabs do you have open right now? How does this impact your attention?

I have 14 windows opened, 8 of which are grouped together to give the appearance of only 7 windows sitting in my task bar. In my two FireFox windows, I have 10 and 5 tabs opened respectively. Now here’s the method to my madness:

I have two windows opened for Windows Live Messenger. This is how I sporadically communicate with my husband while I’m at work, and every so often he treats me to a webcam viewing of the baby. I have a window for the storage drive open for easy access to hundreds of files. My 8 Excel files are for easy access to key files — as in keys that we give out for the rooms — and seminar attendance sheets dating back to two semesters ago. We have people complaining about “I” or “U” grades from time to time, so it’s helpful. Then I have my Outlook mailbox, which should be very self-explanatory. One FireFox window has 5 high-use tabs: the resource calendar, the UF MSE website, the resource scheduler, the current seminar line up, and FedEx. That window stays on my second monitor and usually doesn’t have anything else opened there. (I will sometimes put the babycam or other files on the second scene if I need to.) In my “goof-off” window, I have both Weather.com and Accuweather.com, my.ufl.edu (this is basically where we go to clock in and out, view paychecks, etc.), and whatever else I may happen to be looking at. This is my method.

How do all these windows and tabs affect my attention? Well, my attention is very random, in all honesty. My mind runs at 100mph most of the day, so this method works for me. Got a question for google? Pull up the FireFox “goof-off” window. Need to ship a package scroll over to the second monitor and prepare the shipment. Have a new student at your desk looking for keys? Pull up the key list. Need to find a file for the chairman? Open the storage driver folder and hunt that puppy down. I’m sure I’ve made my point. Throughout my day, I’m continually interrupted for a variety of reasons, so I can’t really devote my attention too much to one particular task. I may get a little cranky if I’ve got creativity flowing on a project, but I usually get over it quickly — because I usually get to go back to whatever I was doing within a few minutes. I don’t get cranky when it’s something goofy, though, because I know my insatiable desire to learn more about, say, psychological issues or the cute little opossum that traverses our breezeway isn’t why I’m sitting here at my desk.

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Gratitude # 51

I’m always relieved when I read about people who’ve been through situations I’ve been through and come out successfully. For one thing, it makes me less likely to feel lonely. For another, it helps me feel hopeful that I can succeed just like those who’ve been there before me. So when I read Gwen Bell’s post “The Seeds of Anger,” my eyes teared up. I will not be detailing what parts of that post resonated with me, but I will say it felt so good to see that someone elsehas moved beyond something like and lives life with such a Zen-like quality. Seriously, everything I’ve seen and read from her so far just has such a serene feeling to it. She’s not the first person that I’ve stumbled upon who’s overcome past misfortunes, but she’s the most recent. I am so incredibly grateful that the internet has essentially given me this wonderful connection to people I would have otherwise never met.

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Gratitude # 50

Today I’m so grateful for the sandwich that was leftover from yesterday’s lunch (another delicious Panera creation). I was so hungry before leaving for lunch — just because I had something to eat for lunch doesn’t mean the baby isn’t still going to need milk — and was relieved to devour that sandwich before even making it to the bus stop. I’m also grateful to see that I can soon share my latest, greatest issue of UF MSE’s newsletter with everyone. I toned it down a lot with the special effects and different colors in favor of a simple gradient feathering of the school colors (orange and blue, of course). I’m also proud of the fancy little snowflake design Brian added to the front cover. How convenient that I’ve reached my 50th gratitude post at the same time that I finished the edition of the newsletter that includes the 50th anniversary celebration photo on the cover.

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[Mindfulist] January 20th

[January 20th] Sleep: How’d you sleep last night? How does the quality of your sleep impact how aware you are throughout your day?

As with life with an infant, I slept fitfully. You know the expression “sleeping like a baby”? Yeah, well, that shouldn’t mean “I had a great night’s sleep!” — it should mean “I kept waking up and couldn’t go back to sleep.” I also can’t just say, “hey, honey, can you please detach my breast and feed the baby?” No. That is a physical impossibility. So, it’s me, Junior, and a breast all nestled down in the solitude of night.

