Done for the Week: Finding the Track So I Can Stay On It

Last week doesn't look so good on paper.  No cures for cancer.  No genius grants.  

But from where I sit this morning, it feels like a possible sea change.  Some of my priority-sorting is beginning to be clearer.  And the foundation of self-care that I've been refining is starting to feel right, and to be implemented more consistently.  I'm no longer rolling over quite so easily in the face of others' ideas of how I should spend my time.   

In a week filled with unanticipated events and opportunities, here's what I got done:

Done List--Week of June 7-13

1. Finished Week 4 of revised 14-week Sprint Triathlon training plan
2. Finished The Other Side of Sadness:  What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After Loss, by George A. Bonanno; The Sunday Philosophy Club:  An Isabel Dalhousie Novel, by Alexander McCall Smith; Saint Therese of Lisieux, by Kathryn Harrison
3. Attended triathlon training clinic
4. Took my blood pressure 5 times
5. Took 2-day "retreat" at friend's
6. Published 5 blog posts
7. Meditated 3 times
8. Wrote 6 Gratitude Journal entries
9. Wrote 6 Morning Pages
10. Continued cleaning campaign
11. Continued mini yoga practice
12. Weathered time-consuming early stages of fresh crisis in non-profit organization

Last week's focus goal (highlighted in green) was, once again, to continue my cleaning campaign.  I concentrated my efforts mostly on my bedroom, straightening my bedside table, cleaning off the desk, vacuuming the carpet, and removing the cobwebs from the beamed ceiling.  In addition, I cleaned out the refrigerator and reorganized its contents.  However, my roommates are already well on their way to erasing this bit of progress.  Grrrrr!  I am staying with this focus goal for at least another couple of weeks.

In red, above, is what seems to me to be the most important "accomplishment" of the week.  It has been extremely difficult for me to get away for the past several years, and accepting a friend's invitation to hang out at her house in the country for the weekend represents a significant departure for me.  I succeeded not only in agreeing to leave my kids and husband to their own devices, but also in leaving behind a houseful of unfinished tasks, AND in spending a relaxing and enjoyable couple of days pretty much off the grid.  My weekend retreat included hiking, talking, drinking wine, singing in my friend's church choir, reading, lying in a hammock, eating delicious home-cooked meals and being treated to a wonderful restaurant dinner, bird-watching and deck-lounging, and sleeping in.  I could get used to that.

And now, back to reality. . .  but with more gas in my tank that I've had in a while.