Changes in Perception

After months of craziness and things not going my way, yesterday while walking down the hill through the part on my way home from town, I paused and actually noticed the blue sky and green grass.  Astonishingly, things didn’t seem quite so bad after that.

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It’s not a brilliant photo, but it’s the best I could get with my phone and my notoriously unsteady hand.

All my life, Lent has been a time when I’ve paused to stop and examine my life.  Although we’re only three days into Lent, the importance of taking this time has impacted me already.  For the last couple months I’ve been running from one task to the next, trying to cope with health issues, the stress of the restructuring going on at Hubby’s college, and unhappy news from across the pond.

I’ve known for some time that the day would come when I wouldn’t be able to make it to the funerals of those dear to me.  This week that day arrived.  I can’t afford the time or expense to fly one third of the way around the globe right now, but I wish I could.  I’d been hoping to spend time visiting with my Great Aunt Carol this summer when we are heading to the US for a month to attend my sister’s wedding and visit family and friends.

Thankfully, telling my son what happened went much more smoothly than expected.  He has an embroidered baby blanket that my Great Aunt and Grandmother made for him shortly after he was born and although he was only four years old the last time we saw them, he remembers them.

He understood right away that it was okay to be happy for his Super Great Aunt Carol rather than sad, because she doesn’t need the wheelchair, that she’d been confined to since a car accident years ago, anymore.  In fact he reminded me that we can still talk to her if we wish by means of his invisible telephone that let’s you talk to people in heaven.

His simple acceptance and understanding helped me to change my perception and find some peace away from the loss and frustration that had engulfed me.  This Lent I seek to allow my perception of the world and my experiences in it to be open to change.

What do you wish you could change about your perception of life?

3 months, 4 weeks, 2 days

That’s how long it’s been since I’ve blogged.  I’ve missed it, but between university and home life has been a bit crazy.  But really, what did I expect?  I knew going in that things would continue to require more time and effort year upon year.  It’s the end goal that I need to keep my eyes upon.

Honestly, sometimes it’s the thing farthest from my mind and out of my sight.  I see my husband and my son.  I see our ‘messier than we’d like it to be’ house.  I see my stash of yarn and the books I still haven’t read.  Then finally I spot those text book

I’ve got to find my focus again and remind myself that it will all be worth it in the end.  So, I find myself here telling the world.  I guess I needed some accountability.  s that I should have at least looked at since lectures ended on the 9th, but have failed to open.

What do you do when you feel like you’re losing sight of your goals?  How do you stay focused and motivated?  I’d love to know. . .

My Friday Five: September

My Friday Five So, I used to do a Friday Five post in which I recounted five brilliant (in my mind at least) things from the past week.  Last time I focused on living in England, however this time the topic is September.  All of my life, the beginning of the academic year has brought changes, whether new beginnings or ‘do-overs’, so it’s not that odd that I tend to start the month with a new set of goals.

[Read more...]

While Not Blogging. . .

Leaving Cool Rocks

I didn’t really blog during the summer. I started out with good intentions, but quickly got caught living life and seeing things through the eyes of my son.

A ladybug/ladybird crawling on his hands.

A little crab crawling on the beach attempting [Read more...]

Silent Sunday