Now, I’m very particular about my sleeping patterns. I get less than eight hours, I’m typically cranky, groggy, and slow. If I get less than three or four hours, I tend to act irrationally — I become far too hyperactive for the near-sleepless state I’m in. My body likes sleep. When forced to undergo periods of sleep deprivation, I can feel that my body’s not rejuvenating itself like it should. I’ve been known to cry when I’m forced to stay awake (please don’t let me fall into enemy hands — they will know exactly how to torture me). However, I do understand that my current sleep deprivation is through 50% of my own fault (I take credit for the little ovum I provided to create our little bumble bee), so I just comfort myself that in a couple more years I’ll be able to get a solid eight hour block each night again. In the meantime, I’m trying to pretend that my eyelids don’t have fifty ton weights hooked onto them.

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[Mindfulist] January 19th

[January 19th] Get Moving: Get moving at your desk today. Become aware of your work life movement habits and how to improve them: Sitting Too Much? The dangers of living a sedentary life. Click “Participate” to read the article and learn about The Mindfulist project.

Throughout the day, I am required to get up and open the mailing/ package room to allow delivery drivers access to drop off packages. In the mornings, that can generally equate to 5-6 times that I have stand up from my chair, walk over to the room, unlock the door, walk back to my chair, and sit back down. When a student requests keys, I have to get up and go to the key closet to retrieve the necessary keys. The point is that I am required to get up and walk away from my desk sporadically throughout the day, which suits me just fine. When I sort the mail, I try to make an effort to use that time to move as much as possible (although when I was pregnant I worked on ways to minimize my time up on my feet).

The article brings up very good, valid points. As our society has diverged more into longer work hours and weeks and placed more emphasis on our careers, our rates of obesity, metabolic disorders, and depression have seemingly increased as well. We are discouraged from spending more time on hobbies and personal activities as these activities are “less productive” for our society. Yet wouldn’t we be serving society better if we were permitted more time to enjoy physical activities and spending time doing what we love? Luckily, I happen to be a fidgetter — I got in trouble in school and CCD classes for being a fidgetter at all. Well, who’s laughing now, Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So? My fidgetting is probably keeping me in better shape than your “sit still and be quiet” prim-and-proper nonsense. This article — and all the research it cites — validates my daily habits. I already know to take the stairs instead of the elevator and do so at every opportunity. While annoying, I’m grateful for the second-floor townhouse that requires me to go up and down stairs to leave and return home AND to go to and from my bedroom/ living area.

So if you happen to pass by my desk and I look like I’m having a blast in my chair, don’t judge me. Mimic me. I’m practicing a healthier lifestyle by just being me fidgety self.

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Gratitude # 49

Last night the baby was quite restless. I thought I had a rough night trying to sleep, and I reluctantly got up and ready for work this morning. When I got to my desk, I had a message waiting for me. I’d say my boss’ night was much worse, and I don’t envy the clean-up job he had on his hands. I definitely keep putting things into perspective these days. I will be enjoying a “free lunch” today — yummy Panera bacon turky bravo sandwich, salad, kettle-cooked chips, and a chocolate duet cookie with walnuts — thanks to my job. That’s more food than some people will see in a week or a month. I’m working today, getting a paycheck. Some people have been unemployed for an extended period of time and are losing their homes, their vehicles, and virtually their lives. I have three healthy children. I don’t currently know the details, but a friend of mine lost her infant niece a few days ago. I am so grateful for what I have. A little lost sleep isn’t all that bad in the grand scheme of life.

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[Mindfulist] January 18th

[January 18th] Notice Someone: Take the time today to notice something new/different about your coworker (or a person you work with). If you work alone, notice something about yourself.

I’m not at work today to fully appreciate something new or different about any of my coworkers, but I’ve worked there long enough to know my coworkers. After all, we have this lovely tool in our lives called “FaceBook.” Of course, that seems to be failing me right now, so I think I’ll take the time to notice something new or different about myself. Actually, this morning when a maintenance worker came out to install our replacement dishwasher I was less concerned about breastfeeding my son than I normally would be. I’m usually very concerned about someone I’m not comfortable with having the chance to see a bit more of my flesh than I’d prefer them to see. I guess I’m becoming less concerned about people seeing me feed my baby — because that’s what I’m doing, feeding my baby.

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