I stumbled upon what would have been a blog post for the first week of March 2016. I wrote this post just 8 days before our lives were turned upside down from the flood. I decided to share it today as an example of just how quickly everything can change. I would have never guessed that just a few days later, all my plans and ideas of what the month was going to look like would be entirely different.
It’s March 1 when I’m writing this. Birds are chirping outside and I’m thinking about how I need to move my freshly potted plants back out into the sun. It’s still a tad chilly hear in North Louisiana, yet I know that by lunch it’ll be nice and warm outside. I sit for a bit longer than usual, thinking about the passing of time and the feeling of freshness that a new season brings. Many, including myself, are rejuvenated at the turning of a new year. However, I think I feel even more empowered at the beginning of a new season. There’s just something about a weather and lifestyle change that leaves me feeling inspired and excited.
Today, I think more about how I wrapped up February. I spent that glorious extra day catching up on work and then spending wonderful time with dear friends. What better way to spend an extra day! I spent the Sunday before doing all of the Martha Stewart/Suzy Homemaker tasks. I was freshly home from our trip to Colorado and I did laundry, worked in the yard, bought groceries, and even baked a cake. I spent hours and hours shopping for plants and replanting them, something I can honestly say I’ve never done.
As I sit here, thinking about the coming of one of my favorite months, I think about how differently it’s started. I think about all of those lovely flowers (and tomato plants) that I’m going to fight to keep alive this month. I set a goal for keeping my plants alive and at the time I was referring to the 4 indoor plants that I already had…not my newly created botanically oasis! (Clearly that’s an exaggeration.)
I think about how the activities of the past couple of days are so completely unlike my norm and I don’t even know where this sudden burst of domestication came from. (I’ve even learned to crochet!) Maybe it’s the extra sunlight. Maybe it’s the coming of a new season. (It is not nesting, though I can fully imagine that this is how that feels.) Regardless of what brought upon this little change, I’m busy trying new things. Tennis is starting back up. Business is booming. And I’m still going to tinker about, learning new things and stretching my home-making wings.
In thinking about what I want to accomplish in March, I decided to set a few monthly goals.
1. Clean out the flower beds. These flower beds have been a gigantic thorn in my side since we bought this house. We tried desperately to salvage the abundance of overgrown plants the last owners left us, and it just hasn’t worked. This month, my goal is to get all of that excess OUT and start with some simpler beds that Matthew and I can maintain and enjoy. If I reach just this one goal, I’ll feel like a new person come April.
2. Hang some things! I recently went to Canton with my mother-in-law and came home with several new goodies for the house. This month, I want to get some of these new items (and some that I’ve been holding on to) hung on the walls!
3. Stay home. Over the course of the last 30 days, I’ve been in New Orleans, Colorado, and Dallas. I am definitely a traveler, yet after being gone so much, I really want to be home and enjoy it for a bit.
4. Keep up those 10k steps! Getting in the groove of hitting those everyday has come with some ups and downs. Some days I do better than others. Some days I think this little tracker on my arm takes a nap and misses thousands of steps. How can I not have reached the goal when I’m so tired?! Lately, I’ve been pretty on point and with the coming of the gorgeous spring season, I hope to keep my momentum up.
These are just a few of the personal items on my list that I want to knock out this month. How about you? Have any fun goals for March?
I better go check on my plants…
As we welcome March 2017, I am in awe of the fact that a full year has passed since what was to date one of the most traumatic things Matthew and I have faced. For the record, all of those beautiful plants washed away. As I compare the first day of March to what the rest of the month held for us last year, I am reminded to appreciate each individual day for the joys it brings. I am reminded to love my people and love them well. I am reminded to celebrate even the smallest things and to be steadfastly grateful for everything that I have. It could indeed be temporary. No matter what is on your agenda today, take time to look around and be thankful for where you are. Tomorrow could very well bring with it dark clouds and tragedy. Be thankful for today.
