Fall is here and I have mixed feeling about it. On the one hand, I love how the leaves change on the trees and how this transforms the hills from solid green to shimmering shades of orange, yellow and red. I love how the days can still be comfy warm but the nights are chilly. The acorns are falling like crazy and Mother Fran keeps swinging her cane at them to push them off of the deck. Fall is a great time of year to go apple picking, pumpkin carving and hiking in the woods.
Fall is also when Mother Fran and Child #7 pack up and leave the lake to return to Florida for 8 months. I don’t like closing up the cottage and how the decks slowly look more and more empty. My little condo goes from being my bedroom to being a home for the furniture, kayaks and umbrellas. I don’t like as the days and nights grow colder and the trees become bare.
I feel like I jumped off of a financial cliff last week. Like I threw a wad of money out of the car window. Yes, I am exaggerating in a major way but still a girl can’t help the way she feels. Child #7, Mother Fran and I took our annual trip to the Outlet Mall and I went a bit crazy. Usually, I end up with a small purchase, grab a bite to eat and call it a day. This trip was different. My adrenaline was pumping and my filters were off. We plan this trip for the first week of September to coincide with “Back to School Sales” but we don’t go until after the kids of have actually gone back to school. Brilliant, right?
Never stop learning. I mean it. Never stop. It is the most critical factor I can think of that is required to live a meaningful life. I don’t know about you, but I believe living a meaningful life is way cooler than living a mediocre one. I have tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to build a few new habits this year. I wanted to blog for 5 minutes every day in order to post on My Little Blue Kayak 5x per month. Instead, I have been in a major slump all summer and am now kicking myself in the pants! I wanted to earn at least 1 CEU (continuing education credit) per month in order to earn 15 for the year. I believe I have earned 6 so far.
It is easy to write goals and even easier to promptly forget to address them. Writing this blog is one way I push myself to do better, to be better. Let’s face it, having to share one’s failures has a way of motivating one to do better. I know why I didn’t blog for 5 minutes every day, I know why I didn’t earn 1 CEU per month. I don’t need to make excuses, I need to do better. If you want to read about my goals, check out these posts. 5 Minutes is Easy, 2018 Goal Review, A Year in Review. As you can see, writing goals is important to me and finding ways to push myself to do and be better is critical if I want my life to mean something.
I don’t need much in life in order be happy and satisfied. Give me a yummy meal, a glass of wine,and good company. Follow this up by a good nights sleep and I’m in heaven. How about you?
At the cottage, I sleep in what we call the “Bunk House” or “Little House”. When we were kids it had a Raggedy Ann and Andy motif and has always been a preferred place to sleep. I now call this my condo and think the new nickname is starting to catch on! All that is in this little space is 2 sets of bunk beds, a dresser and a small metal desk. It has some shelves that hold some darts, a few magazines and my “I Love My Dog” sign. My condo is great for getting a good nights sleep.
My condo in the fall
I love my condo and sleep with all of the windows and the door wide open. I get plenty of fresh air and can see the moon and stars from bed. When the temperature is cool, I snuggle down under a comforter. Fenway sleeps on her bed on the floor next to me and I can hear her breathing throughout the night. The only thing I don’t love about my condo is that my honey is not sleeping next to me on my little twin bed.
I have been hearing and reading a bit about the importance of sleep lately and was reminded about the health puzzle that I wrote about a while back. The puzzle identified sleep as one of the major factors impacting our health. Sleep is something I have historically struggled with and although it has improved greatly, I still have rough nights. Today I woke up around 3:45AM and I have been up playing on my computer since 4:30AM!
I am a lousy napper and have never been accused of being a night owl. I tend to go to bed before 9:30PM and get up between 5:00 and 6:00AM. You can often find me in my pajamas before dinner. I know the importance of a good nights sleep!
We all know that consistently getting adequate sleep is important and that without it we tend to be tired, cranky and frankly not much fun to be around. But did you know that proper sleep gives our body the opportunity to perform maintenance and repair tasks that are critical for good health? Did you ever wake up in the morning having solved a dilemma you had been struggling with? Yup, sleep can help do that too!
Inadequate rest impairs our ability to think, to handle stress, to maintain a healthy immune system and to moderate our emotions. It’s associated with heart disease, hypertension, weight gain, diabetes and a wide range of psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety.
Chris Kresser
When you think about sleep like this, it is a bit easier to understand why poor sleep impacts our health. When trying to optimize health, people tend to focus on diet and exercise and forget to address the other pieces of the health puzzle that could have a big impact. You could eat a wonderful diet and get great exercise but if you don’t get good sleep your health will suffer.
With that in mind, I think I will climb back under the covers and get a bit of rest!
